Retirees Are Fixing Their Teeth on Vacation: Here is Why

According to the CDC's Yellow Book, dental care is the most common reason Americans travel abroad for medical treatment. The reason is a single dental implant in the United States is $3,000 to $6,000. That's for one tooth. 

For retirees, the sting is sharper. Original Medicare, as Medicare.gov spells out plainly, doesn't cover most dental services in most cases, and that includes dentures. That's when people start doing math with airline tickets.

$3,000 for an inch-long screw

A dental implant is a small titanium post set into the jawbone, where it acts as an artificial root. Other than being highly sophisticated devices, they are highly priced because of clinical overhead costs, which, when you account for taxes, personnel, laboratory expenses, bills and rent, can be stratospheric.

The types of dental implants available today range from:

• Single-tooth implants replace one missing tooth without filing down the neighbors, which a traditional bridge requires.
• Implant-supported bridges use a couple of implants to hold a row of three or four teeth.
• Full-arch options, often sold as "All-on-4" or "All-on-6," anchor an entire row of teeth on four to six implants. They're popular with longtime denture wearers who are tired of adhesive.
• Implant-supported dentures snap onto a few posts, so they stay put through corn on the cob.
• Zygomatic implants are extra-long posts anchored in the cheekbone when the jawbone has worn too thin.

Before you pack your toothbrush

The CDC's guide to medical tourism is blunt: travel for care carries real risks, and the biggest ones often show up after you get home. A few questions worth asking before you book:

• Who is doing the work? Ask for the dentist's name, training and specialty. For surgical implant work, an oral surgeon or implant specialist is a better sign than a general "smile center." 
• What exactly goes in my mouth? Ask for the implant brand in writing. Reputable manufacturers print reference and batch codes on the packaging, and some let you verify them online.
• Who fixes it if something goes wrong? The CDC urges travelers to line up follow-up care in the U.S. before leaving, because treating complications can be expensive and may not be covered by insurance. 
• What's in the price? Get a written plan that lists the number of implants, the crown material, temporary teeth and what happens if an implant fails.
• Am I a good candidate? Smoking and uncontrolled diabetes raise the odds of implant failure. So does rushing the healing. Be honest with yourself and with the dentist.

Turkey remains the top destination for full mouth cases

Mexico and Costa Rica have long been the usual suspects for American dental travelers. However, when it comes to complex, full mouth dental implants, most Americans choose a farther away destination.

The appeal of dental implants in Turkey comes down to expertise on top of economics. Many clinics use the same Swiss and German implant brands found in American offices, and Turkish dentists have acquired much more experience from treating millions of European patients. International clinics also cater to English speakers and bundle the hotel and airport pickup into the price.

The greatest inconvenience is that implants usually mean two trips. That's two round trips, each a very long day door to door from the USA. Unfortunately, there is no way around this, and any US dentist will confirm the necessity of the two appointments: the first, to place the titanium posts. The second, to fit the dental crowns.

The bottom line

Dental tourism is a big medical decision. Some folks will do their homework and decide the savings are worth two long trips. Others will decide that a dentist fifteen minutes from home is worth the premium. Either way, the smartest move is to know what you're buying, ask more questions than feels polite and get a second opinion.