Re: My Health Experience, And then to crown it all, Healthplus, May 27th
Dear Sir,
On reading Kieran Fagan's story of his trip to Poland for his complex dental treatment I note that cost of treatment takes precedence over treatment planning and quality of the finished product.
There is a feeling that because something is cheaper in another part of the EU, we must be being ripped off in Ireland. However, the average industrial wage in Poland is about €480 a month against an average industrial wage of €2,660 a month (€32,000 per annum) in Ireland. For people living and working in Poland, dentistry is, pro rata, more expensive than for their counterpart in Ireland.
When patients in Ireland have been consulted on the criteria they use to choose their dentist, cost comes in third or fourth on their list of requirements.
On the quality of dental care received by Mr Fagan, it is quite possible that the finished "smile" would be as well fabricated as if the treatment was carried out here, although this would be impossible to assess once the bridgework has been permanently fixed in position.
However, the timescale over which this treatment was carried out was inappropriate and will reduce its long-term prognosis. In building terms, it's like pouring your foundations and immediately starting to put up the blocks.
It is always advised to allow root canal treatments to settle prior to fitting a crown. Treatment protocols are breached to facilitate flight times!
Hopefully your correspondent will not experience any problems but it is important that patients are aware of the pitfalls as well as the cost savings of "dental tourism".
Rory O'Rorke
(retired dentist)
Borrisoleigh
Co Tipperary
Dear Sir,
I was (as always) interested to read the story of the man who had dental work done in Poland. What I would really like to hear is the story of someone who had such work done five or even 10 years ago, to hear whether the work has actually lasted or what happened if remedial work was required in Ireland. I don't know if you can encourage people to come forward with these stories, but we hear regularly about people who have just had the work done, never about people who will say they have had lasting success.
One interpretation could be that they are happy because they would be coming forward if they were not, but I'd still like to hear of at least one person who had a job done a number of years ago and is still happy with it.
Sheelah Kehoe
Terenure
Dublin
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