Would you cross an international border? It’s a question more and more Americans (and Canadians and Western Europeans and Aussies) are answering with a resounding “Yes!”. In fact, in 2022 more than 3 million people have become “dental tourists.” The primary reason people are traveling long distances is the skyrocketing cost of dental care at home.

Like many other Americans, we have dental insurance. It covers regular cleanings and x-rays, and pays a portion of the cost of fillings, simple extractions and root canals, up to $1,000 per year. However, our dental insurance doesn’t pay for dental implants, which are transforming the standard of care for patients.

When Dempsey was treated for head and neck cancer in 2017, we knew the extensive radiation he received was likely to ruin his teeth. Today, at the magic 5-year mark, he is cured of cancer, but his teeth are all turning black and crumbling. Some have broken off just above the gum line.

In years past, a patient like Dempsey would have only one option: removal of his teeth and placement of dentures. Dentures present many problems. They are often uncomfortable and difficult to keep in place. Because they have no roots, they do not prevent bone loss, which accelerates rapidly after the placement of dentures.

Dental technology has made quantum strides since the day of the denture. Today, dentists can replace lost teeth with implants. Teeth can be replaced individually, through placement of an implant screw and attachment of a single prosthetic tooth, or a bridge can be attached to several implants.

For patients (like Dempsey) whose teeth are no longer viable, all teeth can be removed, then four or six implants for both the upper and lower jawbone can be screwed into the gum. Using precise measurements based on digital x-rays and CT Scans, a dental lab designs and manufactures two individualized temporary acrylic arches of teeth. Once the implants have grown into the jawbone (which dentists call osteointegration), the temporary teeth are replaced with permanent teeth made of porcelain or zirconium. Osteointegration generally takes four months. The result is a permanent set of teeth that look like those issued at birth, only without imperfections. They are meant to be brushed and cleaned regularly by a dental hygienist just like natural teeth.

Typical cost of the “all-on-4” or “all-on-6” procedure in the United States is approximately $40,000 for both arches. That’s a lot of money for most people, and patients generally combine their own savings with one or more long-term loans.

$40,000 is a lot of travel money, and we’d rather use our available resources on seeing the world. On the other hand, Dempsey’s current dental health is not a sustainable situation. It’s become our first financial priority. So we are joining the ranks of dental tourists.