Mouth Matters

Sept 2013

The Manitoba Home Builders' Association is celebrating 75 years.

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MIKE MIGuEZ - For The Free Press Taking trips over the border into Mexico for cheap dental work is becoming more prevalent for people wintering in the southern U.S., according to dental experts. "Absolutely, it's pretty common," says Dr. Richard Santos of Winnipeg. "It's not just the vacation hotspots. I would say it happens out-of-country, period. "For the most part, people are doing this to save money on dental work, but at the same time their goal may be to justify spending a little more money on dental work because they have worked a trip into it. What people sometimes forget is that their holiday isn't much of a holiday if they are having a lot of dental treatment done." Before settling into the dentist chair in that far-away hotspot, while a complete stranger works on your teeth, you might want to first think about the risks of dental tourism. The money you are saving could cost you money in the end. One of the biggest risks to consider is the whole standard- of-care issue. Even if there is reasonably similar training undertaken in the country of your choice, the standard to which practitioners are held to is often very different than what we expect in Canada. "In terms of dental care, we have one of the highest standards of care in the world" says Santos. "Legally, we are responsible for the work we do. In other countries you are held to the standard of care in whatever country you are going to, which may or may not be the same. I would suggest it often isn't the same." Legal recourse is another consideration. In Canada there is proper legal recourse if something goes seriously wrong. In a foreign country, you are at the mercy of their legal system, which can get confusing, complicated, and expensive. The treatments people have done in a foreign country are likely to be the complicated, more costly things in order to save money. If something were to go wrong, it would be time consuming and expensive to travel back, and it could be difficult getting the dental work fixed. "Typically, the more complicated the treatment gets, the more of a mess people could potentially get into. Often these things can be pretty hard to fix. If not impossible. A lot of the work that is done is irreversible. Once things are not done properly, if they are fixable at all, your costs have risen. It's much harder to fix someone's mistake than to just take care of the problem properly in the first place." Santos says Canadians should double-check that the clinic they are going to in another country is upholding the highest standards of infection control and sterilization practices. "Not only are the standards of sterilization ...not quite as high (as in Canada), there is potential for more diseases simply because of the economic and social conditions. Clinics aren't able to keep the same sterilization standards we can here," says Santos. Other considerations with dental tourism can include the cost of extra flights, lost wages due to time taken off work, and lost vacation time due to time in the dental office – Mouth Matters | 0 7 Dr. Richard Santos says people who have dental work in faraway hot spots to save money often pay more in pain and suffering in the end. PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY RECOMMENDATIONS PATIENTS SHOuLD CONSIDER BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT OuTSIDE OF CANADA • Clearly understand what dental treatment you need. Have a cost estimate and a clear description of the work that is recommended by a dentist familiar with your dental health and dental history. If the foreign dentist recommends more or different work, ask why? • Ask for recommendations of foreign dentists from your friends if their Canadian dentist has commented that the foreign work was of good quality. Problems resulting from poorly done treatment and low quality materials may take some time to show up as decay, inflammation, infections and pain. • The risk of exposure to antibiotic- resistant infectious disease is high in some countries. Check the Public Health Agency of Canada's travel website for up-to-date information. • Be wary of promises or claims made regarding success rates, advanced technologies and accreditation. Understand your recourse if things go wrong before you consent to a procedure. As a non-resident, promises or guarantees may be meaningless. dental tOUrisM: a Great deal or danGerous risk? "In terms of dental care, we have one of the highest standards of care in the world" says Santos. the faCts abOUt flUOride Dr.JeanBodnar Dr.WilliamNorgate Dr.WilliamNorgate Dr.LeslieDalton Dr.LeslieDalton NORBERRY NORBERRY DENTALCENTRE DENTALCENTRE 901St.Mary'sRoad 901St.Mary'sRoad Winnipeg,Manitoba Winnipeg,Manitoba Dr.Daltonisaccepting Dr.Daltonisaccepting newpatients newpatients NorberryDentalCentre NorberryDentalCentre HoursofOperation:Monday-Thursday HoursofOperation:Monday-Thursday 8am-5pm,Fridays8am-noon 8am-5pm,Fridays8am-noon Pleasecallusat204-257-5816 Pleasecallusat204-257-5816 toscheduleanappointment toscheduleanappointment norberrydentalcentre.com norberrydentalcentre.com HealthyTeeth,HeavenlySmilesServingManitobaFamiliesSince1966 Dr.Reem Atout Dr.JackBraun Dr.Rodrigo Cunha Dr.Manjot Dev Dr.MarkDolyniuk Dr.Anjali Gandhi Dr.Dominika Jasiewicz-Bialy Dr.Dominika Jasiewicz-Bialy Dr.StaceyLamarche Dr.Scott Leckie Dr.Estefania Lysy Dr.Rhiannon Orloff Dr.Trenna Reeve Dr.Jennifer Renouf Dr.Amarjit Rihal Dr.KenSkinner Dr.Gene Solmundson Dr.Kardy Solmundson Dr.ShelleyTottle Dr.Stephanie VanDenBosch Dr.Jim Wener EmergencyCare CosmeticDentistry GeneralDentistry TeethWhitening CrownandBridge Veneers Dentures Children's Dentistry Implants Invisalign Orthodontics CustomMouthguards Periodontics We AcceptNewPatients Family Dental Care We AcceptAll Dental Insurance Plans 3278 PortageAve. atWestwoodDrive Phone:(204) 958-4444 Fax: (204) 888-4726 www.assiniboinedentalgroup.com HoursofOperation: MondaytoThursday 7:30 amto8:00 pm Friday:7:30 amto4:30 pm Saturday:8:00 amto4:00 pm AssiniboineDentalGroup NEW PATIENTS WELCOME 14Hygienists On Duty ForYourFamily'sPreventativeDentalServices especially for complicated treatments. "When you're trying to time complicated treatments into a holiday- sized period, you're potentially rushing to get things in and done faster than normal," says Santos. "Not everything can be done in one or a few visits. The more the process is rushed, the greater the chance for needing re-treatments. For some treatments, you might have to fly back potentially two or three times unless they try to speed the thing up to the point were it is dangerous." A final thing to consider is the teamwork involved when it comes to complicated dental treatments. When it comes down to the final product, lab technicians work closely with dentists and are an important part of the team. How can you research how good their training and work is? "A lot of the failures I see with out-of-country dental work is potentially from lab misuse – things that weren't made right at the dental laboratory," says Santos. "I've seen some very good cases and I've seen complete disasters. I'm not saying the best dentists are only in Canada. I'm just saying there are things people need to keep in mind, more that just dollar signs. Unfortunately, a lot of times all people see is the money, and by the time they realize there's more to it, something has gone wrong and it's too late. You may save a whack of cash, but could get a whack of problems as well."

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