Dr. Will Rymer:

In a case that always has jumped out to me, a number of years ago I saw a gentleman in his 30s who had quite a severe gum problem but with the right intervention and if he had seen the right specialist, he could have preserved his dentition and his bite for many years. This goes back to the point made previously about specialists not being recognised here. Unfortunately, the patient was tempted to receive treatment abroad and he had a combination of crowns and bridges, anchored to poor quality teeth and implants. Unfortunately, within a couple of years I had to fit him, still only in his 30s, with complete dentures

That happens from time to time. Patients present with those types of problems. However, for him that situation was grossly exacerbated by the treatment he received. He certainly ended up in a worse situation as a result of travelling abroad. There is absolutely no issue with the quality of dentistry in some areas abroad. However, with the commercial enterprises and clinics that lure people, there is often very little in the way of comeback. I argue strongly that patients need to look into the credentials of the clinic and the dentist they are dealing with. They need to make sure that recourse exists for problems to be resolved. Problems can occur as a result of any dental work. We always have to be cognisant that things can go wrong, and we are aware of trying to help patients through that. Dental tourism is a huge problem for us.