Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by asdff 1517 days ago
I think it depends on the context of the treatment and how specialized it needs to be. For example, I've had relatives from the U.S. who have gotten dental work done in Croatia because its cheap enough to the point where they can buy a transatlantic flight and spend some time visiting family members along with getting the root canal and crown done. A lot of people in southern California also opt to drive to Tijuana for dental work or other procedures. If its not some cutting edge thing or world renown surgeon, there is no point to paying the costs associated with a lot of treatment in the U.S. at least. For some stuff, yeah, the U.S. is best in class; Saudi princes fly out to Cleveland to get their heart work done.
1 comments

Sometimes that can be a good idea. But many times, you are also getting riskier, out of date treatment for less. For example, root canals and crowns are kind of the cheaper and less effective way to treat a bad tooth. The gold standard is usually extraction and a new implant.

And considering that you can find a dentist to do a root canal for $300 without too much trouble, I'm surprised anyone would be able to fly to Croatia and get treated for that little.

I think actually it was implants that were done which my dentist quotes me $1600 for in the US
Yes, I have heard of people traveling for implants. But if they travel once and are done, then they are going to cheap route there as well. You can get all in one implants, and they are cheaper, even here in the US. But the kind of implants you really should get are the type that require placing a base first and then wait a few months for them to heal and set before installing the posts and permanents.