Foreign Bargain Dentistry

For decades, promotions to go abroad for cosmetic medical and dental procedures abound. The cost of the procedures are extremely low compared to the States and even with the cost of the vacation, “you come out way ahead”.  So you think! Patients who consider this are not comparing apples to apples.

 I admit it, I am now being an American snob but the education, ongoing continuing education training, materials used and quality trained lab technicians are not even close to what’s available in America. In addition, the diagnostics and planning for cosmetic dentistry takes time and multiple visits. When we want to transform a smile, we need to consider the goals of the patient. The shaping of the teeth, length of the teeth, and the position of the teeth all need to be carefully worked out IN ADVANCE. In our office, we do a diagnostic wax up on a model of what we propose to do with the changes. This is then used to make temporaries that the patient wears day one to evaluate how they look, feel and function. This allows us to make changes large or subtle in the final product BEFORE they are made using real patient data.

 In these foreign clinics, none of this is done, so everyone gets the same thing. They cut your teeth down, take impressions and make veneers or crowns the way THEY think they should be and you get what you get. In addition, there is no time to evaluate your bite relationship which may be the cause for your chipping and fractured teeth in the first place. We often do a few months of Invisalign first to put the teeth in the proper position to be restored so that adequate room for porcelain is available and so that the future porcelain won’t break like the way your natural teeth did. There is also no time or effort to evaluate the position of your gum tissue surrounding your teeth as well as the health of your gums. You need perfectly healthy gums to support this work and often the gumline may need to be evened out prior to the work as well

 There have been a multitude of reports of patients coming back with the need for root canals because the teeth were drilled too much or developing periodontal disease because the restorations didn’t fit well. The old adage in life rings true here. “You get what you pay for”. There’s a few things in life you don’t want to buy discount. Sushi, batteries and medical care are amongst them. Our fees are completely in line with the quality of work and service provided. There is a popular Spanish expression, “Lo barato sale caro”, which means, the cheap comes out expensive!

 For more information, you can contact Dr. Michael Krochak at

drk@nycsmilespa.com

NYC Smile Spa

30 E. 60th St., Rm 1201

New York, NY 10022

(212) 838-2900