According to the American Dental Association (Resolution 28H-2008), dental tourism is defined as the act of travelling to another country for the purpose of availing dental treatment. Dental tourism is a subset of medical tourism.  Traditionally, wealthy people traveled from underdeveloped countries to developed ones in search of advanced medical attention. However, at present, the flow of patients has reversed with numerous patients traveling from developed countries such as US, UK and Germany to developing countries including Hungary, India, Mexico and Brazil.

The term ‘medical tourism’ has gained significant popularity over the past few years owing to the bulk of patients traveling abroad. Significant difference in the cost of various treatments has been the primary factor driving this market over the past few years. In certain cases, developing countries offer high quality dental care for more affordable prices. In most cases, the cost of traveling and the treatment together amounts to 50% of the total treatment cost in their resident country. For instance, the cost of dental implant in the U.S. and Canada is 50% to 60% higher than the cost in Mexico for the same treatment.

Declining oral health, absence of dental insurance or lack of coverage for certain ailments, high cost of treatment, and long waiting period are some of the key factors driving the growth of the global dental tourism market.

The growth of the global dental tourism has given a rise to the numerous related services such as online platforms for selection of hospital, treatment and doctors. Online portals with patient feedback on the hospital, treatment and doctors is also helping dental destinations to build reliability, thereby, attracting more tourists.

The rising number of tourists due to budget air travel and cheap accommodation is driving the global tourism market. In most cases, these tourists avail medical treatments including dental ones due to the huge difference in the cost. Improving healthcare facilities in developing economies is expected to drive market growth over the projected period. 

Dental tourism is the activity of people travelling to foreign country for availing dental treatments including preventive, restorative, and prosthodontics. Over the past few years, the number of patients traveling to foreign countries to avail dental treatments has increased significantly due to the availability of high standard treatments at low cost. Technological advancements such as access to telemedicine and mHealth are some of the newer avenues within the global healthcare market, which in turn are likely to benefit the global dental tourism market.

Accommodation, local transportation, food & drink, domestic tours, entertainment, shopping, leisure and sports activities are some of the main expenses which are part of dental tourism. Spending on medical treatments as well as leisure activities has a significant economic impact on the economies of the destinations. Moreover, cost benefits as well relatively smaller waiting time has set the way for the growth of the market. The availability of crowns, caps and other dental accessories at a much cheaper cost has been another factor augmenting the growth of the market.

Health expenditure of key dental tourism countries (as a % of GDP), 2000-2015

Source:  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

In 2017, prosthodontic treatment contributed 34.5% of market share and is expected to grow at a faster growth rate in coming years.  Prosthodontics is a specialty of dentistry that deals with diagnosis and treatment planning, restorative management and maintenance of patients with missing teeth or missing hard and soft tissues in the maxillofacial region. Prosthodontics is one of the nine dental specialties (prosthodontics, periodontics, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, oral pathology, oral radiology, oral surgery, endodontics, and public health dentistry) and is a major component of the typical general practice.

The discipline of prosthodontics covers a broad area and includes fixed, removable, and maxillo-facial prosthodontics. Implant prosthodontics is sometimes considered a separate entity and sometimes as a component of the other sub specialties. Fixed prosthodontics is involved in restoration of individual teeth or replacement of missing teeth with restorations that are permanently attached to the teeth and cannot be removed by the patient. Crowns and fixed partial dentures of various designs fabricated from a variety of materials are the most commonly fixed restorations. Maxillo-facial prosthodontics is the sub specialty that deals with the treatment of patients with developmental and acquired defects of the maxillofacial region and is not restricted to the teeth and oral cavity.

The principles of fixed, removable, and implant prosthodontics are used to treat patients’ defects associated with cleft palate, trauma, or resection due to malignancy e.g., many times in combination. Implant prosthodontics is probably the most rapidly expanding area of dentistry as increased research and development is combining with patient interest to create increasing demand. Single crown is the most common restorative procedure and approx. 2.3 million implant-supported crowns are annually made.

Restorative treatments are also expected to grow at a CAGR of over 13% over the forecast period.  Loss of single tooth and large number of people undergoing root canal treatment is expected to drive restorations segment growth in coming years. Tooth restoration includes replacement of original teeth with an artificial crown or cap. In some cases trauma also causes damage to the teeth which ends up in a restorative procedure. Treatment includes installation of crown & bridges, filling, dentures, and implants. Filings are the most frequently performed restoration technique. Materials such as gold, silver, ceramic are used to fil the cavity and prevent further damage.

In terms of region, the market is defined as host countries which act as dental tourism hotspots. Various geographic region have various countries which are hotspots for dental tourism and attract large number of patients across the globe. Major host countries for dental tourism in Europe include Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Spain and Turkey. The table below includes the distribution of the market by key dental treatment types. Hungary is known as the dental capital of the world. Outstanding cost benefit ratio is one of the major reasons for inbound flow of dental patients in Hungary. The presence of high quality of dental training, attracts many foreign students to choose dental studies in Hungary and thus increase the number of availability of dentists. The quality of materials used in dental practices is high due to the presence of stricter European standards. The rate of complications in dental care in Hungary is 5%, which is similar to the other European countries. In addition to the above factors, positive treatment experiences and high level of patient satisfaction results in increase in number of dental tourist to Hungary.

With increasing prices in western European countries and the presence of economy air travel and availability of low-cost airlines, Budapest became more accessible from every part of Europe, thus not only the neighboring countries but patients from other countries of Europe started visiting Hungary to avail dental services. The total number of active dentists in 2015 was near to 6000. Approximately, this makes 3000 dental offices of which 700 dental offices are involved in dental tourism. The association of leading Hungarian dental clinics operating from 2009, was established aiming to provide high professional standards, guarantee and liability.

The major countries sending dental tourist in Hungary are UK, Ireland, France, Scandinavia and Switzerland. The inbound flow of dental tourist from U.K. is nearly 30% of the total inbound flow of dental tourists in Hungary. Recommendation from friends is the most trustworthy source of information to travel to Hungary for dental services which is followed by the internet services which provide widespread information about dental treatment in Hungary.

India is one of the largest hubs for dental tourism in Asia. It is reputed for both the advanced technologies in healthcare that are being used as well as the quality of care that is being provided to the patients. When patients from the American and European countries visit India, the savings is about 70% compared to the treatment in their home country. The government is taking initiatives to encourage medical tourism in the country. There is a large investment being made on the healthcare infrastructure. The visa barriers are being lessoned; M visa is what the foreigners apply for obtaining medical treatment in India. There may be visa-on arrival that may be considered in the future for this purpose. States such as Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are hubs for medical treatment in India.

The medical tourism market and medical insurance market are both growing in India. The other factors that make India a favorable choice for dental tourism are lack of a language barrier since English is widely spoken, cheaper air travel and the attraction of a popular tourist destination. The Bangladeshis and Afghans contributed to 34% of medical tourists in India in 2015 while Russians and people from the Commonwealth countries contributed to another 30%. The market for dental tourism in India is expected to grow during the forecast period.