How to Prepare for Dental Travel
July 17th, 2009
Choosing dental tourism you are probably imagining a travel abroad, visiting beautiful countries, treating your teeth and enjoying your time. All of this, of course, is true, but there will be nothing pleasant if you forget to take care of some small, important things. To avoid bad surprises you should know what to do before departure, during the trip, and in emergency situation
When the decision has been made, probably the first thing you should do is to take a sheet of paper and a pen and to write everything comes to your mind about what to take with you during the trip. This brain-storming psychological method will minimize the number of things that you do need but have forgotten at home.
A plan is needed, too. When you are doing a plan all small moments become more evident and it becomes more difficult to loose some of them. You can categorize many, small activities and situations in bigger categories, or divide complex periods of time into smaller moments. When everything is put on paper it’s much easier to manipulate the situation, you become more convinced that you are doing the right thing.
When the plan is ready it becomes easily to notice what things should be analyzed deeper. Prices, for example, become an important topic. You’ll understand that it’s very useful to know about how much things cost in the country you are going to visit.
As it follows, you’ll have to find out how much dental treatment costs, including all procedures you’ll need or you’ll want to have, as auxiliary one. Prices of flying tickets, hotel services, transportation through the visited country, probable booking apartment, food, should be well known in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.
When all this stuff is counted you’ll understand that it would be better to take more money than you wanted to. The same can happen about time. You’ll probably want to visit some places, to meet some new people. All of it needs auxiliary time. Consider this and you won’t have to hurry up in order to manage coming back.
Buy ticket for the plane, and be sure that the day you arrive, or the next day, your dentist will be free to treat you. It won’t be nice if you have to wait for days before having the necessary treatment. The dentist should know that you are coming. Make him know this, if it’s possible.
Don’t forget about your special needs. If you need some extra medicine, take it with you. If you have a favorite book, take it with you. It’s only for your best if you feel everywhere like at home.
And one more thing. To avoid serious problems and situations when you don’t know what to do, prepare a second solution for each moment, in your plan, this seems to be difficult. It will also make your worries disappear, because now you know that if something goes wrong, plan B exists. It will help you.
While travelling analyze if the plan is correctly followed. Any mismatches in time or place should be studied deeper and corrected. The same is about all new changes or events that might appear. Be ready to modify some of your planed moments, to renounce some of your wishes. Besides, make sure to understand people you are speaking with, or just everything you are going to do.
In emergency situations a special dental travel kit will be useful. You can buy it or make by yourself. If you decided to make it then you’ll need the following list:
A small plastic box where you’ll put alcohol preps, travel toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, double sided, acetaminophen tablets, oral antiseptic, anesthetic gel, temporary filling material, cotton swabs, cotton balls, cotton rolls, antibiotics, cotton gauze (2×2), tongue scraper, mouth mirror, oil of cloves, stick of wax, rubber gloves, small plastic spatula, round two picks, salt, ice pack, aloe Vera gel, baking soda, tea bag, tweezers, antibacterial towel, breath freshener, and the instructions for dental emergencies.
Now you are ready for an unforgettable trip without problems. Good luck!
Categories: Dental Tourism
You have some great advice for those thinking about going overseas for dental work.
However, I think there are a couple of other points worth mentioning. You should be able to communicate well and be comfortable with the staff at your prospective dental office before you even think about getting on a plane. They should be experienced in treating international patients. How can you tell? Ask — and, if they’re experienced, they should be able to advise you on every aspect of your trip and recommend accommodations and even a flight.
Prisma Dental in Costa Rica is one such dental provider. They work on more than 300 major dental cases annually and have been doing so for 15-20 years.