Now weve all heard of medical tourism where people go for a cosmetic facelift or maybe an infamous brazilian, but lift. But lately, dental tourism has also been on the rise. The top 10 destinations for dental tourism for us patients are mexico tylen, hungry spain, poland, costa rica, the philippines, malaysia and turkey. Us patients can expect to save between 40 to 65 percent in mexico and up to 50 to 75 percent in thailand. And this is because in countries like mexico, the cost of living is significantly less compared with the us, making it more feasible for dentists to own and operate a practice. In addition, dentists and mexico are not required to pay for malpractice insurance to many patients. Now combine dental care with a vacation and the most common procedures for dental tourism include crowns, veneers, implants whitening root, canals, dentures and fillings. And just on the other side of the colorado river, the small mexican town of lost out of the dont is bills itself as molar city. The city only has around 5000. 00 permanent residence, but thousands of tours flocked to the city every year to take advantage of the 350. 00 dentists in the downtown area. Some clinics even offer transportation to and from airports or other metropolitan areas. Los altos, known as was built around dental tourism. This means dental work is fast, and cheap. Prices on average are of 3rd of the cost of their us equivalent. But unfortunately, not all the work is quality. None of the procedures are guaranteed, and sometimes patients get taken advantage of. Insurance companies are now even on board with dental tourism, with Companies Like geo blue which is affiliated with Blue Cross Blue Shield and aetna offering specific medical and dental coverage for people who are traveling outside of the us. A doing so say is insurance companys money because theyre paying out much less than they would for these procedures in the us. Some employers have even gone a step further and well even cover entire medical tourism trips for employees. So now joining us today is dr. Joseph kelly, ill, dentist from arlington, dentistry. Now joseph, can you provide an overview of the current landscape of dental care costs and how has they evolved over the years . Well, it really depends on the type of treatment the patients are having. Um, and it depends on the locations where youre located. If, if were talking them to us, its gonna vary. If youre in a major city or if youre in the suburbs, the overall is known that dental costs in the u. S. Is more expensive than for example places uh overseas. Um now. Ready of the, the what some of the factors that play influence in the dental cost is the complexity of the treatment. And when you were talking about treatment that involves more advanced procedures like surgeries or dental implants. Uh so you, youre going to find that that is going to be a little bit more costly, but also using technology with capt cam or 3 d printing. Thats also gonna add the costs. So i guess the answer is it depends on locations. It depends of complexity. Of treatment and what factors contribute to the overall expenses associated with dental care today . Well, uh i can tell you from my, my experience. Um we are located in arlington, virginia. So uh the real estate is expensive. Rents are expensive. Um, staff salaries are expensive, so one of the factors is location. So if youre in, in a small town where your rent might not be as, as expensive, your overhead is going to be less. So you have a fixed overhead into practice, meaning just the fixed overhead, the cost of operating to use the moment you walk into your office and you turn the lights on. You have some expensive expenses, whether its a mortgage on the property or the rent. And youve got your staff salaries, these are all fixed electricity, etc. So cost of operating a dental office in us is not, its not cheap. Uh, so if you move a little bit towards a smaller areas, that might be little bit less expensive. But then youve got also malpractice insurance and other business overhead. Insurances and a workmans comp insurance is, i mean theres a lot of a lot of hidden expenses. Patients typically think that theyre buying our next boat or airplane or our cause. And its, its far, far from reality. As a matter of fact, that a lot of dental offices and dentists that go go under go out of business. I just sort of one today that the close shot because the rent was so expensive. She, she couldnt keep up, keep the office so she have to move into a different location. So uh, so these are some of the what drives the cost. The other thing is a technology as you advanced and Technology Labs need to buy sophisticated equipments, especially when it comes to 3 d printing machines or using uh, uh, you know, digital like um, digital scanners, etc. And so that is expensive. And so that for the last bill is going to be a little bit more expensive. And so this adds to the, to the cost. So for these odd and unnatural, uh you have the fixed overhead and that, and then you have the, uh, other type of expenses where youve got your lock bills and miscellaneous expenses that that sometimes happens when you, you cant control. Many individuals find dental care costs challenging to manage. Could you elaborate on the specific challenges people face and affording these treatments . It really depends on the treatment. And it depends on the level of the treatment and expectations the patients house. You know, ill give you a simple example. Lets say someone comes in and they dont have to. Okay, they want to have something, they can go with something thats removable. They can go with something thats doable to implants, and they can go with something thats removable. But little bit more fixed with for implants, and they can go with something that is fixed, like having their own teeth with, you know, 4 or more implants. And the more fixed you go, the more the costs. Now you do, you know, they might need a simple, simple restore at those like fillings, and thats not going to be as much expensive as a, if they need it. For example, a root canal and maybe some crowns on top. So the best way to save on dental treatment is prevention because that is so way with patients can go throughout their life with not leaving other than simple cleanings, you know, but it takes the effort to, uh, uh, you know, do the work at home. I always tell patients when they come in for the 6 months of the visits for the cleaning and oh, i tell them this and youre seeing me 2 days out of 365. What really matters. Whats more important is what you do in the 363 days at home. So prevention is the best of the best solution and how the Preventative Care measures such as regular checkups and cleanings contribute to the overall cost of dental maintenance. When it comes to dentistry, for the most part, um, the prevention is just key. Okay. And i always felt based on my job is to help you uh, need less that to 3. I would be failing as a dentist if my patients keep coming to me and they keep needing work. Um, so we spend a lot of time on, on spending time and talking to them about the prevention, the number one cause of problems, the major, you know, 60 percent plus of things that we, we do in the office are the result of cavities. The k right carries and the last prevention is limiting, sugar, sugar consumption and its sugar. It isnt everywhere and it doesnt impact only their Overall Health from, you know, diabetes to Heart Disease, etc. But also it impacts the teeth and then the teeth a when they um they get cavities. So thats where expenses start rising up. Now, theres a way to fix something before it gets bigger, with simple filling. So thats where you can control the costs. And then of course, as it gets bigger, if you go into more expenses when you get into more advance whether its root canals, and if you let it go completely, then you lose a tooth. Then you were talking about surgeries and extractions and implants if you want to replace them. So controlling sugar. Okay, brushing flossing, you know, but the main thing is sugar limiting sugar occasions and of course fluoride plays a big role as well. Uh lets controversial some people are against fluoride. Some are with we have studies that show that it does prevent a tooth decay. But in my opinion, the number one thing is sugar sugar boys and for the teeth and for the body. Thank you so much, doctor, but please stick around. Dr. Joseph kelly ill will stay with us right here after the break. So stay tuned as we delve into the world of cosmetic dentistry. Exploring is rising popularity. Fueled by the influence of social media. Well have more after the break the, the russian states never as one of the most sense Community Best ingles, all sense and up the, in the system must be the one else calls question about this, even though we will then in the european union, the Kremlin Mission the state on the russians cruising and split the ortiz full neck, even our video agency, roughly all the band on youtube tv services. What question did you say . Even closer to the one you ended up to attempt to collect at different extra a month . I thought she sat there for the show and then it will be a job to love for the cause of it is uh, excuse us for the defense of to separate the setup button and not the printer. And i thought someone did you lose it asked for that . And if i said the media and the people, theres only 2 reasons to just say when you say the new country can piece of us and theyre going to be presented as for the money, im going to work it on the stimulus. The industry is it will whats money will funnel says really left . So should william farmer shots might give us who we have called gosh, door to door or decision to my name. And what was that man . Was the ones that ridiculous on the what are the best of them one today and bunch of deluxe. Ive also put in additional to set. Im sure a Google Search for the shop can was on fish, beautiful. Shes kimballs on best. Do what i mean. Theres a copper, based upon the, our world is full of different cultures with various beauty standards and traditions where one country values, bronze tan, skin, others pies, fer porcelain glass skin. But across the board, every country values healthy white teeth. So when it comes to the best overall dental health, denmark takes the 1st spot with a d, m f t index, which stands for decayed, missing, or filled teeth score of 0. 4. Dana citizens have pretty perfect teeth, followed by germany, finland, sweden, and the u. K. Now, diet plays important factor in dental health. Cultures that consume large amounts of sugar are more prone to dental problems which lower their d m. F. T score. The philippines have the worst d m. F t score with 90 percent of their citizens suffering from tooth decay, india and australia rank 2nd and 3rd to last on the list. Countries with universal health care often see Better Oral Health outcomes due to more accessible and affordable dental services. Now americans have some of the best dental care in the world, but more than 90 percent of American Adults has had some form of tooth decay. And again, diets fill with sugary carbonated acidic drinks are largely to blame. And while the case can be fixed with dental fillings, repetitive decay can wear down the tooth structure enough that extraction may be the only option. On average, Preventative DentalCare Services like x rays and cleanings costs between 275. 00 to 400. 00. But if you have a cavity and require filling, it can range from a 154. 00 tooth to 250. 00. Crowns are more expensive and depending on the material from a 1000. 00 for a metal filling to 2000. 00 for a ceramic filling and where many people who labs and dental care, whether for cost reasons or for cobit reasons, they often return in worse shape. Dentists to report a decline and patient volume during the height of the pandemic. So nearly 40 percent increases in Oral Health Problems including more cavities and subsequent years. This is referred to now as covert cavities. Dentists also reported seeing a sharp rise and chipped and cracked teeth as well as more americans stressed by coven or clenching their jaws and grinding their molars. This can be attributed to children and teens consuming more sugary snacks and not following strict dental hygiene practices. While spending an extended time amount of time at home during warranty, adults also develops snacking habits, having a refrigerator stashed 20 feet away from them at all times. And so for this and more, lets bring in again doctor joseph camille, dentist at arlington dentistry. Now joseph, we often hear about people in the ortho work and people routinely get braces or invisalign in their adult years. How have these new technologies contributed to the cost of dental care . I would still say that over all you can, you can still get a clear outline or is full. Ready or a reasonable affordable cost. Uh maybe a little bit less than what was traditionally uh necessary to get like the conventional braces. But its gonna depend once again depends on the region. Depends on the area. Um, depending on the provider i for example, we do lot of invisalign because we just because we do a lot of ins as a line, we get into a different tier. Uh, meaning my costs from this line would be less than someone that doesnt do a lot of invisalign so i can afford to pass on those savings to my patients. Okay, so, and thats the decision that i make business decision that i make to say, you know what, i want to lower the cost for the patients. And i this way i get more patients interested. And i also believe that when youve got patients wearing invisalign and theyre like, oh and bass. So theres through a practice because their friends and family last summer was doing your invisalign and then it can be more of a marketing tool. Are there technologies that have significantly improved dental treatments and lower the cost such as these online or subscription services, and do they actually work . Im a believer. Okay. That straight thirtys are clean or teeth. So of it, i dont look at straightening the teeth strictly as a cosmetic benefit to the patients. Okay. That a lot of benefits. As a matter of fact, i dont, i dont discuss my patients invisalign or straightening the teeth strictly on the basis of cosmetics unless this is a concern to them. And we can address that. But sometimes that bite the way that to you thought fitting together the direction of the force. It can be detrimental. They can be cracking their teeth that can be tripping that these and simply because the teeth i was wrong place also, we have, we see a lot of patients that are well into the eightys and ninetys. And lot of patients physiologically. You know, as we all get older, lower teeth get more crowded and then when manual dexterity diminishes. Ready people as they get older, some of them are in, in uh, in assisted living. You know, they have other people brushing their teeth. Its always easier to clean straight or teeth than crowded teeth. I do sometimes lot of restorations and fixing cavities on patients with, with cricket, these or crowded teeth. So there is a lot of Health Benefits to having straight or teeth. And so we, we discuss that with patients when there are well and you know it to their, um, you know, before they get you an older and we say, hey, were living long. And if there are some advantages to that. So um, yes. So that technology is, is helping patients have healthier miles. And by the way, that a lot of studies that were done that saw that the type of bacteria around crowded teeth is different than the bacteria around 350. And we all know that thats correlation between the Heart Disease and gum disease. So again, so, um i, i look at things where, you know what, this is definitely a health benefit. The other thing that is important is that when you have threats of teeth and studies have been done, you have that a self confidence, you have better self esteem. So that is the whole emotional psyche is better that its has been linked to having better jobs. Im talking in general, being able to a, if you dont feel better about yourself. So these are also a benefits. So again, its going to, its going to differ where you are in the world, in america, its a lot more. Theres a lot more emphasis on that versus some other parts of the world. Cosmetic dentistry has seen a rise in popularity. What has contributed to this is cultural. Uh, but uh if, if you want to talk about the western world, it has been on the rise. And it went even more on the rise after coping when everybody was on zillow. And i had a lot of patients come in to me and say like a sense show me the screenshots of the, like, look up my teeth. We the, we go in life, people go in life, no one books from the outside and right, unless youre looking in the mirror, right. And then when, when people are on the screen that on, on zoo, uh they notice a lot of a lot of the notice that the penalty, the color then well just the arrangements. So yes it, it became more on the rise. The other thing is our ability to use better communication skills using Digital Media photography. Computers is 3 d scanners, youre able to show patients on the screen and then Patient Acceptance and patients awareness increase. So thats, thats a 2 is 3. So there is a lot of different treatment modalities that one can do that dont have to be very expensive, meaning in the past, if you needed to do cosmetic procedure at that to be either crowns or porcelain veneer. Well right now you can do, you can straighten the teeth and well do little bit the whitening and maybe that does the trick. Or you can do some bonding, which are tooth colored, feeling special to scholar filling material that is highly polish. Revolt and you can place on your front teeth and you dont even have conservative. You dont have to cut on your deep. And then you know thats typically less costly than ceramic then force than it is. So i mean, so thats also contributed to people accepting more and wanting more. So again, its gonna vary on the where you are, what country your n. But um, since i live in the u. S, this has been the experience over here. Are there a specific cosmetic treatments that have become more affordable or expensive over time, cosmetic procedure that became affordable . Well, one whitening the simplest one. So people that just want to white then and well be happy with the appearance of that deep. Its used to be going through the dentist now you can get them over the counter. You have the, the crest whitening strips and other brands that are available over the counter. Or even at the Dentist Office it became affordable to do the whitening. Thats one to you have the tooth colored composite