going to a dentist

bongdongs

I would second Frooty's suggestions, quality of work varies a lot in India.

The problem is that as a tourist you are not "plugged-in" to local society. I would suggest talking to some local people and getting recommendations rather than walking into the first dentist's office you see.

The doctors and hospitals frequented by "medical tourists" in India are top of the line and do not reflect the general quality of medical treatment in Inda.

Nick-H

My Chennai dentist is great. I'm about to have a huge amount of work done which involves crowning most of my teeth to correct my bite (this is treatment I've had recommended by a UK consultant). It is going to cost well under GBP1000; it would be tens of thousands in UK.

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taniwha

Hey Nick,

could you please PM me the details of your dentist.

In Mamallapuram at the moment with some sore teeth - horified at the poo on the beach down here and the drain going straight into the sea.

Can you reccomend a safe place to swim near here as well?

Nick-H

Sent you a Pm.

If it's beaches you want, I guess you should have stayed in the West Country! Or even NZ

But I'm not a swimmer, so I can't advise.

Frooty

All this talk about going to dentists in India has got me thinking... seeing that it is my profession and all that I think I should go and look at a few dental practices while I am in India and see how they compare up to UK standards.

Hmmm some people review hotels I'm going to do dentists.... LOL!

Seriously does anybody think this is a worthwhile mini project to do while I am there?

crvlvr

there are good one and quacks everywhere. America is supposed to the have the best health care..

One of my aunts had a dislocated shoulder which they failed to diagnose correctly when she went into ER and now the bone is fused. another went in for the flu. her chart was swapped, "inadvertantly" with another patient's and they treated her for a kidney disease. needless to say she spent a week in the ICU..

Everytime I go into my dentist here, he is trying to sell me the sun, moon and the starts -- just because my insurance will cover it..

I think referrals are the best way to assess a doctor's competency. Ask around and you might minimize your chances of getting a quack.

Ikuru

does anyone know what the price/skill/cleanliness difference is between Indian and Thai dentiests?
I heard Thailand was good for this kind of thing. teeth that is.

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Digital Drifter

Sure, you can check them out but you'll have to factor in a couple of
things.

Location: If it's an area where the majority of the people are
working class people and who aren't willing to pay more than Rs 50 to
remove a tooth, then you should have a rough idea how the dentist &
his equipment will look like. Typically poor, 2nd hand chair, even a
1930s-60s chair, poor hygiene. Go to a good neighbourhood, things
improve to a point where you'll find an autoclave and a 5 year old
chair.

Education: B.D.S is the minimum skills required & you'll find a large
number of quacks too claiming the same (Putting M.D runs the risk of
some OTHER doctor asking to check your State license). Most people
stick to B.D.S and do not qualify further because it's even more
expensive and there are fewer college seats available. Most people
are typical middle class doctors who've pretty much spent out in
getting their degree.

Age: Older doctors are pretty old fashioned and brusque but have a
shrewd process in sizing up a person immediately upon seeing them.
Cantankerous but are generally good in their assessment. Younger
dentists tend to disparage them but are cavalier in treating YOUR
tooth. But they do know their stuff.

And there are others but these tend to be the biggest. What the
dentists lack in money to spruce up their office, chair & equipment,
they make up for it with their skill.

traceyam

Frooty: YES. That would be some very useful information. Go for it!

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Hyderabadi

Couple of links:

"Medical tourism: Need surgery, will travel" (CBC News)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/he...altourism.html

Medical Tourism to India could be worth Rs 100 bn by 2012: Study (Indian Express):
http://www.indiaexpress.com/news/travel/20050201-0.html

I do know that 'corporate' hospitals in India like Apollo Hospitals, Escorts, etc., are concentrating quite a bit on this segment of business. The Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad ( see: http://www.apollohospitals.com/medicalservices/ips.asp ) caters to quite a few patients from the middle east and the US. The main excuse for my last visit to India was to get my impacted wisdom tooth removed. Here in the States it probably would have costed me around the same or more as my round trip ticket to HYD. Full disclosure: My first cousin is the Dentist (Maxillofacial Surgeon) at Apollo HYD. So it all worked out even better for me!

Frooty

Ok... I think I will do it... how practical it is depends on how the relevant practice reacts towards it.

Thanks for the suggestions Digital drifter... I found your post interesting... Heres my thoughts on the various points you raise.

1) Location/type of chair etc.

Location... The idea is too merely give some sort of suggetions for travellers to be able to visit in case of an emergency and know its reasonably safe. I will not be doing an extensive review of the state of general dental practice... neither will I be listing dental practices who I feel fall below standards (legally potentially dodgy)... I will check out a few places if one or two are up to UK minimum standards then I will (with permission) post their details.

Type of chair: My first chair when I worked in general dental practice in the UK was a circa 1970 Kavo dental chair... looked awful... never broke down... But the practice had invested in other high quality equipment and was well above minimum standards... appearances can be deceptive and I will look in depth at more impt thinks like cross infection control (hygiene)

Autoclave... IF it doesn't have an autoclave it fails... point blank... and that means a proper steam/vacuum pressure autoclave not a boiling water type.

2) Education:
A batchelor degree in dentistry is a minimum be it a BDS, BChD, DMD etc... different colleges give different basic qual. BDS is the most common but its quite rare in N. America as they use DMD or such like commonly.

Additional qualifications are a minefield in dentistry and by far and large the basic degree is all you need to practice general dentistry... If they claim to specialise in something I will try to check it out... but for this purpose it si irrelevant.

Age... I don't fully agree with your analysis... I have seen both end of the spectrum in young and old dentists... I will not be passing judgement on any particular dentists personality or the like... Its impossible for me to tell how good they are without seeing a substantial number of their patients...

Fully agree with your last comment... So I am not going to look for flashy practices with intra oral cameras, superb chairs, etc etc. I can merely check that a practice makes an effort to treat its patients well.

The aim of any reviews I do will merely be to SUGGEST a reasonable practice in some localities... They will NOT be a guide to where you can get extensive dental work done safely and obviously ou use any recommendations I make at your own risk...

traceyam

It's DDS in the U.S.: "Doctor of Dental Science" or "Doctor of Dental Surgery." (I need a lot of dental work done, can you tell?)

Frooty

DDS... quite right... think I shud go to sleep... tired