Brits pay way too much for dental implants

British dental patients are paying way over the odds for dental implants. The problem is so severe and so widespread that many patients resort to travelling to our dental clinic abroad to find dental treatments they can afford. Why is it like this?

Dental implant costs to patients in the UK have traditionally been more expensive than in any other country in the world. In many cases the cost for comparative dental implant treatment in the UK is three times as much as in other countries like Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech republic. For this reason over 1000 UK patients a year travel to our dental clinic abroad to have their dental implants and save their money. And what’s more, compared with a typical UK dentist, we treat over 10 times as many dental implant patients per year.

The reason is simple: dental market forces have meant that the dental implant manufacturers have been able to get away with it. The vanity and relatively high standard of living of the British public, plus the associated higher laboratory costs, have kept prices high. But, now through websites like Dental Holiday, the British public is now sufficiently well-informed to know there is an alternative. As Britain emerges from the recent financial crisis, the problem for Britain’s dentists is likely to get worse unless NHS dentists takes positive action.

The UK price to a patient for a dental implant, abutment and crown varies from around £1,800 to £3,000 per tooth in the UK. With Dental Holiday the same dental implant treatment is available for just under £900.