Dental tourism is a subset of the sector known as medical tourism. It involves individuals seeking dental care outside of their local healthcare …
India is a relatively new player in the field of health tourism
, or medical tourism, but already health tourism in India is becoming one of the fastest growing financial sectors. Medical tourism is expected to have an annual growth rate of 30% in India, and experts estimate that India’s medical tourism industry will bring in over $2 billion in annual revenue to the country’s economy by 2012.
So what is it exactly that has caused this rapid growth of medical tourism in India? Part of it is the fact that medical tourism has experienced growth in general all over the world. The increased availability of top-quality medical equipment, training, and technologies have allowed developing countries to build hospitals and health care systems
that match and sometimes surpass the medical facilities that can be found in western developed countries like the U.S. or Britain, all at a much lower cost to patients in need of a major medical procedure.
India has also made a conscious effort to comply strictly with international medical quality standards. Also, the fact that English is spoken widely throughout India is another thing that draws a lot of U.S. and English-speaking medical tourists in general. The government of India has also taken avid interest in the growth of the country’s medical tourism industry by repairing infrastructure issues that may hinder the industry’s growth.
Dental tourism, meaning medical travel for the purposes of having a dental procedure done, is one of the most popular reasons why medical tourists go to India for their healthcare needs. The economics of India’s dental tourism sector can give you a taste for just how much westerners can save by having a medical procedure done abroad rather than at home.
A dental filling in the U.S. or Europe can cost anywhere from $300 to $400. In India it costs $20 to $40. That’s about a tenth of the price. No wonder medical tourism is a growing industry. A root canal that costs $3000 in the West costs anywhere from $100 to $200 in India. Dentures may cost $200 in India, whereas in the West they can cost $1000 or more.
India is also a popular medical tourist destination because of its rich cultural history and popular (regular) tourist attractions. A lot of dental practices in India that cater to western dental tourists set up package deals with actual tourism companies so that patients get to enjoy some of the sights and relax in India’s popular attraction sites while they’re there.
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