Fixed Dentures Abroad

India, Mexico, Costa Rica, Thailand, Vietnam, Colombia

Fixed Dentures Abroad are low cost mouth restoration options in your neighboring countries. The prosthetics are permanently fixed in your mouth which functions just like real teeth.

Low Cost Fixed Dentures Abroad

Overall, a good quality arch of dentures could easily cost up to $8000 in the US. However, permanent dentures cost can save your overall expenditure up to 60% to 70% abroad.

A cost comparison of dental bridge and an implant-based denture is given here. 

Comparison for Dental Bridge Cost Abroad

The cost of fixed dentures depends upon several parameters. This includes material, lab cost, and additional procedures.

For fixed denture abroad, the cost is influenced by the country, your case specifics and travel expenses as well.

What are Fixed Dentures?

A denture is a set of artificial teeth and gums to replace the lost teeth in your mouth. Fixed dentures are permanently attached in the mouth either through a bridge or implants.

On the basis of the area covered by fixed dentures, these are divided into two parts:

Fixed Partial Dentures: Partial fixed dentures or dental bridge can be used in patients who still have few teeth left in their mouth. A partial fixed denture is better known as Dental Bridge.

Fixed Complete Dentures: This denture is used in the edentulous patients where it is supported by dental implants. All-on-4/6 and 8 implants based dentures are complete fixed dentures.

Fixed Partial Dentures or Dental Bridges

Fixed partial dentures fill the gaps or spaces caused due to the loss of one or more teeth. Hence, these are often referred to as “dental bridges” as they perform a bridging function.

A traditional dental bridge comprises of:

• Two dental crowns, for teeth on either side of the gap.
• False teeth (or tooth known as pontic) that lies in between.

It can be supported by natural teeth, dental implants or a combination of both. Moreover, it is firmly cemented with the supporting structures and thus unremovable. Materials like porcelain, porcelain mixed with metal, or gold can be used.

Types of Fixed Dental Bridge

Apart from a traditional dental bridge, there are two more types of bridges. They are:

• Cantilever Bridge

When the supporting teeth are present only on one side of the gap, then a cantilever bridge is a suitable option.

Here, one or more crowns are used which provides support to the pontic (artificial tooth).

• Maryland Bonded Bridge

Also known as resin-bonded bridge, this is another modification to the commonly used bridge.

It consists of one false tooth which is bonded to a set of ‘wings’ on either side. These wings are usually made of metal, although porcelain can be used and are placed on the backside of the tooth.

Procedure for Fixing Dental Bridge

• Preliminary Assessment: The dentist assesses your oral condition and the location of anchoring tooth.
• Filing Adjacent Tooth: The procedure begins with filing of the adjacent teeth. It is called “reduction”.
• Impression: Once the filing is completed, your dental impression is sent to the lab.
• Material: Metal like gold or porcelain fused with metal (PFM) are usually used for bridges.

Benefits of Dental Bridges

A dental bridges present several advantages which include,

• It resembles natural teeth and performs real-like functions with equal effectiveness.
• Helps in proper grinding and chewing of food.
• Have greater strength and are more robust compared to the removable dentures.
• Highly stable.
• Restore natural tone and speech.
• Cheaper as compared to dental implants.

Risks Associated with Dental Bridge

There are certain risks that are associated with the use of dental bridge. These include:

• Increased risk of developing dental problems like cavities and requires a high level of oral hygiene.
• Weakening of adjacent teeth which are filed to adjust the dental crown. This may also increase stress on them which can lead to cracking.
• Several dentist visits are needed, initially for filing of the anchoring tooth and subsequently for placing the dental bridge.
• Rigid oral care is required, which includes regular brushing; flossing and regular visits to the dentist to control the build-up of plaque.

A fixed denture may last for up to 8-10 years. However, if adequate care is not taken, bacterial infection would affect the longevity of the prosthetic.

Implant-based Fixed Dentures Abroad

Fixed Complete Dentures are also known as Implant-supported dentures. These are fully functional teeth mounted on implants that provide better stability.

Implant-based dentures can be supported on four and or six/eight implants. On the basis of the number of implants, they are mainly classified into the following types:

All-on-4 based Dentures

The all-on-4 fixed dentures are mounted on 4 implants, hence the name. This concept was first used successfully in 1998 by Dr. Paulo Malo.^[1] Nobel Biocare.
All-on-4® treatment concept.
“In 1998 Dr. Paulo Malo successfully …”
View in Article

All-on-6/8 Implant Based Denture

All-on-six/eight dentures are mounted on six or eight implants. This arrangement provides better support to your bite. These are comfortable and last longer as the pressure is evenly dispersed throughout the jaw.

Procedure of All-on-4 implant-based dentures

To move ahead with implant-based denture, the patient must be completely edentulous. If there are still some teeth left,  then the dentist first extract them.

• After healing, 2 tilted implants are fixed in the posterior (back jaw) region and 2 in the anterior (front jaw) implants.

Advantages of Fixed Dentures Abroad:

• There is no need to remove the denture
• High success rate
• The implant-based dentures provide optimal chewing forces
• Patient needs only 2-3 visit to the clinic which is too less as compared to removable dentures

Disadvantages of Fixed Dentures:

• Implant based dentures are expensive than the removable bridges
• It may have abrasive effects on the neighboring teeth

Implant-based Vs Snap-on Vs Removable Denture

Features	Implant-based	Snap-on	Fully Removable
Image
Cost	Expensive	Less Expensive	Least Expensive
Strength	Best	Moderate	Low
Retention	Excellent	Moderate	Low
Comfort	Excellent	Excellent	Uncomfortable
Detach	Only by the Dentist	Self: Anytime	Self: Anytime
Procedure	Invasive surgery	Less-invasive surgery	No surgery
Procedure time	1 day to 8 months (varies with bone)	Possible within a week.	6-7 sittings in 20 day’s time.
Resorbed ridge	Adviced	Adviced	Not Adviced
Examples	All on 4 ( one day) All on 6 All on 8	2- Implant 3- Implant 4- Implant	Immediate/ healing Acrylic teeth Porcelain Teeth

Destinations

Medical Toursim Corporation offers fixed dentures in locations like India, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Thailand, El Salvador & Vietnam.

Fixed Dentures in India

India is the home to a few of the best and most highly qualified dentists in the world. The hospitals here are accredited by NABH ^[2]National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers
NABH Accredited Hospitals
“H-2013-0181:Max Superspecility Hospital, Mohali, Punjab, India…”
View in Article.

With rapidly evolving technology and state of art medical equipment, fixed dentures cost in India would be about one-fourth of that in the United States. Meanwhile, it also provides the same medical care quality and clinical outcome.

Fixed Dentures in Mexico:

Mexico’s proximity to the United States, cultural similarities and low cost of dental care^[3]HuffPost
Welcome to Molar City, Mexico, The Dental Mecca America’s Health Care Costs Built
““Primarily, the reason medical care is cheaper in these countries is the cost of running the business or a hospital or a clinic or even a doctor’s office is quite low compared to what it would be in the U.S,” Datta said. That includes the cost of labor and medical malpractice premiums, he said. In addition, medical and dental students in Mexico don’t graduate with student loan debt like Americans do and therefore don’t pass those costs on to patients, he said. …”
View in Article, has resulted in an increasing number of American patients visiting the country for dental procedures.

With advanced technological solutions, most of the dental procedures are completed in a single visit to the country. The Fixed denture cost in Mexico is less than half of that in the United States.

Fixed Dentures in Costa Rica:

Costa Rica has emerged as one of the high quality, low cost^[4]USITC Executive Briefing on Trade
TRENDS IN U.S. HEALTH TRAVEL SERVICES TRADE
““Data from a U.S. government survey suggest that 150,000 to 320,000 U.S. travelers list healthcare as a reason for traveling abroad each year, or between 0.2% and 0.6% of all outbound U.S. air travelers. South America represents the largest destination market for such travelers (26% of the total), followed by Central America (18%) …”
View in Article medical tourism destinations for most American patients, especially for dental care.

Costa Rica is a great leisure travel destination, which gives an additional option of vacationing and relaxing as one gets the dental treatment done.

Fixed Dentures in Thailand:

Thailand brings a great deal for medical tourists, especially Australians, Canadians and Americans. Trained and qualified dental teams including low care cost, are a few advantages that make Thailand dental tourism a great option. Things like, advanced technology & high quality of patient management protocols also add to the list.

Fixed Dentures in Vietnam

Vietnamese cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have had huge strides when it comes to dental tourism. With tstate-of-the-art facilities, each patient is treated with extreme precision.

Fixed Dentures in Colombia

Colombia is yet another emerging medical tourism destination. Places like Medellin, Cartagena and Bogota are popular areas for dental tourism here.

References:

1. Nobel Biocare: All-on-4® treatment concept
2. National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers: NABH Accredited Hospitals
3. HuffPost: Welcome to Molar City, Mexico, The Dental Mecca America’s Health Care Costs Built
4. USITC Executive Briefing on Trade August 2015 : Trends in U.S. Health Travel Services Trade

Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates affordable fixed dentures at many international locations. Fill out the free estimate request form for a free quote & more information.