Ed Finn faced the prospect of paying up to $35,000 and re-mortgaging his home to get costly dental work done.
Instead, he looked to his options abroad and managed to save more than €17,000 by having his teeth repaired at a dental practice in Budapest, Hungary.
Due to problems with cracked veneers after doing dental work in South Africa a few years earlier, Mr Finn desperately wanted to fix his teeth but was awarded prizes ranging from €28,000 to €35,000 by Irish clinics.
It would mean that he would have to foreclose his house in order to pay the costs.
Then a colleague of Mr. Finn returned from Budapest, where he had done “quality” dental work, and the travel journalist decided that his only option was to go abroad for dental treatment.
“I got a lot of awards because I would try and get a full set of crowns made if I could. So for the job I was looking for – I think it was 23 crowns – I got quotes from €28k to €35k in Ireland,” he said.
“It was just crazy, totally priceless.
“I’ve received awards in Dublin and Belfast. In Belfast they were slightly less, about €5,000 less.
“I was chatting with someone at work who had his teeth done in Budapest. He had them done three years ago and never had any problems so I went there and had my consultation.
“It wasn’t just the cost that appealed to me, but the person who recommended the clinic compared it to the Star Wars of clinics.
“He said that in Budapest they were on a different level in terms of dentistry.”
Mr Finn was initially concerned about traveling abroad to get dental work but after speaking with the clinic’s Irish representative he felt more at ease.
“I got a quote and I decided this was very affordable, they were extremely professional and I had word of mouth about the quality so I continued with my treatment in Budapest,” he said.
“After my consultation, they found out that I also had other problems. I had had a root canal treatment in Ireland which cost me quite a bit of money, but it was not done right, so in Budapest they fixed everything for me.”
In total, Mr Finn paid €10,500 for his dental treatment, saving €17,500, having been awarded €28,000 to €35,000 in Ireland for the same procedure.
Seven years after he had the crowns done, Mr Finn said he has never had any problems with the dental work and has since even traveled to Budapest to have more dental treatments.
“Just before Covid, one of my teeth cracked that I hadn’t crowned during my procedure,” he said. “I got a price in Ireland to fix it, which was €2,500, so I went back to Budapest and had it done for €1,200.”
Mr Finn believes having an aftercare dentist based here in Ireland can put patients traveling abroad at ease.
“They have dentists here in Ireland too, and for me it was very important that if something went wrong I had a backup here and I didn’t have to fly to Budapest every time something happened, something I worried me at first. about,” he said.
Mr. Finn’s top tips when traveling abroad is to research the clinic, check reviews, and make sure they provide maintenance after your procedure.
“My advice would be to definitely do your research. And what was impressive to me was that the backup service was really good because when I got to the airport there was someone waiting for me, they arranged the hotel, it was just hands-on,” he said.
“I’d just say make sure you do your research and check reviews. I was lucky, I had word of mouth, which was really important to me. And give yourself time.
“I would have my teeth brushed every five to six months.
“Maintenance is very important, so once you do that and take care of them, you’ll have them for life.”