tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604393198775435120.post6825617992655668525..comments2023-04-02T10:35:49.441-07:00Comments on SmilingAtLast: Q and A: Dental Tourism AgenciesCometGlarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09973149007406755630noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604393198775435120.post-48334365831332499142016-02-21T17:38:14.804-08:002016-02-21T17:38:14.804-08:00Hi Dave,
I am currently a dental hygienist with t...Hi Dave,<br /><br />I am currently a dental hygienist with the goal of launching a dental tourism agency, and I just wanted to express appreciation for your perspective on using an agency to find a foreign dentist. In my research, I've found that most existing agencies say they don't charge the patient, but my logic is the same as yours: they must be getting paid somehow, so if it's the dental office paying them, it must affect where they send their clients (which in turn makes me question their integrity and/or the quality of care the patient will receive). <br /><br />But as an experienced hygienist, I also have a concern about patients choosing a dentist based solely on other patient reviews because, unfortunately, patients cannot always judge the quality of dental work being performed. This goes for both U.S. dentists and foreign dentists (as you've mentioned on this blog, there are good and bad dentists everywhere). Of course a patient can look around the dental office and see if it's clean or not, and a patient knows whether or not the dentist made them feel comfortable, but there are many other factors that determine the quality of the dental work itself. I've seen excellent dental work and terrible dental work by both U.S. dentists and foreign dentists alike. These dentists can be very friendly, with high-end equipment and a clean facility, and the dental work may even LOOK beautiful, but upon intraoral or radiographic examination, it is clear to a well-trained dental eye that the work itself is very poor. That's why it was great of you to post your x-rays on here. Radiographically, I can see that your crown margins are clean, with no overhangs or open margins--you did your research and it certainly seems to have paid off. <br /><br />But for people who don't have the patience to do the research you did, I want to be able to provide a service to make it easy for them to seek high quality dental care outside of U.S. borders. I intend to visit and screen dental offices in several (about 6-10) different countries to find one or two in each country that I can be confident will provide the highest quality dental care for my clients. I can then refer my clients to a dentist based on the type of vacation they wish to have and/or their time constraints. <br /><br />I'm at the stage in my business planning where I have to decide how I will make an income, and if I "follow the pack" to be competitive, I would have to work on commission, which I worry would create the exact doubt in my potential clients' minds as you expressed here. I want them to be able to trust me and my referrals and know that I am not basing my recommendations on how much that dentist will pay me for their business. I intend to essentially be a travel agency, specializing in dental tourism, so I would set up all travel arrangements and appointments for my clients, making it as stress-free for them as possible. So in my mind, I feel charging the client for my services would not be unreasonable, but I also don't want to scare off potential clients because of that fee. <br /><br />My question to you now is this: if you found a dental tourism agency that had done all the research you spent hours and hours doing, who could assure you that the treatment you will get at a foreign dental office would be top quality, would you be willing to pay the agency? <br /><br />I'm very happy to hear that you had such a pleasant experience with dental tourism, and I would really appreciate it if you would spend a few minutes talking to me about it, so if you're open to speaking with me, please email me at MLD94@aol.com. Once you get in touch with me via email, it would be great if we can exchange phone numbers so we can talk over the phone.<br /><br />Looking forward to hearing from you,<br />Melissa Fultz, RDH<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01043290420364810474noreply@blogger.com