More S’poreans Go Overseas For Dental Treatments Due To High Cost

The high cost of living in Singapore is no surprise to all of us. From food expenses to utility bills; our monthly expenses just keep increasing and our salary remains stagnant.

So what do you do to combat it? You do what you would do as a typical Singaporean – you look for cheaper alternatives.

Cheaper food choices, cheaper clothes, and cheaper household products from Taobao.

And recently, even cheaper dental procedures too.

Lower Cost of Dental Treatments Overseas

Did you know that it would cost roughly $40,000 for a mini dental implant for upper teeth alone in Singapore? Expensive right?

Here’s a cheaper alternative for you:

Make an appointment with a dentist in Bangkok, Thailand instead. They will pick you up from the airport and drive you directly to their clinic. Subsequently, the dentist will take an X-ray of you and sit you down to explain in detail your teeth situation and what needs to be done.

Guess what’s the best part besides all the professionalism? You’ll only need to pay for just $25,000 for both your upper and lower dental implants.

This is just a fraction of what would have cost you in Singapore if you were to proceed with the same procedure.

Does this put into perspective for you how expensive our dental treatments are? Because it sure does for me.

Surveys & Statistics

It is no wonder why there is a rise in the number of people going overseas for dental procedures. I mean, who wouldn’t when you can save this much?

You can even have a vacation there, too.

According to a survey commissioned by the Singapore Dental Association (SDA) in August, almost 90% of 1,400 respondents said that they were concerned with the rising cost of dental care.

In addition, 30% of the respondents also said that they would consider going elsewhere in the region for cheaper dental treatment, such as Johor Bahru, or Bangkok.

In fact, there are some dentists in Johor Bahru witnessing more patients from Singapore. One example would be Dr CH Tee, who runs a dental clinic in the Taman Sentosa neighbourhood of Johor Bahru.

He estimated that around 30% of his patients are from across the Causeway, which is usually recommended through word-of-mouth among his clientele.

I guess that explains why there are more Singaporean dental patients overseas.

In Response to the High Cost of Dental Treatment In Singapore

It is no doubt that dental treatment fees in Singapore are rising. There is a call for concern, given that there is a whopping number of people worried about it.

SDA standing committee chairman Dr Tang Kok Weng said that to address these concerns, the association hopes to “engage all (their) key stakeholders” to address all the feedback and seek for solutions.

In conclusion, they will be stepping up to find a solution to make it more affordable for all of us. Till then, the number of Singaporeans heading overseas for dental treatments will probably still be rising.

Either that, or there would be more Singaporeans with bad breaths.