The title doesn’t sound like much fun other than the clever phrasing. But, saving a couple thousand dollars and getting to enjoy a trip abroad opened my mind and mouth to the idea of medical tourism in Poland.

My story of using dentistry in Poland started with making friends with a dentist’s’ daughter while street performing in Krakow. I was in my early 20’s and never had my wisdom teeth removed. My dentist back in the states took an x-ray and recommended I have them removed. Because I did not have insurance that covered dental services in the USA surgery to remove 4 teeth cost $2500. I mentioned this to my friend Ewa who told me her mother knew a surgeon who would likely be happy to take a look at my x-ray’s and give me an estimated cost.

$60 per tooth!

Off to Poland!

I booked a 2.5-week flight from Chicago to Krakow for around $500 dollars arrived in the morning took a bus to the clinic the same day and had my teeth pulled. I had two days where I didn’t feel like doing much, but after half a week I was already taking self-prescribed medicinal shots of pure polish vodka which served as a pain reliever and bacteria killer. 🙂

Just an interesting angle to look at when considering your next operation dental or medical. For example, Poland has E.U. standards without E.U. prices. An English publisher “The Guardian” wrote an interesting article online a few years back about UK citizens traveling to Poland for medical tourism with some helpful info on how to arrange a trip like this for yourself. Click HERE for a link to the article.

I had a total cost of around $740 dollars for flights and tooth work. I was able to spend another $750 on enjoying Poland. Having surgery in the USA would’ve cost $1000 dollars more! This left me with a clean financial conscience, extra dollars in my pocket and a few less teeth. Getting teeth pulled is never fun. But it can be if you get to travel to another country and save money while doing it!

Author

Charles Driscoll is a writer/blogger, musician, entrepreneur and an explorer of humanity. Learning to take the time to enjoy life, love, share and encourage others. You can follow his blog at www.theunsettledsettler.com. You can also find his musical musings at www.rivertidemusic.com

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