There is a reason one would wish to know where in the world dental treatments are cheap. Considering how often people need to have their dental health checked, it is only reasonable that one would wish to know where costs are pocket-friendly.
After all, the dental cost is not a seasonal item but a life-long encounter. It is a cost that does not also depend on age, as ideally every member of the family needs to be checked every six months.
Turkey’s Low Cost of Living
Turkey is one of the few European countries where the cost of living is low. In fact, it is far lower than in the UK. Statistics show that compared to the UK, Turkey’s cost of living is over 60% lower.
The cost of living being low means dental services, like all other services, are cheaper compared to many other countries. What is even more impressive is that Turkey is a middle-income country, yet it beats many developed countries in this aspect, including the US.
However, this should not be misconstrued to mean that something extraordinarily impressive has happened in Turkey as far as the economy is concerned. Although Turkey is a free-market economy, there is a lot of currency manipulation by the Central Bank.
In fact, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has had to sack three Central Bank governors in order to have his way, particularly with regard to the haphazard reduction of interest rates. Just this year, Central Bank has reduced interest rates three times in intervals of months. This, according to Erdogan, is bound to improve the economy.
Despite the hue and cry from some of the big economies of the world, Erdogan’s move seems to be bearing fruit. The economy, whose 2019 GDP dropped from the previous year’s 2.8% to 0.9% picked in 2020 to reach 1.8%; and in the current year, the GDP growth is projected to be 9.2%!
Effect of Turkey’s Weak Currency
While it is true continued reduction of interest rates can lead to the cheaper cost of borrowing within the country and hence a boost in the economy, it can also have the effect of discouraging foreign investment. Reason…?
When, as a foreigner, you repatriate profits to your home country, you are bound to spend more of your earnings in Turkey to get a unit of your home currency.
But for the locals, reduced interest rates leave them with more money in their pockets. In a way, it is a double win for them. They have more money to spend, yet the cost of the services they want to pay for is low.
That is why the investors already in the country might be just as pleased as the ordinary Turkish citizen when interest rates are forced down. With people’s purchasing power on the rise, their appetite to spend is bound to increase as well. For fields like dentistry, they are likely to see more people checking into clinics to have their oral health monitored; a basic service people usually shove into the periphery when they are broke.
Low Cost of Doing Business
When interest rates are low and private investors can access funds cheaply, their capacity to expand their businesses also increases. Those offering dental treatments, for example, are able not only to equip their clinics better but also to diversify their services.
For instance, a dental clinic that previously offered services related to dental implants, bridges, and veneers may now be able to engage the services of dental surgeons.
It is important to take into account the fact that labour in Turkey is cheap compared to many other European countries, and that must serve as an incentive for foreign investors despite the weakening Lira. Moreover, labour is a major factor of production, and when a business spends little on it the overall cost of operation drops.
Taking these economic principles into account, it is easy to understand why dental treatments in Turkey have remained cheap despite their high quality.
Cost of Training & Quality of Service
It is indisputable that the quality of dental service in Turkey is high, and there is no scarcity of training opportunities. Moreover, the cost of training medical personnel is far cheaper in the country than in many other countries, including the US.
Whereas a medical student in Turkey parts with $15,000 – $25,000 before he can graduate, the same course costs $35,000 – $58,000 in the US.
This means in Turkey the medical environment is good for both the patients and the practitioners, and there is no reason one should not feel confident to seek medical treatment there. In fact, people planning to go on holiday in Turkey can make dental treatment, or any other medical treatment for that matter, part of the things to do while in the country.
Turkey’s Medical Tourism
According to the MTA or Medical Tourism Association, Turkey is one of the best global destinations for medical tourism. In fact, within the year 2020/21, among the 46 countries MTA has recognized, Turkey ranks an impressive 23!
Medical tourism should be understood as that process involving travel beyond a country’s borders, for the sake of enjoying the better medical treatment. It is important to note that in the current era, this is no longer a phenomenon of developing countries whose healthcare systems are wanting.
Residents of developed countries have also been seeking quality treatment outside their home countries, their consideration often being access to quality healthcare at a reasonable cost. Smile Dental has huge expectations for 2022, they claim that Turkey will be the number 1 country in Dentistry. Especially veneers in Turkey have a huge interest.
There are different factors why you should consider Turkey as your preferred destination for purposes of medical care. For one, its geographical location is convenient whether you want to travel by air, road or sea.
Turkey is at the border of four great seas and eight well-known countries. In fact, the country is considered to be Eurasian, because some of its neighbors are in Europe while others are in Asia. As such, whichever country you wish to go on holiday, you will benefit a lot if you include Turkey in your itinerary.
Another benefit you are bound to enjoy if you choose Turkey for medical tourism is the country’s diverse cultures and freedom of association and expression. Despite bordering countries like Iran and Iraq, Turkey allows liberalism in people’s dress code, and equally appreciates conservatism.
In short, it is worthwhile paying a visit to Turkey today, a country that is now one of the global G-20 members, and also a member of NATO.
At Ashton Avenue Dental Practice, we have a team of trusted and gentle dentist in Perth to provide you all types of dental treatments such as cosmetic dentistry, sleep dentistry, general dentistry, emergency dentistry and many other.
