Today I am going to write a little bit about another off-topic subject, Spain as a dental tourism destination.
Spain is one of the main tourism destinations of the world, but its potential as a medical tourism destination is still quite under exploited.
The popularity of Spain as a medical tourism destination is growing every year. On one hand it has excellent international travel links and tourism infrastructure (it is the third most popular tourist destination in the World), and on the other it has one of the best health systems of the world according to a recent World Health Organization report and a lot of high quality clinics offering a wide variety of cutting edge private medical procedures.
As a member state, Spain follows European Union regulations and educational standards and Spanish Universities have a long tradition in dentistry degrees. For example a dentist qualified in Spain can apply to practice in the United Kindom and be registered with UK’s General Dental Council without any further exam.
The Spanish dentists are overseen by the Spanish Dental Association ñ the Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de odontólogos y estomatólogos de España. A register of all qualified Spanish dentists is held by the Consejo General in Madrid.
Spanish dental training takes five years at university dental schools, leading to the qualification Licenciado en Odontología. There is no requirement for post qualification training or mentorship in Spain. Continuing education is organised by the Consejo General and local Dentist’s Boards (Colegios de Odontólogos y Estomatólogos). This guarantees that the dentistry professionals in Spain are among the best of Europe.
The prices of dentistry in Spain are low in comparation with prices in other european countries, the hotel infrastructure is huge and there are many flight connections with most of the airports around Europe, so the combination is perfect.
One example that shows that dental tourism is beginning to flourish in Spain is Asensio advanced dentistry, specialized in dental implants abroad.