Dental Press | Julie Toulson

2008Nov09

Julie Toulson – Mail On Sunday

Tags:National Press, Daily Mail, The Times

The Sunday Times Logo (image copyright The Mail On Sunday) $The family who saved £27,000 as dental tourists in Hungary By Rachael Lloyd. When Julie Toulson decided to join her parents on a short break to Hungary, it was not just for a spot of sightseeing. For the family of three were dental tourists — visiting Budapest to fix their less than perfect smiles. Julie, 34, an IT specialist from Gravesend, Kent, was keen to get her teeth worked on in time for her wedding. She says the family saved more than £27,000 in treatments. Her mother, Jeanette Davis, 61, initially suggested the family went to Budapest for dental care with a company called Smile Savers after a friend told her about the huge savings they might make. It certainly made sense to Julie and her father, Roy, 65, who were both battling long-term dental problems. ‘The three of us were seen at the Smile Savers clinic in London and advised exactly what we’d need to have done and how much money we’d save,’ says Julie, who married Ryan, 32, a businessman, in August. ‘We simply couldn’t afford to pay the extortionate prices of dental care in the UK.’ Julie was pleasantly surprised by her Hungarian experience. ‘We flew out on a Wednesday morning last May and had treatment straight away,’ she says. Her dentist spoke English fluently and gave her a lengthy pre-treatment consultation. ‘We then went to the surgery for two days of further treatment. We were supplied with painkillers and my father was given antibiotics to clear a cyst in his gum, which had been missed at home.’ Julie had been battling problems since the age of 12 when her jaw was shattered by a kick from a bolting pony. ‘My jaw was fractured and I thought I’d lost my two front teeth,’ she says. ‘The X-rays showed the teeth had actually been forced up into my top gum and their roots destroyed. ‘I had to wait six months for them to heal before having four front teeth filed down so that veneers could be fitted along with a brace. Then, earlier this year, I found an infection had weakened my veneers and it was only a matter of time before they came off.’ Julie made three trips to Hungary over the course of three months. She had her four front veneers removed and an extraction. A ‘Procera’ bridge, hand-crafted from porcelain, was attached to what remained of her teeth. ‘We flew home but I developed toothache from a long-standing infection in my front tooth. I called the clinic In Hungary and they sent me antibiotics and more painkillers by an international courier the next day.’ Her mother, who had been wearing ill-fitting dentures to cover significant gaps on her top jaw, had two extractions. In place of her dentures, she was given six dental implants. Roy, who had also been wearing dentures because of gaps in his bottom row of teeth, had four tooth extractions (due to infection) which were replaced by upper and lower bridges. Aftercare is free for three to five years but the best thing by far for Julie was being able to smile confidently on her wedding day a month after completing her treatment. ‘It was very emotional walking down the aisle. For years I’d been plagued by insecurity about my front teeth and now, finally, I was free of that stress.’ OUR SMILE SAVINGS Julie’s treatment cost £2,370 with Smile Savers and UK estimates showed she would have been charged almost £6,000 for identical work. SAVING: £3,630 Roy’s treatment cost £4,350 in Hungary and he would have been charged up to £13,000 in the UK. SAVING: £8,650 Jeanette’s treatment cost £7,810 and she would have paid up to £23,000 in the UK. SAVING: £15,190 TOTAL SAVING: £27,470 WHY IS DENTAL CARE CHEAPER IN HUNGARY? Wages for receptionists, dental nurses and technicians are less. Dental material and equipment costs are identical to those in the UK yet many clinics here pass on the costs to consumers.$ Mail on Sunday health writer, Rachael Lloyd, covered the amazing story of Julie Toulson and her family who all underwent treatment at Smile Saver’s clinic in Budapest. Julie had problems from years back when she was kicked in the face by a horse. Due to marry and getting increasingly insecure about her front teeth Julie decided to follow her mother’s advice and together with her father they travelled to Budapest to start treatment. In all they estimate they together saved over £27,000 and Julie was able to beam a confident smile as she walked down the aisle. Julie says: ‘It was very emotional walking down the aisle. For years I’d been plagued by insecurity about my front teeth and now, finally, I was free of that stress.

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2009May01

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Tags:National Press

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2007Aug26

Emily Mayer – Mail on Sunday

Tags:National Press, Daily Mail

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2008Oct26

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Tags:National Press

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2009Apr14

Louise Webb – Daily Mail

Tags:National Press, Daily Mail, Louise Webb

Today we were part of a story that literally hit the front page of the Daily Mail. Tom Rawstorne and Steve Boggan covered the story of how some people are unable to receive satisfactory treatment from ...

2008Aug24

Linda Williamson – SundayTimes

Tags:National Press, The Times, Linda Williamson

The Sunday Times journalist Jessica Bown here tracks a potential shift in policy that could allow people travelling abroad for dental treatment to claim back some of their costs from the NHS. Good new ...

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