MANILA, Philippines—Gyor is a quaint town at the Hungarian border about an hour and a half by train from Budapest. It has received various awards as one of the most beautifully restored cities in Europe where one feels transported in time, at least three centuries back, as one finds his way through the labyrinthine streets in the old town.

The town has a Baroque center and is teeming with churches, museums, palaces with characteristic corner-balconies and narrow lanes—all memorials of a rich historic past.

Although its restoration of the excellent old town is good enough reason for tourists to flock to Gyor, there’s actually another reason many tourists are taking the trains, buses, or small planes to this charming town. They’re called dental tourists and they come to Gyor to have dental implants, which I think we should also try to develop in the Philippines as part of medical tourism.

Advanced dental tech

Hungary has always been known for its advanced dental technology. Hungarian dentists can make an amazing transformation of a toothless person to one with a set of incisors and even molars that look and work like natural teeth. Provided, of course, one can afford the price tag, something like $1,600 (P67,000) per tooth implant. Because of its closeness to the Austrian border, Gyor has an advantage over Budapest and other Hungarian cities as a destination for dental tourists.

Peter G., whom we met at the train station, is an amiable 65-year-old Hungarian, who has been married to a Londoner for the last 35 years. His family has been based in London ever since, but he has come back to Gyor several times to have dental implants. It would cost him three times more in London to have the same kind of implant. And obviously with Hungarian nationalism flowing in his blood despite his acquired British citizenship, he added, “Hungarian dentists are even better for only a third of the cost.”

It was only three days earlier when Peter had his three front teeth implanted but he said he felt no foreign body in his oral cavity. “It feels like the real thing,” he said. He already ate thick-crust pizza for lunch that day.

Replaces teeth

Dental implants replace missing or badly damaged teeth. Not all dentists can do it. A specialist dentist called an implantologist or prosthodontist performs the procedure. A dental implant consists of a titanium screw that is implanted into the jaw bone to replace the old root. Titanium has a unique property to fuse naturally with bone. A natural looking dental crown is then attached to cover the screw. A temporary crown can be placed at first. After three to six months the titanium and bone merge to form a very strong bed on which a permanent crown or cap can be placed.

The procedure can be done either at the time of removal of the old tooth or at any time afterward. However, prosthodontists recommend that implants be placed immediately after removal. The period before a permanent crown is placed can be shortened significantly if the implant is placed at the time of extraction. In some instances, a permanent crown can be fitted at the same time as the titanium screw is implanted.

Dental implantation is supposed to be a lot better than dental bridgework, because implants do not affect the surrounding teeth and they avoid gum problems and bone loss, which are usually associated with bridgework or dentures.

Looking at Peter’s new front teeth, they look exactly like natural teeth, except that they have a more glistening appearance.

Drawbacks

One may have the money to pay for dental implants, but not all toothless individuals may be suitable to have them. The following are some drawbacks:

• One’s jaw may not be suited to implants and a bone graft may be required first.

• Young individuals with uncompleted bone growth are not good candidates.

• Heavy smokers and those taking immune-suppressive drugs (such as for cancer, severe arthritis, lupus or other connective tissue disorders) usually have a poor success rate.

On the average, a good dental implant should have a 5-year success rate of about 95 percent for the lower jaw and 90 percent for the upper jaw.

Dental implantation is indeed one of the modern-day amazing medical breakthroughs. It’s good to note that we have several centers here in the Philippines with skills and technology comparable to what they have in Hungary and other parts of Europe and the United States. If our prices are more affordable here, then definitely, that will put the natural smile back in Filipinos and foreigners with missing teeth.