Going to a dentist can actually become fun.

Dental tourism is defined as anytime a patient travels outside of his/her home to receive dental care. Dental tourism can be domestic or international. Domestic tourism is when a patient travels within their home country but to another location to receive dental treatment. Domestic tourism is common when a particular type of dental procedure or access to a dental specialist is not available locally. For example, a patient who lives in a small town in a rural area of Australia may travel to Sydney or Melbourne to receive a specific treatment. An example of this is All On four treatment of a full jaw dental implant. Patients often travel to MALO Dental in Melbourne or All On four clinics in Perth from small towns within Australia.

On the other hand, international dental tourism refers to a patient who travels outside of their home country for dental care. This type of travel is often known as dental vacations, and many travel agents promote them without really having any experience in dentistry. For example, Thailand is a major medical tourism hub and every years millions of patients travel from USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to major cities such as Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket or Chiang Mai for a vacation but also have their teeth fixed. These locations offer superior dental clinics and dental specialists who offer general dental check up, teeth whitening, dental implants, crowns, veneers and All on 4 or All on 6. The cost of dental care in Thailand or Cambodia at top rated international clinics with highly trained international dentists can be up to less than 60% of the cost of treatment back home. For example, a cost of a full mouth jaw dental implant in Thailand can range from USD $20,000-$25,000, where the same treatment back in Australia or united states can be $50,000-$75,000.

The first group of dental tourists who travel domestically is generally motivated by dental expertise, and the second group considers saving on the cost of dental treatment. However, not everyone in the latter group is inspired by low dental fees. Some patients travel internationally to countries such as Australia, Canada, the USA, Singapore, Germany, United Kingdom for the availability of quality treatment even though the cost of treatment could be much higher than their home country.