SWINDON has joined the dentistry jetset. A new company is offering patients the chance to avoid NHS waiting lists and costly bills by flying them for treatment in Poland.

Dental Prestige, based in Old Town, is the first medical travel firm to set up in Swindon, It says that in some cases patients can fly to Poland, stay in a hotel and have their treatment and still save hundreds of pounds on what their treatment would have cost in their local dental surgery.

But, Swindon dentists have urged people to be wary of what firms like Dental Prestige offer.

Paulina Motylewska, who runs the recently-opened Swindon office of the firm, insists that patients have nothing to worry about and that treatments provided by the firm are of the highest quality.

"We feel that the cost of dental care in the UK is very prohibitive to many people because of its high cost both privately and on the NHS. We wanted to provide an alternative which is cheaper. And there is no waiting list.

"But we don't want to compete with British dentists, we want to work with them as well."

The company - which also helps German people with dental problems - sends its patients to a clinic in Poznan designed to cater for travelling patients.

It has six operating theatres manned by English-speaking staff and the dentists have, according to the company, the latest dental technology.

Ms Motylewska said: "Patients who come to us have nothing to worry about. We organise flights, accommodation and transfer, and there is no need to worry about the language barrier as all our staff speak English.

"Every visit is tailored to the needs and expectations of the patient, and we can take instructions from the patient or take details from their own dentist and work from that."

The company offers all kinds of treatment, from tooth extractions to root canals and prosthetic treatments like crowns and dentures. In the UK one crown treatment can cost up to £550.

Dental Prestige says that a crown treatment in Poznan using the same methods can cost around £180.

Such prices are possible because labour, material and rent costs are considerably lower in Poland than in the UK.

Flights are also cheap because of the advent of low-cost airlines, several of which fly into Poznan from London including Ryanair and Wizzair.

Dental Prestige will book all flights and accommodation, but a flight from Stansted to Poznan can cost as little as £15 return.

But Swindon dentist Patrick Holmes, who runs the Seven Fields Health and Dental Centre, said he would urge people to be cautious about using such firms.

He said: "For some people who are looking for a bargain, this is a great idea, but there are one or two problems that people should be wary of.

"For complex operations people should look carefully at their options, particularly crown operations.

"Here we would do one at a time, to make sure they work properly so if things don't go properly patients can come back and we can sort it out.

"But some firms like this will try and squeeze as many operations as possible into one. If something goes wrong will patients have to go back to Poland to sort it out.

"Sometimes such operations can end up costing patients more than they bargained for."

  • Dental Prestige is at 41 Bath Road, and can be reached on 01793 574549.

Your dental bill

Medical Prestige says it can provide cheaper dental treatment than dentists in the UK - in spite of travel expenses.

For example it says six porcelain veneer crowns in the UK will cost £2,400.

But according to them the treatment in Poland will cost £636.

If you add on three star hotel expenses costing £130, flights £60 and airport transfers £50 in total you will have to pay £1,026. This is a total saving of £1,374.

Dentistry phrasebook

Although Dental Prestige's dentists speak English, here's a guide to some basic Polish dental phrases:

  • Open wide - Otworz szeroko
  • This might hurt a little - To moze troszke bolec
  • Sit down and make yourself comfortable - Usiadz wygodnie na fotelu
  • You've been eating too many sweets - Jadles za duzo slodyczy
  • I'm afraid I'm going to have to remove all your teeth - Obawiam sie ze bede musial usunac wszystkie twoje zeby