Why did she go overseas for treatment?
Originally from Hungary, Julianna made the decision to return for dental implants for several reasons.
Along with what she saw as a less expensive option, she believed she would be able to combine her dental treatment with a holiday, as well as the opportunity to visit family members.
However, Julianna told us that blinded by the lower cost of the treatment, she had overlooked other important factors.
“At the end of the day, what I initially considered to be the cheaper solution became the most expensive one,” she said.
The true cost of overseas treatment
Julianna‘s implant surgeries failed four times, which resulted in flying back to Hungary multiple times over several years to address what seemed to her like never ending issues.
Because of the need to constantly return to Hungary, flight tickets, accommodation and gifts for family members added to the cost of her treatment.
She explained that in addition to those expenses, the time she spent away from work and her business only ended up costing her more.
“For the four weeks I was away, I wasn’t able to earn money. Plus, I had to pay for somebody to look after the business,” she explained.
The accumulation of all these expenses resulted the treatment costing almost three times what the cost was to have it done locally.
Describing her experience bluntly, she told us she deeply regretted her decision.
“Useless, not functioning, painful. I lost everything. I even lost the implants,” she said.
The ADA Difference
When Julianna decided to seek treatment in Perth, she selected four different implant surgeons to meet with.
She explained that all the dentists were good but the human connection that Dr Adrian formed with her immediately set her at ease.
“What he gave me, was something extraordinary. I’ve never experienced it in my life,” she said.
“Adrian was connected, one human to another with empathy and support. I made the decision within a second.”
Post-surgery
The level of care and dedication shown to her from the very beginning and even following the surgery was something which caught Julianna completely by surprise.
She said the level of care and support given by everyone in the team far exceeded any expectation she ever had.
“I have this team here. I can count on this team. I can rely on this team. I can trust them,” she said.
“I never imagined that level of happiness and confidence would ever be available again in my life. You know how good it is to feel happy and healthy?
“I didn’t believe it was possible!”
A word of caution
Based on her experiences, Julianna wanted to offer a word of caution to anyone who might still be holding out for borders to open to have their dental issues addressed.
“I thought it would be cheap and quick to do it overseas. I lied to myself in the worst possible way”.
“If you have any complication – anything could go wrong, it’s a big operation. But you have no help, no access to those doctors who operated on you”.
What ADA offers, she says, is something that far outweighs the cost of treatment.
“You have people who are accessible and carry out their work in a professional way all the time whenever you need it, ready to support you, to help you and do the best for you,” she concluded.