The cost of having your teeth cared for in Ireland is putting many people of treatment entirely . . . although with greater mobility and greater awareness of the wider world beyond our shores, we are finding that sometimes you can combine travel with essential treatment in a way which can actually generate significant savings.

Of course, travelling for a dentist is not an entirely new concept, and people from the Republic are used to travelling north of the border for the more complex dental treatment. But while the Northern Ireland market can offer some cheaper treatments, for really expensive work it is often prudent to go a little further afield . . . and the destinations of choice at the moment seem to be places like Hungary and Bulgaria.

Since the end of the Warsaw Pact in the early 1990s, people from Western Europe have been flooding eastwards to familiarise themselves with what used to be cut off behind the Iron Curtain.

The standards of dentistry in places like Hungary and Bulgaria are at least as high as they are in Ireland, and any equipment used comes mostly from their German neighbours (and there is no country in the world which offers higher standards of engineering).

For example, Dr Mohos' surgery in Budapest (trading in Ireland as Dental Tours Ltd), uses only equipment made in either Germany, Switzerland or the US. Situated by the hills in the beautiful Buda part of Budapest, it covers practically every aspect of dental treatment (except braces), including cosmetic procedures, surgical procedures and implants.

Even aside from the issue of cost, there are a number of benefits which come from Dr Mohos' surgery. Firstly, all of the dental work, from start to finish, will be carried out by the same hand. And the Lab and practice are both ISO certified.

Still, you'll come for the prices. Of course, not every form of dental treatment will be expensive enough to warrant a trip to Hungary, but, for example, implants through Dental Tours Ltd come in at about one third of the price that is often charged in Ireland. Visits to Budapest can encompass more than one treatment, thereby minimising the number of return visits to the city required for the dental work (most treatments can be done within one to two weeks). Dental Tours Ltd also works with an Irish travel agency, which can create travel packages for those travelling to Budapest.

Similarly, Access Smile, with an office in Cork, also organises dental trips to Hungary, to a facility called Telki Private Hospital about 40 minutes from central Budapest.

After an initial consultation in Dublin (including x-ray), the results are e-mailed to the chief dental surgeon at Telki (a Dr Menari), who will outline the options available to fit various budgets. People can even come to the consultation with the results of their own dentist's recommendations, and Access Smile will give another estimate for the price of the treatment in the state-of-theart Hungarian clinic. And, following the decision of the patient to go through Access Smile, the company will organise everything (including preferential rates at local hotels) except the flights.

Again, it is the prices which are most attractive. For example, each implant (including crown) at Telki will cost 1,794. The same treatment could cost up to 5,000 in Ireland. Similarly, a ceramic inlay in Telki is priced at 384, while the same treatment could cost around 1,000 at home. Even with one problem tooth, the sums are balanced in favour of Hungary, but if there is more than one tooth at issue, then there is really no argument.

Still, some people might approach dental treatment in a foreign country with some trepidation, which is why the Dental Implant Centre (which also offers a wide range of cosmetic and surgical treatments) has an Irish representative in Hungary.

Initial contact is made with Ali Denvir in Dublin, but, upon arriving in Budapest (before travelling to the clinic at Hodmezovasarhely), patients will meet Alan Morton, who will see them through the whole experience. Benefits for patients include free airport transfer, arranged accommodation, and a mobile phone for each client with Alan's number on speed dial.

As an added bonus, all treatments at clinics in Hungary have the same tax implications as they would in Ireland, so a Med 2 form will allow patient to claim tax back on their Hungarian treatments as much as if they had had the procedure done at home.