Armenian dental tourism growing

Armenia seeks to widen dental tourism from mainly Armenians working abroad to other Europeans.

Dental tourism has been a developing trend in Armenia in recent years, as patients from abroad increasingly choose to get treatment there.

Most dental tourists in Armenia come from the Armenian Diaspora that works away in Europe, as they can combine their treatment with a holiday in their homeland.

Local dental clinics are also seeking to attract other dental tourists from within Europe, although numbers of non-Armenian patients are small. Most of these come from Russia, Belgium and France.

Average prices of dental services in Armenia are relatively more affordable than those in most European countries, including traditional dental tourism market leaders Hungary and Poland.

But Armenia does have a problem in that most dental materials are bought from other countries at prices even higher than Russian clinics pay. But the very low wages in Armenia keep treatment prices low. Armenian specialists offer services and technologies of a quality equivalent to international standards.

One of the latest technological innovations in Armenia is transparent dental braces that replace traditional orthodontic cases. Specialists say they are particularly applicable in dental tourism, as they do not require frequent interventions from the dentist/ during a long-term treatment.

There are no figures for Armenian dental tourism so the Dental Tourism Foundation, which is involved in the development of the sector, intends to fill this gap soon by collecting data on the number of dental tourists. This organisation also cooperates with travel agencies, to raise awareness of dental services in Armenia.