The impact of outbound medical (dental) tourism on the generating region: New Zealand dental professionals' perspectives

Travel overseas for dental treatment is said to be the most prevalent form of medical tourism. Medical tourism has been largely researched from the perspective of the patient, with a focus on their experience and on the outcomes for the destination country. This paper, however, reports on the perceived impacts of dental tourism on the generating region, drawing upon an email survey of New Zealand dental health practitioners (n = 337). The quantitative survey data is supported by a thematic analysis of responses to open ended questions in the survey. Collectively, our findings indicate that dental tourism is perceived by dental professionals as having profound impacts upon the provision of dental health in the generating region. Concerns centre on the poor quality treatment received by patients abroad, the lack of informed consent for patients, and lack of continuity of care between the destination region and the generating region.