Along with being one of the most accessible, Zagreb is one of Europe's leading cities when it comes to dental medicine. The city offers everything from general and surgical procedures to cosmetic methods. Many dental experts in Zagreb have first-rate training at the world's top medical schools.
A large number of Zagreb's dental medicine clinics will provide guests with vacation and accommodation services along with dental services. They'll help travellers organise transport (within and around Zagreb), find fabulous lodgings, and even embark on sightseeing adventures! Patients can revel in hiking, cycling, and/or museum hopping before and after their treatment. A dental tourism visit to Zagreb is really the total package.
When you pair the excellent quality of services with affordable prices, it becomes more and more clear why Zagreb is a dental tourism hotspot. Not to mention that Zagreb's high-quality dental clinics adhere to only the most high-quality of safety measures. The best methods of virus prevention are carried out in Zagreb's clinics to ensure the well-being and comfort of guests.
Here are a few (of many!) examples of top-notch dental procedures you can head to Zagreb for. We spoke to Irena, originally from Croatia but living in Boston most of her life, to get firsthand insights for some of the procedures.
Oral surgery
Zagreb offers a range of oral cavity operations for dental travellers who need them.
This can include everything from basic tooth extractions, wisdom tooth extractions, and residual root extractions, across apicotomies and alveotomies, to sinus lifts.
Anesthesia options are carefully explored and discussed individually with each patient to ensure maximum comfort and safety.
Patients can expect to go home with their dental issues solved, and with expert instructions to prevent any type of post-operative complications.
"Over the summer, I visited Croatia to see family, swim in the crystal-clear Adriatic, and eat heaps of fresh fish and good wine. Oh, and also to get a tooth removed!", Irena laughs. "Honestly, it isn't half bad when you step out of the dental clinic and you're greeted with a beautiful Zagreb facade from the 19th century. Makes you forget all about your tooth surgery!"
Dental implants
Dental implants can be used in cases of missing teeth either in the lower jaw, upper jaw, or both. Implants are used as substitutes for tooth roots, and as support for a crown, veneer, denture, or bridge.
The implant is usually a small screw most often made of titanium. Titanium is a biocompatible material - meaning, it can naturally bond to the bone without the body recognizing it as foreign.
It usually takes between three and six months for the tooth and implant to form a proper bond. After the bond is in place, the gums are healed using a prolongation, during a process which takes around two weeks.
The last step is adding a crown, veneer, denture, or bridge.
Think of this as not only your opportunity to get a new smile - but to go on multiple vacations in Croatia!
Teeth whitening
Zagreb offers a number of professional teeth whitening treatments.
For example, there's laser lightening. During this procedure, a dentist applies bleaching product to the teeth and then a light or laser are applied across them. This treatment usually lasts an hour and can take a few rounds to achieve the maximum result.
Other whitening agents include hydrogen peroxid, sodium perborate, and those with a high concentration of fluoride, which can protect against cavities.
Whitening is safe, painless (save for minor sensitivity that can occur after), and it's overseen by highly trained dental professionals.
Preventative care
Preventative care is an important part of maintaining and achieving dental health. Expert preventative methods are used in Zagreb's dental field.
Prophylaxis encompasses health measures taken to prevent dental issues, and it's important for people of all ages.
Periodontology is one of the specialties that care for the gums and tissues surrounding the teeth.
Diseases that can affect these areas include are gingivitis, gingival recession and periodontitis. Preventive procedures in periodontology offered in Zagreb include teeth cleaning, remineralization, topical fluoride therapy, fissure sealants, and removing buildup.
"I went to a clinic in Zagreb to get my teeth cleaned. They did a fantastic job. One of my favourite parts about the visit was, when I got to the clinic, I noticed tri-lingual signs: in English, Croatian, and Italian. I thought to myself 'Wonderful! I can pick and choose, or even mix languages to communicate with the doctors!", Irena laughs, explaining, "I studied Italian and English at university."
Prosthodontics
Prosthodontics refers to the dental medicine practice of substituting lost, non-functional, broken, uneven or discolored teeth.
Zagreb offers the full range of prosthodontics. For example, dental travellers can choose to replace or cover individual teeth with veneers, insert crowns, or repair an entire group of teeth with implant-supported bridges.
Each case is personalised, and approached on a one-to-one basis with the utmost care and communication between patient and doctor. The goal is, of course, to achieve a safe, functional, and beautiful result.
Veneers are acommonly used to reach an aesthetic appearance with minimal teeth filing. In this method, a ceramic cover is placed over a filed tooth.
Full-on prostheses can either have a metal base and ceramic covering, or they can be fully ceramic. Materials used for the ceramics are usually zirconium or glass, and an aesthetic but also natural appearance is the result.
"I'm so grateful for getting an adjustment done to a troublesome tooth in Zagreb. The confidence you get is priceless, but the actual prices are actually very affordable themselves! Especially in comparison to some I'd pay in Boston, even with insurance at times.
"None of my visits to Croatia are complete without a visit to the dentist. I really do incorporate dental tourism into my regular yearly or bi-yearly visits to Croatia. It pays off in every way."