Up and Coming: Dental Care in Lithuania
Dental care in Lithuania is the new kid on the block: high dental standards, low costs, and eager to attract Western dental tourists. Like other states of the former Soviet Union, it’s becoming an increasingly popular tooth travel destination.
St Michael the Archangel Church in Kaunas
Not only that, but Lithuania is heading the list by working hard to meet European and international standards, after years of Soviet stagnation.
Dentists in Lithuania, called odontologists, practice most of the standard dental procedures – root canals, fillings, crowns, bridges, porcelain veneers, implants, sinus lifts, pediatric dentistry, oral hygiene and teeth whitening.
How safe and professional is dental care in Lithuania?
Standards are high in the country. Future dentists study for five years at one of the country’s two universities, Vilnius University or Kaunas Medical University. Once they graduate, they need to train for one more year before registering for private practice. Interestingly, their licence needs to be renewed every five years and this involves 200 hours of continuing education.
Beyond the undergraduate level, three-year graduate programs are available in a number of specialties.
Perhaps the greatest attraction of getting dental care in Lithuania are the prices. Here are a few examples:
| DENTAL PROCEDURE |
AVERAGE DENTAL COSTS IN LITHUANIA
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
in UK£
|
in US$
|
in € Euro
|
|
| Root canal |
£42-60
|
$70-95
|
€50-70
|
| Porcelain veneer |
£200
|
$340
|
€245
|
| Crown |
£165
|
$280
|
€200
|
| Filling |
£38
|
$60
|
€45
|
| Tooth whitening |
£153
|
$250
|
€185
|
| Extraction |
£33
|
$55
|
€40
|
NOTE: prices are indicative of those posted online by dentists in Lithuania – some may charge more.
With costs like these, you can easily offset the cost of the flight, especially since Lithuania is a bit off the beaten path.
Instead, put your extra money into a post or pre-operative vacation!
Dental tourism in Lithuania
Lithuania is a lovely country – historic, compact and diverse. An independent country for years, in 1940 it was annexed by the Soviet Union and spent 50 years as part of the Eastern Block. As a member of the European Union since 1994 the country has literally leapt into the 21st century.
There are plenty of attractions in the country and whiling away the time between dental (Dental Implants) appointments is as pleasant as it is easy.
Vilnius is modernizing but has managed to keep its old flavor
Here are just a few places you can visit while you wait:
Mickiewicz statue
- The Lithuanian Art Museum, the country’s largest, and as of 2011, the Vilnius Guggenheim Hermitage Museum
- Climb Gediminas Castle, for a wonderful view of Vilnius
- Or just walk around its medieval Old Town
- Also in Vilnius, the world’s only Frank Zappa statue
- Kaunas is also known as the City of Museums, so take your pick
- Trakai Castle, started in the 14th century, now a popular resort on an island in Lake Galve near Vilnius
- Or visit one of the country’s wonderful natural areas
Across Eastern Europe there are plenty of other opportunities for dental care in Lithuania.
Dentists are excellent and costs are lower than in Western Europe or beyond. You could try Prague dentists in the Czech Republic, dental tourism in Croatia, a Romanian dentist, or try cosmetic dentistry in Hungary.