Hollywood smile

"Hollywood smile" is a marketing name rather than a single clinical procedure, which is why two quotes under that heading can describe quite different treatment. What it usually means is a set of restorations placed across the visible teeth so that colour, shape and alignment are corrected together instead of tooth by tooth.

A typical plan is built from some combination of the following.

• Veneers. Thin facings bonded to the front of the tooth. Porcelain and composite behave differently in colour stability, thickness and how much tooth surface has to be prepared.
• Crowns. Full coverage restorations, used where a tooth is heavily filled, root treated or broken down rather than simply discoloured.
• Whitening. Often done first, on the teeth that are not being covered, so that the restorations are matched to the final shade rather than the starting one.
• Gum contouring. Reshaping the gum line where the proportion of gum to tooth is what makes the smile look uneven.

The number of teeth is the single biggest thing that separates one quote from another. A makeover can cover the front six, the front eight or ten, or both arches, and the phrase "hollywood smile" is used for all of them. Ask any clinic how many teeth their price covers before you compare it with anyone else's.

This is the question the page is most often found for, so it is worth answering precisely rather than with a number. Prices vary between countries and between two clinics in the same city, and most of the variation comes from things that are easy to check before you commit.

• How many teeth. Eight veneers and twenty veneers are both sold as a hollywood smile. This is the first thing to establish and the most common reason two quotes look incomparable.
• Veneers or crowns. Which one you need is a clinical decision based on how much of each tooth is sound, not a price tier to choose from.
• The material. Different porcelain and composite systems sit at different price points and behave differently over time. Ask which specific material is being quoted, by name.
• Laboratory work. Whether the restorations are made in house or sent out, and how much of the design is digital, affects both cost and how many days you need to be there.
• Preparatory treatment. Gum disease, decay or a failing root canal has to be dealt with first. If a quote assumes your mouth is healthy and it is not, the real cost is higher than the headline.
• What the price is quoted on. An all-inclusive package and a treatment only price are not the same number and cannot be compared directly.

Every price on Flymedi carries a basis label for exactly that reason.

• All-inclusive package. The dental work plus the surrounding logistics such as transfers, accommodation and interpreting, arranged as one price.
• Treatment only. The clinical fee. Flights, hotel and anything outside the clinic are yours to arrange and to budget for.

The current price for each clinic, with the basis it is quoted on, is shown in the panels on this page rather than written into this text, so that it stays accurate as clinics update their pricing.

Countries differ in price level, in how the profession is regulated, in travel time and in how much of the process is packaged for you. These are the destinations with clinics on Flymedi doing this work.

Turkey

The largest concentration of cosmetic dental clinics working with international patients, mostly in Istanbul and Antalya, many of them organised around short treatment trips with transfers and accommodation included. Volume is high and so is the range of quality, which makes the clinic and dentist checks above more important here than anywhere else on this list, not less.

Hungary

Budapest has treated dental patients from western Europe for decades and the infrastructure reflects that: established practices, short flights from most of Europe, and clinics used to splitting treatment across two visits. It is the closest thing to a mature dental travel market.

Mexico

The practical option for patients travelling from North America. Border cities such as Tijuana and Los Algodones, and larger practices in Cancun and Guadalajara, are set up for short visits, often without a flight at all.

Thailand

Bangkok combines large private hospital groups with dedicated dental centres, and has long experience of treating international patients. Travel time is the main consideration for European and North American patients.

Colombia

Medellin and Bogota have grown quickly as cosmetic treatment destinations, with a strong emphasis on digital smile design and a shorter flight for patients from the Americas than the European options.

Spain

Worth considering if you want treatment inside the EU with the regulatory and consumer protection framework that comes with it. Prices sit above the eastern European and Turkish options and below the UK and Nordic ones.

The clinic matters more than the country. These are the things worth establishing before you pay a deposit.

• A written treatment plan naming the number of teeth and the material. If it does not say both, it is a quotation and not a plan.
• Before and after cases of the same treatment. Ask for cases with the same starting point as yours, photographed in consistent lighting, ideally including some that are a few years old.
• A digital preview or a mock up. Digital smile design, or a trial fit in temporary material, lets you see the proposed shape and shade before anything permanent is bonded. This is the single most useful thing you can ask for, because it is the point where the result is still adjustable.
• How long the temporaries stage lasts. You should know how many days you will spend in temporaries and what happens if you dislike the shape at that point.
• What the guarantee actually covers, in writing. Establish what is covered, for how long, what voids it, and whether it covers your travel back.
• Who you will speak to afterwards. A named contact and a channel, not a general inbox.
• Whether the dentist speaks your language or the clinic provides interpreting. Shade and shape are discussed in fine detail. This is not the place for a language barrier.

How you pay is worth settling before you travel, not at the desk on the day.

• Establish the payment schedule in advance. Whether a deposit is required to hold the appointment, what is due on the day of preparation, and what is due at fitting.
• Establish the currency and who carries the exchange risk. A price quoted in one currency and charged in another can differ from what you budgeted.
• Ask what happens if the plan changes mid treatment. If an extra tooth needs a crown once work starts, agree beforehand how that is priced.
• Ask whether financing is offered and on what terms. Availability, limits and terms depend on your country of residence and the provider, so confirm the current terms rather than relying on anything written on a page.

What are the hidden costs to watch out for when planning treatment abroad?

Packages differ in what they cover, so read the inclusion list rather than the headline. The costs most often left out are flights, accommodation beyond the nights the package specifies, airport transfers if they are not included, the initial consultation or any diagnostic imaging, preparatory work such as extractions or gum treatment, a night guard if you grind, a companion's travel and stay, and the second trip if the treatment is split across two visits. Add the cost of a return journey for adjustments as a realistic contingency rather than a worst case.

How do payment plans and financing options work for treatment abroad?

Where financing is available, you apply through the platform, a lending partner assesses the application, and the approved amount is paid to the clinic while you repay the provider over an agreed term. What you can borrow and over how long depends on your country of residence, the provider, and your own circumstances, and the terms change, so treat any figure you see elsewhere as indicative and confirm the current offer before you commit.