Nearly 10 Million US Adults Have Traveled Abroad for Dental Care

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Posted: June 26, 2026

Nearly 10 Million US Adults Have Traveled Abroad for Dental Care

Edited by Dentaltown staff

About 9.6 million US adults — roughly 4% — report having traveled outside the United States to obtain dental care, most often because treatment costs less abroad, according to survey findings released June 2 by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.

Dental care is the most common reason Americans cross borders for health services, the institute reported, with cost the dominant driver. When asked to name the primary reason they sought care abroad, 58% of respondents pointed to expense. A lack of dental insurance was also cited as a frequent motivator.

The likelihood of traveling for care varied sharply by group. Adults who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander reported the practice at the highest rate, 9.4%, followed by Hispanic adults at 8.5%, compared with 2.2% of white adults. Patients who had exhausted their annual dental benefit were more likely to travel as well, at 7.6%, versus 2.7% of those who had not reached their plan maximum.

The figures come from the institute’s annual State of Oral Health Equity in America survey, a nationally representative poll of US adults.

The institute cautioned that care obtained abroad can carry risks, including variation in safety and infection-control standards and difficulty arranging follow-up treatment once a patient returns home. It framed the trend as a signal of affordability and access pressure in the domestic dental market, arguing that expanding affordable care within the United States would reduce the incentive to seek treatment elsewhere.

Sources:
CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, “Crossing Borders for Care: Dental Tourism among US Adults,” June 2, 2026: carequest.org/resource/crossing-borders-for-care


Nearly 10 Million US Adults Have Traveled Abroad for Dental Care

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