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Global healthcare enables patients to choose where they want their treatment and at what price. Treatment for life threatening diseases, like cancer and open-heart surgery, can be found globally with prices as low as 80 percent of what is charged to patients in their home country. Such healthcare can be combined with vacations and the designation ”medical tourists” is often used. Dental treatments, like oral surgery, implants, periodontitis and cosmetic dentistry, can also be often performed at substantially lower prices than in patient’s home countries. However, the question arises as to whether this can be carried out without consequences? First of all, local patients should not be deprived of healthcare due even if medical tourists can pay more and the medical services should be of similar quality as in their home country. The increasing level of bacterial antibiotic resistance is a major concern world-wide. Our capability to efficiently treat some infections with antibiotics is being reduced year by year. The Nordic countries have for many years controlled patients and health care workers for possible contamination with resistant bacteria when arriving from other international hospitals. Therefore, it is important that patients seeking dental treatment outside the Nordic countries are aware of the possible danger and consequences of becoming infected or colonized by antimicrobial resistant superbugs. The Nordic countries will in the future seek to have similar strategy combatting the increase of life threatening antibiotic resistant bacteria.

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