The Hindu Business Line : God's own country now offers a beautiful smile too

IT has been a delightful climb up the ladder for Kerala tourism. From being a mere speck on the international beach tourism map, the State has successfully carved out a unique niche for itself in backwater and ayurvedic tourism. And the torchbearers for these new and novel experiments have been the small and innovative entrepreneurs with unmitigated support of the State.

But now, a small and enterprising doctor of dental surgery is trying to open out new vistas on the dental tourism front in the State. It all started way back in 1998, when a US citizen from Florida contacted Dr Rajkrishnan over the Internet seeking out a cheap avenue to do his root canal treatment. A root canal treatment in the US costs close to $2,000, while we were willing to do it for less than $100, Dr Rajkrisnan said.

That was just a beginning. Last year, the Rajkrishnan's Dental Clinic in Kochi had around 100 foreign patients, mainly from the US and Europe. And the numbers have been growing all these years.

Despite the high cost of international air travel, food and boarding, most US citizens and Europeans would prefer to travel abroad to do their dental upkeep. If a small family of 3-4 members from the US or Europe comes down for dental care to India, the total costs would definitely work out cheaper, Dr Rajkrishnan said.

At the end of a 10-day holiday and dental care in the State, they would go back richer than what they would have spent in the US or Europe. And then there is the added bonus of the sanguine backwaters, luxury resorts, the sun and the surf experience in the State. "The world is becoming a village and the global citizen are keen to come down to this tiny corner to enjoy not only the pristine environment, but also the top-class medical facilities that we have to offer," Dr Rajkrishnan said.

Cleanliness and hygiene are the two prime factors that every one of the foreign patients is looking for. And the clinic has invested the latest and top-end technology infrastructure and products.

The fact that there are no price differentials between the foreign and Indian patient has also instilled greater confidence among the foreign visitors. "There are several other clinics which would charge substantially lower rates for dental treatment, but we are charging for our services, superior skills, the high-end infrastructure and equipment that we have brought in at a great cost," Dr Rajkrishnan said. Already, close to 20 per cent of the total revenue to the clinic comes from foreign patients.

Soon, the bouquet of tourism services on offer from the State would not only include the serene backwaters, ayurvedic rejuvenation therapy, the sun, surf and sand, but the foreign visitor would also be rewarded with a sweet and beatific smile, thanks to cheap and efficient services of dental surgeons in the State.