By: Reza Taeb
Dr. Basati was born in 1984 Tehran, Iran. He has been working in the field of dentistry and smile beautification for nine years now.
In your opinion, why do foreign tourists choose Iran for professional medical and dentistry services? Which countries do they normally come from?
It is mostly for the low prices and high quality of our medical services compared to other countries. Our patients are mostly Iranian expats and our neighbors like people from Kuwait, Iraq and Oman which prefer Iran for its high-quality medical services. For example, the cost of dental services compared to that of Europe and North America is almost 5 times less expensive. In the near future, I am certain that we will see an increase of medical tourism from the Persian Gulf coast countries.
Is the value of foreign currency and its ups and downs and also sanctions affecting your profession?
Yes, it has affected the procurement of our primary materials and made it more difficult. Some brands are harder to find and we have been facing some issues regarding this matter. As you know, the colors of materials from different brands are not the same so for people who are revisiting the practice it is sometimes impossible to match the colors which had previously been used for them. Which countries do you procure medical materials from? Most of our materials are from Germany and some others are coming from North America and Europe, however most of disposable products are made in China.
How has COVID-19 affected your area of expertise?
COVID-19 affected our industry to a great extent just as much as other industries. As you know our job involves working closely with the patient’s mouth and teeth, therefore our occupation is considered to be high-risk. That’s why there has been a decrease in visiting dental practices for non-essential operations.
Have you been working online since the outbreak of COVID-19?
Yes, I was doing my main consultations online. These consultations were all based on cases which provided X-rays, from which I could determine the early diagnoses.
With dentist’s appearing on popular TV shows, do you think there has been an increase of general public knowledge in regards to dental hygiene?
It definitely had a massive impact. Public knowledge and usage of toothbrushes, mouthwash and dental floss has increased. Also, people are visiting the practice for normal check-ups on a more regular basis and taking panoramic dental x-rays photographs. Therefore, emergency visits to the practices are much less than before.
What distinguishes the technology that you use from that of your colleagues?
Some colleagues use laminate laboratories which include molding, cascading and delivering services that could possibly be erroneous due to the multiple steps involved. They also require certain care and temperature and professional delivery services. But here with digital laminate we have limited the errors. The laminate with less thickness, a more natural look and less grinding of teeth top coat, is prepared in less than 8 hours.
Is the hygiene protocol for protection against COVID-19 any different for dentists compared to other medical professionals?
No, we recommend the same protocols, however we also put some emphasis on the use of mouthwash not only for keeping the gums healthy but also for preventing coronavirus spreading in the early stages.
Do you have any advice for our readers?
Considering the experiences I have had during these years, I would say that in regards to dental beauty, the thickness and the color of lamination all need to be done carefully by considering the color of the skin, shape of the face and even the occupation of the patient to achieve the ultimate beauty.
