Emergency Support, What to Do If Something Goes Wrong at Any Stage

What Is the Three-Phase Emergency Model?

Dental tourism done properly is, statistically, very safe. Safety is built, not assumed. This page documents the emergency pathways across three phases:

Phase 1, Pre-travel: health or dental emergencies between booking and departure. Most commonly: sudden unrelated health issue, dental flare-up in a tooth not part of the treatment plan, or a family emergency requiring postponement.

Phase 2, In-India: health, dental, or non-medical emergencies while in Hyderabad. Dental emergencies directly related to treatment are managed by our clinical team. Other emergencies have their own pathways.

Phase 3, Post-return to NZ: anything that happens after landing back in New Zealand. Treatment-related dental concerns route through the coordinator and NZ GDP pathway. Unrelated dental and medical emergencies go through standard NZ primary care.

Phase 1, What Happens Before You Travel?

Pre-travel dental flare-up (unrelated to treatment plan):

1. Contact your NZ GDP for acute management

2. Notify your SD coordinator, we need to know about any medication (particularly antibiotics) that may affect surgical planning

3. If the acute treatment changes planned scope (e.g., a tooth to be retained now requires extraction), your coordinator reviews implications with our clinical team and adjusts, maintains, or reschedules the plan

Pre-travel medical issue (cardiac, respiratory, infection, injury, new diagnosis):

1. Manage clinically in NZ with your GP or specialist

2. Notify your SD coordinator

3. Clinical team assesses whether the condition materially affects surgical planning, some conditions do not; some require scope adjustment; some recommend postponement

4. If postponement is indicated, we reschedule at no cost; hotel and transfer bookings are flexible up to 14 days before travel

Pre-travel family emergency requiring postponement:

1. Phone your coordinator (preferred) or email

2. We hold your treatment slot open for up to 90 days without additional cost

3. Hotel and transfer bookings re-scheduled at no charge

4. Your deposit is not at risk

Pre-travel document issues:

• Visa rejection within 2 weeks of travel: contact coordinator immediately; recovery pathway via visa support page
• Passport lost within 10 days of travel: NZ DIA emergency passport service 0800 22 50 50; typical turnaround 24–72 hours; treatment slot held
• Flight cancellation: notify coordinator with new flight details; hotel and transfer adjusted at no charge

Phase 2, What Happens During Your India Stay?

Category A, Treatment-Related Dental Emergency

Examples: severe post-op pain, suspected infection, provisional bridge fracture.

Response: immediate. Call your coordinator's direct mobile at any hour. If unavailable, call the SD emergency line (in your welcome pack, staffed 24/7 during your treatment visit). Same-day assessment at clinic. Additional surgical or prosthetic intervention as clinically indicated, at no additional fee for complications within the scope of the original treatment plan.

Real-world frequency: approximately 2–4% of dual-arch FMR cases log a Category A concern during the in-India phase; almost all resolve with one additional clinic visit.

Category B, Non-Treatment Dental Emergency

Examples: unrelated tooth pain, unrelated tooth fracture.

Response: same-day assessment at our clinic; treatment either at our clinic or referred to a trusted partner dental practice for procedures outside our scope. Cost at our published rate or partner rate.

Category C, Medical Emergency

Examples: cardiac, respiratory, severe allergic reaction, significant injury, systemic infection.

Response: Our partner hospitals in Hyderabad:

For any Category C emergency:

1. Phone the SD emergency line, we dispatch a driver within 10–15 minutes (from hotel or clinic)

2. Transport to the appropriate hospital based on condition

3. Your coordinator meets you at the hospital if not already with you

4. We coordinate with the treating hospital team (English is widely spoken; our local support assists with medical language nuance)

5. We contact your NZ emergency contact within 60 minutes of hospital admission

Category D, Non-Medical Emergency

• Lost or stolen passport: NZ High Commission New Delhi emergency +91 11 4688 3170. Our coordinator accompanies you to the High Commission (in Delhi, 2 hours from Hyderabad by flight) if required.
• Theft or personal safety incident: Hyderabad police 100, tourist police 1363. Our coordinator liaises with local police on your behalf.
• Accommodation failure: coordinator re-books at an alternative partner hotel immediately at no charge.
• Personal crisis requiring early return to NZ: we coordinate emergency flight booking, adjust the treatment plan to what can be completed before departure, and refund or re-schedule remaining treatment.

What Travel Insurance Do You Need?

What standard NZ travel insurance typically covers:

• Medical emergencies abroad (with caveats about pre-existing conditions)
• Flight cancellation and trip interruption
• Lost baggage and personal property

What standard NZ travel insurance typically does NOT cover:

• Planned medical or dental treatment, this is the critical exclusion; you are travelling specifically for dental treatment, which voids standard cover for anything related to that treatment
• Complications arising from planned treatment

What you need to purchase: specialist dental tourism travel insurance. Indicative cost for comprehensive dental tourism cover for a 14-night trip: NZD 95–180 per person.

Coverage to verify in the policy:

• Unrelated medical emergency during travel (NZD 500,000+ recommended)
• Emergency medical evacuation to NZ (NZD 500,000+ recommended)
• Specifically: complications arising from planned dental treatment, this is the non-standard cover that most standard policies exclude
• Full duration of treatment visit plus 30 days

Warranty vs insurance: our warranty covers clinical remediation of dental treatment complications and component failures. Insurance covers flights, accommodation, and emergency medical care when a complication or medical event occurs. The two are complementary, not redundant. Both should be in place before travel.

Specific Scenarios and Responses

Scenario A, Post-surgical bleeding that will not stop:

In India: call SD emergency line; clinician dispatched within 10–15 minutes. Post-surgical bleeding is managed with pressure, haemostatic agents, and suture revision if required.

In NZ: apply direct pressure with clean gauze for 30 minutes. If bleeding continues after 60 minutes, present to hospital emergency. Notify coordinator next business morning.

Scenario B, Severe post-surgical pain on day 3–5:

In India: call your coordinator; pain beyond day 3 warrants assessment; same-day clinic visit arranged.

In NZ: call coordinator for video review. If severe or accompanied by fever, swelling, or foul taste, attend NZ GDP or hospital ED the same day; notify us concurrently.

Scenario C, Provisional bridge fracture or dislodgement:

In India: call coordinator; same-day or next-morning repair arranged.

In NZ: contact coordinator; video review determines urgency. Most provisional issues can be managed by a NZ GDP using our records for the interim.

Scenario D, Sinus complication (zygomatic or upper posterior implant cases):

In India: mild transient sinus sensation is expected post-zygomatic surgery and resolves in 7–14 days. Worsening pain, purulent discharge, or fever: same-day clinic assessment and possible ENT referral.

In NZ: mild sinus sensation in weeks 1–4 is normal. Persistent or worsening symptoms: NZ GP + coordinator + possible ENT referral.

Scenario E, Systemic illness during India stay:

Mild gastroenteritis (affects 20–40% of visitors to India at some point): hotel food and bottled water only; hydration; probiotic where tolerated; coordinator checks in twice daily. Bring ibuprofen and loperamide from NZ or purchase from hotel pharmacy.

Significant systemic illness: transport to appropriate hospital; treatment schedule adjusted for clinical safety.

What Have We Learned From Real Emergencies?

Across seven years, approximately 40–50 in-India emergency presentations and approximately 120–140 post-return concerns requiring coordinated clinical response:

1. Response speed matters more than clinical complexity. Fast response converts frightening episodes into manageable ones. We have invested heavily in the 24/7 coordinator/clinician contact model for exactly this reason.

2. Patients who contact us immediately almost always resolve well. Patients who wait three weeks thinking a problem will self-resolve often find it has compounded. Low threshold for contact is the right threshold.

3. Insurance gaps are the costliest oversight. Patients who did not purchase dental-tourism-specific insurance and then experienced an unrelated medical emergency (one cardiac event, one orthopaedic injury, one appendicitis in seven years across NZ travellers) faced cost exposures of NZD 8,000–40,000. The NZD 120 insurance premium is the single highest NZD-per-NZD spend in the trip.

4. The handover to NZ GDP materially affects post-return response. Patients with an established NZ GDP relationship who had received their records pack resolved post-return concerns approximately 3x faster than patients who had not yet seen their NZ GDP. Schedule the first post-return appointment promptly.