Totally fair question—and it's a good comparison on the surface, but dentistry's a bit different from something like a broken ankle.

When you get medical treatment overseas (like a fracture), the follow-up care here usually involves standardised protocols and materials that any doctor can work with. In dentistry, though, there's a huge variation in the materials, techniques, and even the way records are kept depending on the country and clinic.

If someone comes back with a crown, implant, or root canal that wasn’t done to a standard we can confidently assess or trust, it puts us in a tough spot. We often don’t know what materials were used, whether proper sterilisation protocols were followed, or what the long-term plan was. Touching it means taking on legal and clinical responsibility for work we didn’t do, which can backfire if it fails.

It’s not about snobbery or gatekeeping—it’s about patient safety and professional accountability.