How to check an Ecuadorian dentist's credentials

Ecuador is better than most dental travel destinations on this, because a good deal of the information is public and searchable rather than something you have to take on trust.

Two separate things to check.

A qualification and a licence to practise are not the same. Check both.

1. The degree register.

SENESCYT, Ecuador's higher education secretariat, maintains a public register of registered university degrees, including foreign degrees that have been recognised in Ecuador. It can be searched by surname or by identification number through the SENESCYT website.

To use it you need the dentist's full name including both surnames, which is how Ecuadorian names are recorded. Asking a clinic for the treating dentist's full legal name is a reasonable request, and how it responds is itself informative.

Note that health qualifications follow their own route and may need additional recognition from the health ministry on top of the degree registration.

2. The health regulator.

Health professionals and the premises they work in are separately regulated by ACESS, Ecuador's healthcare quality and access regulator. A clinic should hold current registration for the practice as well as its practitioners, alongside ordinary municipal permits.

Ask the clinic directly whether its registration is current. A practice that answers plainly is telling you it expects the question.

What we can and cannot tell you.

SmileJet does not audit licences. We describe clinics as featured partners, which is a selection process and a commercial relationship, not a clinical endorsement and not a statement that we have verified anyone's registration. Reviews across this site are aggregated and screened, not visit-verified.

We say that plainly because the alternative, implying a verification we have not performed, is the thing that gets patients hurt.

Do this before the deposit.

Checking takes minutes and it is far easier before money has moved. Combine it with the questions to ask before booking.

Where these numbers come from.

Every figure on this page is the fee published by INNOVATIVE DENTAL, the one clinic we list in Cuenca. It is a featured partner, which describes a selection process and a commercial relationship, not a clinical endorsement.

We list one clinic in Ecuador, so this is not a market survey and nothing here ranks one clinic against another. Prices can change. Confirm your own case with the clinic before you book flights.