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Stung by Canada’s highest dental fees, a growing number of Albertans are flocking to B.C. for everything from routine checkups to root canals.

Dentists in the southeastern B.C. communities of Golden and Invermere told Postmedia they’ve seen an influx of inquiries and visits by Albertans looking for dental deals across the border, even as the province continues a review into the high cost of dental fees launched last summer by the NDP government.

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Dr. Jeff Dolinsky owns Golden Dental Centre, a mere 264 km from Calgary in the gateway to B.C., and he has watched the number of Alberta clients climb dramatically, coinciding with the province’s economic swoon.

“We never had people coming across the border until about the past two years, now it’s on a weekly basis,” said Dolinsky, a University of Alberta grad who has operated the practice since 1988.

“We’re getting a couple of families a week, sometimes more.”

In at least one case Dolinsky has experienced, a patient was quoted $60,000 for a dental procedure by a Calgary dentist, work he was able to provide in Golden for about $20,000 less.

Last week alone, Dolinsky saw eight patients from Alberta and the practice recently had to hire another dental hygienist to keep up with demand.