Dental tourism in the Republic of Croatia in the last ten years has proven to be a model of extremely profitable business in dentistry but at the same time also a very risky one. In the present day, we can find only one research article dealing with dental tourism in the Republic of Croatia. There is a minimal number of scientific and professional article by Croatian researchers and only a rare professional publication. To date, not all aspects of business/operations in dental tourism in the Republic of Croatia have been researched, including business risks. This article provides an overview of the status of dental tourism in the Republic of Croatia with an overview of the foreign market's potentials and a focus on the Italian market. It explains the modes, advantages and disadvantages of advertising dental products and dental tourism services in the Republic of Croatia on social networks, and presents the business/operations of Croatian dental clinics as a result of investment in advertising and communication. The Croatian dental tourism market is analysed in terms of difficulties currently encountered by dental clinics due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a business risk, i.e. the recent crisis. As a result this article sets out and explains the steps to be taken to mitigate the impacts and continued the development of dental tourism in the Republic of Croatia in these circumstances.

KEY WORDS
dental tourism, business risks, development, advertising, Republic of Croatia

CLASSIFICATION

JEL:	M37, M38, Z30, Z32, Z39