Dental Work in Mexico??
 

Has anyone had any experience of traveling to Mexico for dental work? The estimate from our dentist for my husbands dental work is $17,000, our share after insurance. If we could find a reputable dentist in Mexico (I'm sure there must be some there)it would be more cost effective to combine a vacation with dental appointments. There is no way, being retired, that we can afford $17K now.

Have you thought about getting a 2nd opinion?

I'm sure there are one or two in Mexico City who might qualify, but I'm not sure you would save a whole lot since part of the expense in the US is covered by your dental insurance.
Some med/den insurance will cover RX outside the US, but typically one has to pay up front and submit a claim which is often subjected to very intense "scrutiny".
M

There are American trained dentists in Tijuana, but I'll take my chances in the U.S. even if it costs more. I agree that you should get a 2nd opinion. I'd rather take out a loan than have my dental work done in Mexico.

I heard an interview on CBC Radio with a Canadian trained dentist from Edmonton. He has set up a private clinic somewhere in Mexico, sorry I didn't hear the city. From what I remember the prices were much cheaper than we pay here.

I have a couple of suggestions I would do way before going to Mexico:

Get a second and third opinion - your friend must have other dentists they can reco

Find a local dental school - the best local dental school - and check out what sort of fees they charge - they are usually way less than a private practice DDS - and you 'll have professors overseeing your work

(Caveat: poor quality dental work can be not only useless - but actually dangerous - unless all proper safety/sanitary precautions are taken)

Within the last 3 months there was a trip planned by another person for the same reasons. The search funtion here isn't locating the thread. It doesn't even locate this thread right now, so that tells us something about the search function.

I think it tells us something about the idea of having dental work done in Mexico.

Ditto on the dental school idea - here in the US.

I wouldn't assume that dentistry in Mexico, b/c it's cheaper, is inferior to American dentistry. This is oversimplifying, but the very existence of dental insurance in the US drives up prices.

If I were you, webecca, I'd get at least one more opinion from another dentist; discuss payment options with the dentist of your choice--many offer loans; then try to get personal recommendations for dentists in Mexico, avoiding tourist--and scam artist--magnets like Tijuana, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, etc.

There are large American expat communites in San Miguel de Allende and Alamos, to name just two--if you can make contact with Americans there (try Google, I know there are message boards), they may be able to help. Good luck!

E,
I live in SMdA and would not have major elective dental RX here. Mexico City has 1st world medicine, but see my earlier post.
M

Dental shools don't work. I tried that for braces (don't want to pay 4100 for them..). The local dental school only takes the neediest of people for braces. I'm open for ideas, too!!!

Dental schools do work but not nec. for elective procedures. The thing is, yu usually have to go to a series of appointments because you are working with trainees.

Do a Google search for "dental tourism." I've read several articles about getting dental work done in europe. Anyone remember the Budget Travel article on this topic? Seems like it was Hungary or Slovakia. Also, what about Canada? Since our dollar is stronger there.

Yes I read that article. The magazine is on the net now, so you might look at www.budgettravelonline.com in the archives. The article was not that long ago.

webecca,
One thing you need to realize about before you do something like going to another country is..."if" you get any type of medical work done in another country and you come home and heaven forbide you get some sort of an infection or something worse happens during recovery, your insurance will NOT cover the treatment costs because you had the work done out of the country. Just something to think about. You may be saving money now, but you will be out of pocket more if you get sick as a result of the medical treatment that was sought outside the U.S.

I know people in San Diego who go to TJ for dental work. They have gone to the same dentist there for years and are very happy.

I'm not sure that I would go myself, but I certainly wouldn't get recommendations from total strangers.

vn,
All depends on your coverage: my BCBS "indemnity" covers me world wide, but I have pay at the point of service and submit claims for reimbursement.
Not too bad as it's underwritten by the Texas Medical Association.
M

Although the best medical and dental care in Mexico can be excellent, most is not at all up to the standards of the US. If you can locate a dentist who treats large numbers of ameicans - and whose work had been reviewed by american practitioners - and get personal recommendatins from his patients you might want to consider it.

However, such a dentist will not be charging fees 1/4 what they are in the US - although they probably would be less - brecause you would be going to the top practitioners in the country.

To risk an unknown dentist with who knows what education and work/sanitary practices would be madness.

If your husband is a veteran, you might wish to contact a local VA facility. Their dental fees may be more reasonable.

I would not go to Mexico, but know loads of retirees who cross the border from the Yuma, AZ. area and go into Algodones, just a few miles. Algondones is just a little town, full of dentists, optometry shops and drug stores, couple of restaurants and curio shops, that's it! Think that area survives solely on teeth and eyeballs!

People who live on the border often "go across" to have their dental work done, but they have the advantage of being close if complications develop. I would not recommend traveling to Mexico for major dental work.
Also, Hofstra - please note that dental care through the VA is extremely limited, usually available to only a minority of patients, even among those who get their medical care though VA.

In cnetral Europe, Austrians frequently cross over to Hungary to get their dental work done.

In Asia, Bangkok, Thailand has been a place where people go for excellent medical and dental care.

I once had a tooth filled in Singapore and was very happy with the work - and the price!

Shop around! And be very, very careful - as the others have forewarned! Good luck! :)

Forget about it.
India is much cheaper. They provide sidewalk dentistry. Verifiable and quantifiable. Google it.

A vacation with dental work? Isn't that an oxymoron?. I would never consider going abroad for surgery simply for financial reasons, but would regard this similar to the major expense of a car purchase or new roof. I would get a second opinion and estimate, bite the bullet, and put vacation plans on hold until financial circumstances permitted.

Don't do it!!! It's not worth losing your life when an unqualified person claiming to be a dentist does your dental work.
A much better bet is to go to a good dental school such as USC and get the work done there. I have lots of friends who have had work done there, the price was right and the dental work was great.

It would seem to me that Mexican dentistry would be a toss-up (floss-up?) with Molvanian.

try this website and take a look at their dentistry forum:
http://www.plasticsurgeryjourneys.com/

Most of you in the US are so used to getting nearly first dollar medical and dental insurance coverage that you cannot imagine spending your own after tax $$s for top end care.
M

I reviewed medical records for the past 32 years for a major insurance company. I saw numerous people coming from overseas with infectious diseases, due to inferior sanitary conditions in other countries. You risk HIV, hepatitis B and C infections by having medical procedures in anything but first world countries. Mexico is not a first world country. In addition, dental procedures make one prone to bacterial endocarditis/strep infections that can exacerbate or cause heart infections and heart disease. The more information out there on the causality between inflammation and cardiac disease would make me think twice about where I had any procedure. Sterile surgical technique with appropriate and effective antibiotics are critical. Unfortunately, thought the prices in the US are high, medical training is the best in the world (thus all the foreigners attending US medical schools.)

That being said, I would definitely get another dental opinion. I had a total tooth implant with surgery prior to the implant to clean out an infected apicolectomy site, including the surgical bill and the replacement tooth custom made to match my other teeth for under $ 2,000. This was a front tooth with the cosmetic result critical. The oral surgeon was fantastic and gave me 6 months to pay his bill, as well as the cosmetic dentist, since none of this was covered by my dental insurance. Payment plans are the norm for major dental procedures. However, I question a $ 17,000 dental bill. They can replace your entire mouth for that!

shoreb,
The US has one of the highest rates of serious hospital aquired infections in the entire world.
M

True, but Mexico no doubt has a higher rate of community acquired infection.

I would probably pull my own teeth out, first.

Have you ever been to Mexico? If you were assiduous enough or lucky enough to find a really wonderful dentist with all the latest equipment--i.e. a dentist for the very wealthy--- he/she would probably charge quite a bit, too.

Binthair,
Wrong.
M

M: Can you prove it? This is from the Dept. of HHS website re: the Mexican border region. Oh, I suppose the data could relate to the horrible conditions we have here in Texas versus Mexico...Granted there are many more diseases than mentioned here, but it is at least consistent. I don't eat food from street vendors in Mexico either, and I don't think traveler's diarrhea is less prevelent in Mexico than the US. Not easy to mine much comparative hard data doing a search on this. I'm sure matters are highly regional...probably lower in San Miguel.

"Hepatitis A is two to three times more prevalent along the border than in the United States as a whole. Tuberculosis, a growing threat in the U.S., appears along the border at twice the national average."

"The incidence of several types of communicable diseases is very high in border areas. The areas show high incidences of water borne diseases, such as shigellosis. The rates of hepatitis A infection, tuberculosis, and measles are also very high when compared to the general U.S. population. The incidence of AIDS is particularly high in San Diego."

"...reputable dentist in Mexico..." isn't that an oxymoron ? For $17k I'm pretty sure you can have a whole new set of teeth made. What in the world is being done that costs that much (their share after insurance) anyway. Sounds like some major surgery going on as well. I'll stick w/Binthair on this. Of course mikemo has provided a plethora of references & documention to refute this. mikemo, how about trying to exercise just a tiny bit of common sense in this case ??

SAP, Entshuldiegungsie?
M

I know 2 people who have had work in Mexico and lived to tell about it. The first was my father who needed a full set of dentures and found someone by referral in Tijuana who did a great job at about 1/3 of the price here.

The other is a waitress at our local diner who went to Algodones to have a root canal performed. She said her dentist down there was trained in the US, speaks perfect English and did a great job for a 1/3 of the cost.

Like "desertduds" said in his/her post, Algodones is a little town just with dentists and eye docs. That's it. Now I'm not suggesting that you should run right over, but maybe a litlle more research might help you to decide one way or the other if this is a viable option for you.

Shorebrau is absolutely right saying:

"In addition, dental procedures make one prone to bacterial endocarditis/strep infections that can exacerbate or cause heart infections and heart disease."

If I were you, I'd ask the name of Shorebraus oral surgeon. He/she sounds like a person who doesn't gouge (no pun intended) his/her patients.

As a side note, my sister in law had one of her babies in Guatemala (they were living there) to the tune of $174. Total. They both turned out just fine.

This started out very interesting. But halfway through I had to stop reading. The very thought of the whole thing was making my teeth hurt!

Just a thought re infections: even here in our antiseptic dental offices, I have to take a honker horse pill dose of antibiotics before any dental work. What's to prevent someone having dental work done in Mexico from taking a similar preventative dose if endocarditis or strep is a worry?

Why travel for medical tourism when you can go to Asia where prices tend to be up to 10 times less? There was a CBS 60 min show two Sundays ago which featured medical fascilities in Thailand that are world calss, provide immensely personal service, with a lot of nurses tending patients. The hospitals look like 5 start shopping malls instead of the traditional hospital setting with familiar odor and sickly visitors. You should start by checking the CBS 60 min broadcast. Both Thailand and India are the best. The meidcal services also include paid vacation in a resort the hospital owns or is affiliated with.

Definitely I would visit Thailand, or India. I would not be surprised if the dental service you are looking for will cost you $5000. An American man did a hip replacement the the Thai hospital. It only cost him about $10 grand, about $120 grand less than that of American.

More and more Americans are outsourcing their medical services to Thailand and India because it is a lot cheaper there. Canadians as well as doing much of their medical services that is not covered under the national health plan in Thailand and India.

Good luck.