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Posted

i have a friend that would like to get some dental work done in Mexico. He is specifically looking for dental implants.

Does anybody have any info or experiences with dentists there?

Thanks

Posted

Yes, but not personally...

 

Deb, my wife('s) - parents live in Yuma, AZ and travel to Los Algodones to get all there dental work done (as well as all their optometry, etc.) along with thousands of snow birds... Also, Deb's uncle got his implants done there and had a great exp (saved a swack of $$). Deb has only had her teeth cleaned last time down and everything went fine (not as intrusive as implants, I realize). Also, a neighbor got his done in the fall (Mazatlan, I think) and also had a good exp., (even though he screwed up the appt. so they had to accommodate him in another city - from what I remember him telling me)...

 

Lemme know if you want more info...

 

Peter

 

i have a friend that would like to get some dental work done in Mexico. He is specifically looking for dental implants.

Does anybody have any info or experiences with dentists there?

Thanks

Posted

Tell me more, I'm really rebelling at the thought of giving my dentist 10-12 bills for the work I need done. He's a nice guy and all but JESUS...

Posted

Yeah, at the risk of offending all the dentists on here, dentistry in AB is a total racket!!

 

I think Deb's uncle paid about $5000 (if that) for his entire mouth...

 

Taco, shoot me off a PM I'm sure Deb's parents would love to play host... Come to think of it I'm pretty sure you'd get along quite well with Deb's dad!!

 

P

 

 

Tell me more, I'm really rebelling at the thought of giving my dentist 10-12 bills for the work I need done. He's a nice guy and all but JESUS...
Posted

Will do Peter when the time comes, it's nothing critical, gonna put it off for awhile yet, still putting a kid through post-secondary.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
i have a friend that would like to get some dental work done in Mexico. He is specifically looking for dental implants.

Does anybody have any info or experiences with dentists there?

Thanks

 

I know of a couple people that have had work done in Mazatlan, said they were really good and also saved a tonne of $$. I can can more info if still needed.

Posted

As an Albertan Dentist who has actually just cancelled thier license to move overseas (just so you know I'm not suckering you into my shop), there are a few things to look for:

 

-There is a whole range of dentistry in Mexico, from terrible to really great. There are lots of dentists in mexico originally trained in the US, Germany, Scandinavia. Some of the Carribean schools are not too bad. I don't want to trash mexican dental schools, but just due to lack of equipment in the schools the education can be pretty basic.

 

- If you need root canals, just make sure that they are using gutta percha (GP for short) to fill the canals. Formaldehyde pastes are pretty popular because they remove the pain ASAP as well as being fast and cheap, but having a tooth full of embalming fluid is bad in the long run. Ive seen a number of these from Mexico, India/Thailand, Russia and they are not fun when the bone around the tooth starts to react to the formaldehyde.

 

-Implants- Make sure they give you the original packages the implants came in, or at least the brand, serial and lot #'s. This can be important if you ever need replacement parts. The implants are designed so that the top part has an engineered weakness (a gold screw in most cases) that will fail before you damage the actual body of the implant. The replacement parts are extremely specific, and those numbers will be needed. Also, ask if they are using one of the major brands (Straumann, Nobel-Biocare, Sterioss, Bio-oss). Sometimes the small companies go out under and then parts become unavailable. Also make sure you get a copy of the pre and post op x-ray.

 

-The biggest offenses I've seen are from crown and bridge work (followed by composite (white) fillings). The Labs that make the crowns/bridges also differ in quality alot, and no matter how good the dentist is, poor labwork will always fail early. Any gaps in the margin of the crown, or overhangs and that baby is toast.

 

-You have no legal recourse if there is a screwup, but major screwups only really come with major dental work.

 

Here are a couple of films, I think the problems are pretty clear. No complaints from these patients, but all 3 molars are gone on the first film and fenceposts don't stand up too long with 6" postholes.

 

-8589677281523213308_2035.jpg

The dentist has drilled through the tooth and perforated into the bone on the back root of the first molar, and you can see a pretty big gap between the crown and the tooth. The second molar is nearly perforated, the crown must have had a huge gap in the back which has been filled (not very well) with some unknown material. Root canals are incompletely cleaned, but it won't hurt because the formaldehyde has fried the nerve. Food packing in around the temporary filling on the 2nd molar and the open margin on the first molar has caused periodontal disease, so you can see the bone has been eaten away between the molars resulting in some loose teeth (mostly the wisdom).

 

Tsai_32759.jpg

 

In anycase, I'm at about 50/50 between total f-ups and stuff that would be acceptable for mexican work that I've come across. I won't try to scare you away, but it is essential you do your homework and get documentation of the work, films if possible. If it helps at all dental work in the michigan area is of modern standards and about 60-70% of the cost of Calgary. Avoid Eastern Block countries and India like the plague. If things go pear shaped it is unlikley a general dentist will touch it unless they really like you, so you will likely end up in a specialist office (and if you think regular dentists are expensive).

 

As an aside, I wouldn't be suprised if Calgary/Vancouver had some of the highest fees in the Western hemisphere.

 

Like they say, your mileage may vary

 

Rob

Guest Sundancefisher
Posted
If it helps at all dental work in the michigan area is of modern standards and about 60-70% of the cost of Calgary.

 

Hey...Michigan probably has some good fishing. If you can do a fins and skins trip...why not a fins and fillings trip?

Posted

Hey Peter

 

Would you mind PM'ing the contact info for the dentist Deb's parents go to. I need to get my "CMH Rossignol" shaped gap in my mouth bridged again. I just broke another fang off, and another tooth is also cracked, so I have to upgrade to a 6 tooth bridge now.......friggin powder straps, seemed like a good idea at the time, (and to be honest, back then, losing a ski would have been about 30% of the winter budget.)

 

Anyhoo I just got a quote from my dentist in Banff, and they want $ 8975.21 and I've only got about 700 bucks left on my plan for 2011 so that is just not going to work for me.

 

PS FLYinGUY - would love to check out who your friends recommend as well.

 

Thx

 

Posted

Rob,

 

Done!

 

I can also forward you the info of my neighbor's dentist in PV. PV might be a bit easier (more direct) to get to then Los Algadones...

 

P

 

 

Hey Peter

 

Would you mind PM'ing the contact info for the dentist Deb's parents go to. I need to get my "CMH Rossignol" shaped gap in my mouth bridged again. I just broke another fang off, and another tooth is also cracked, so I have to upgrade to a 6 tooth bridge now.......friggin powder straps, seemed like a good idea at the time, (and to be honest, back then, losing a ski would have been about 30% of the winter budget.)

 

Anyhoo I just got a quote from my dentist in Banff, and they want $ 8975.21 and I've only got about 700 bucks left on my plan for 2011 so that is just not going to work for me.

 

PS FLYinGUY - would love to check out who your friends recommend as well.

 

Thx

 

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