A LONG DAY

It started with an 8:30am appointment at a new dentist, whose first name is Rafael.  He had been recommended by our friends, Bob & Jeanette Fulton, and  upon meeting him, I was slightly apprehensive, due to his youthful appearance.  He finished dental school 5 years ago, and has been practicing in Algodones for 2 years.  After the initial exam, he explained (excellent English) what needed to be done, and the cost.  I agreed, and the work began.

The reason for a change from my previous Mexican Dentist, Carmen, is that it was confirmed yesterday, that she had developed an aggressive cancer, and had passed away.  I last visited Carmen a little over 3 years ago, and was happy with the dental work that she did.  Unfortunately, I have always had dental issues, and was not blessed with the best of teeth.  The time that I have spent in a dental chair during my lifetime would be scary, if I knew the actual total hours.

I won't get into the gory details, but I was in the chair from about 9am until 2pm, with a short break in the middle.  I have 4 teeth that need crowns, and two of those needed root canals.  All of the prep work was completed in that marathon session yesterday, and now it's up to the lab to build the crowns.  One of the amazing things about dentistry in Algodones, and probably other Mexican towns that cater to Americans, is the speed in which every thing is accomplished.  What usually takes a couple of weeks in the U.S. for crowns and bridges to come back from the lab, only takes a couple of days in Algodones.  If everything goes as planned, I'll be done on Monday, and back home on Tuesday.  The cost............4 crowns with 2 of those requiring build up posts from the lab, 2 root canals, and some other minor work - $1,400.  In the U.S. the charge for all of that work would be in the $5-6,000 range.  My dental insurance has an annual cap of $2,000, but it does cover Mexican Dentistry.  By getting dental care in Mexico, my out of pocket expense is thousands of dollars less than it would be in the U.S., and so far, my experiences with 2 dentists, have been excellent.

At about 2pm, the line waiting to get back into the U.S. was longer than I expected.  It took about 45 minutes to cross the border.