Dental Tourism in Mexico

I am going to have an awkward conversation with my dentist in the very near future. And I admit, most dental conversations are awkward with their fingers in your mouth, but this is different. This conversation is inherently awkward.

I’ve been in to see him recently, like since the beginning of the year, trying to FINALLY get a crown put it over my implant. Like many Americans, I was waiting for the new year, and new insurance allotments to come into effect. Meanwhile, I had a big hole in my mouth, where the implant was, for over a year. Anything crispy, like corn chips or salad, would poke my gums there and make eating unpleasant. What’s worse, just before Christmas, I also started to have serious temperature sensitivity on the other side of my mouth. I was hard-pressed to overeat over the holidays, but I managed.

Back to this conversation with my dentist – who is a nice, gentle man, and doesn’t deserve this. So there I was, in his office, finally looking to get my implant covered with a porcelain crown. My co-pay was to be $895. But first I had to take care of the dead and dying nerves in my other two teeth, so he sent me to an Endodontist and on a random Friday afternoon, I had two root canals. Fun. What’s worse, it used up ALL my insurance for 2019, just two weeks into the new year.

So we held off on the new crown-over-implant, as it’s called, to deal with the new teeth in pain. Now, it’s been about ten days since, but in the interim, I slipped off to Mexico, and got the crown put in. I think he’s going to notice. There’s a tooth where there was a hole. And there’s an $1800 job that went to a Mexican dentist. Awkward… right?

He’s going to know I’m seeing other dentists.

We were just there for the dog…

We planned this trip, truthfully, to help our doggie get teeth pulled, bec that was quoted at $1800 here in Los Angeles, and we’d been putting it off a long time. But we hated to think of him suffering. Rotten and dying teeth hurt as I was so recently reminded. The idea was to drive to Yuma, AZ and from there, cross the border into Los Algodones, Mexico, and get poor Ted’s teeth taken care of. As you can see in the picture above, he enjoyed the scenery, as much as any of the other dental tourists. And for the record, my research quoted an Arizona ASPCA who used the Safari Pet group for all their veterinary needs. This seemed like a good enough endorsement for me. Also, for the record, Ted’s 7 rotten teeth were removed for $270, and he is doing much better.

Because we were going there, I decided to take the dental plunge, too. Los Algodones is a little town that is within walking distance of the border that has hundreds of dentists, opticians, pharmacies and more. It exists to serve “dental tourists.” I did not meet a single American or Canadian who wasn’t there for dental work. The rule of thumb is that whatever dental work you get done will cost about one-third the quoted American price in Mexico.

We’ve been to Mexico. Ted and I had our teeth seen to. (My crown-over-implant cost $690 vs. $1792 here.) My husband Adam and I ate a lot of great Mexican food, and now, I have to let my dentist down gently.

Getting dental work in Los Algodones, Mexico

Here’s some of the information about dental work in Los Algodones, that I had to make several phone calls and read lots of blogs and yelp reviews to find out. (You’re welcome.)

• The border is open from 6am to 10pm. Since I had a 10am appt, we drove to Yuma, AZ the night before arriving around midnight, too late to cross the border, so we stayed at a Hojo’s and crossed the border the next day around 8:30 or 9am.
• The border crossing is 8 miles from Yuma, Arizona. 
• You need a valid US Passport.
• When you drive up to the border, most people park and walk across the border. For a couple of reasons… they say it is faster to get through customs on foot, than in a vehicle. And our car insurance was good in Mexico, up to the first 75 miles, but still required a liability rider from a licensed Mexican insurance provider. It didn’t seem worth the effort to get that. For the record, it is a very short walk.
• The parking prices are $6/day and/or $10 overnight.
• Once inside Mexico, your hotel, or your doctor will likely pick you up in a van. You can just call them, and they’ll come. In fact they drive you around all over Los Algodones, even if you just need a pickup at the hotel for a ride to a restaurant.
• It is overwhelming at first. Somehow, reading about hundreds of dentists and “medical tourism” I pictured some kind of Dental Disneyland, where everything would be clean, and resort-like and catering to Americans. It is very, immediately Mexican. When you arrive, hawkers try to get you to jump ship and come to their dentistry practice. There are pinatas for sale, and beggars selling tchotchkes as you try to walk on a dusty, uneven sidewalk. When the sidewalk wasn’t tripping you, a high tension wire rose inexplicably in your path and knocked a knot in your noggin. After a couple of blocks, “town” broke down into dirt roads, chain link fencing, garbage and falling down concrete sheds. We arrived with two huge rolling suitcases, bec we weren’t sure how long we were going to stay, and bec we’d packed dog beds, clothes and all the trappings of a romantic weekend (that truly never transpired.) They were unwieldy, at best. It was uncomfortable, at first, how much we stuck out. Big Stupid, Slow Moving Americans. To be fair, the distrust and fear was not earned. Once we got used to our surroundings, we encountered nothing but helpful, nice people, both in the streets and in the establishments we visited.

• English is spoken everywhere – and well. Of course their native tongue is Spanish, but waiters, receptionists, doctors all speak English fairly well, with charming accents.
• The whole town is about 10 square blocks – so very quickly, you know your way around and recognize the hawkers and “helpers” and they know you. They leave you alone, preferring to help the first-dayers, who are more likely to tip.
• We stayed at the Hacienda Hotel. It was nice enough, and had a lovely courtyard. We had dogs in tow, so Hacienda was our only option. The price for a single room (one queen bed) was $50/night.
  It is a dusty, but not long, walk into town. If you don’t have dogs, I’d look into Cielito Lindo Hotel, right on Medical Plaza. Everything is a short walk from there. It’s brand new, and you’re right in the middle of town.
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• Pet Fees. A word of warning: Hacienda charged a pet fee of $75 per night/per pet! We had paid $10 per pet/night the night before, in Yuma at the Hojo’s. The most I’ve ever paid, at the swankest hotels across the US has been $40 per dog/night. This fee might have been negotiable, but we didn’t try, so we can’t know.
• My dental work was done by Sani-Dental. It was a factory. You waited in one hallway to get an x-ray and treatment plan, then went to another to see your doctor. The first day, I was there 4 hours. The next day, I waited a half-hour to see my doctor, which seemed more reasonable. On the third and last day, I waited 90 minutes to get in, and the work took about an hour. My husband had had to check out of the hotel, and was waiting in the courtyard with our massive luggage, and two dogs. We wanted to get back home that day. It was not a welcome delay.
• Sani-Dental recommendation. I liked my doctor, and trusted her. And though my doctor spoke good English, they talk about you and your case over your head in Spanish, and you are left wondering – as you hear words like “porcelana” and the brand name of my implant, “Straumann” peppered among other unintelligible sentences. Was there a problem? Is the tooth they’re installing okay? I’ve heard great reports of people back for their third and fourth visits, saving them thousands of dollars, overall. By contrast, I was approached by a guy in front of the building, who tried to warn me off Sani. He said the work they did on him ended up costing him three times as much to fix and redo the work. It’s funny, they take xrays, as needed – no lead apron, and nobody leaves the room. The doctor sets it up, sitting right next to me and the xray machine, she says “Ai” and the assistant snaps the picture. No problem. For me, the jury is out. I have my crown, and it has a two-year warranty. So I can’t put my finger on what I still feel uneasy about.
• There are hundreds of dentists in town, and a plethora of yelp reviews. You can find one you trust. But be forewarned: individual practices fill up fast. Book your appointments at least a week in advance.
• Pricing My crown was $690. Not quite the savings I’d have hoped for. In the US, my co-pay would have been $895 – (so the procedure was earmarked for about $1800). But I was already out of dental benefits, and sick of the whole hole-in-the-mouth thing. Pet dental was enormously cheaper. Instead of paying $1800, we paid $270. Definitely worth the trip.
• Money You pay in dollars everywhere. Some doctors don’t accept credit cards, but they’ll accept a personal check. There is an ATM in Medical Plaza, though, literally that seems to be the only one in town.
• The whole town runs on Yuma, AZ time. Near the border, your phone will also run on Arizona time. But get a few blocks in, and your phone will “update” to Mexican time. It is very hard to get anywhere on time, if you’re relying on the internet to give you the time. My Apple watch and our Iphones flipped an hour forward and backward, constantly. Bring an analog watch if you have one.
• Doggy dental was the real success story. We took Ted to get his teeth removed bec he was suffering. We could tell bec he was shivering, even when he was wearing a sweater. As I mentioned, LA tooth extraction, including sedation, and an overnight stay would have been $1800. At Safari Pet, the very gentle doctor took care of him for about $270. I also picked up flea meds for two years for two small dogs for $52. This is a real steal, especially since they were the chewable tabs that you need a prescription for. I hate the ampules. I tried to get the eye cream my other dog needs ($18 for a minuscule tube), but it cost $22 there. You just have to check.
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• Getting home/over the border. The Cielito Lindo and Sani-Dental both have shuttles that will take you over the border, if you arrange 48 hours in advance. This is particularly helpful, if you fly in to the Yuma airport. But even if all they’re going to do is drop you off at the parking lot, it could save you hours at the border.
• We walked back over the border, standing in line for Customs for about an hour. It was shaded. There was a wall to sit on, when you wanted. There were restrooms on both sides of the border. There are people selling drinks, foods and souvenirs throughout your wait. It wasn’t bad at all. We were told horror stories about how long it would take, going both ways. (Hours!!!!) We entered so quickly, we weren’t sure we’d crossed the border yet. We thought Customs might still be ahead. On the way back, it was about 3pm, so it was a longer wait.
• Dogs entering the US need a US doctor’s rabies certificate. If it is a Mexican doctor’s certificate, they may quarantine your dog for 30 days. All dogs of Mexican origin will be quarantined for 30 days.

Things to do in Los Algodones, Mexico

Would I do it again? We had fun – but literally as early as 7:30pm, there is nothing open in town. You can’t get dinner or go out, the place is deserted. The restaurants served exclusively Mexican food, not surprisingly. We ate twice at Mi Casa es Su Casa and it was fine, if tourist-oriented. Soruyez Tacos was amazing. And we had a well-above average dinner at Paraiso. For the two of us eating, breakfast tended to be about $11, total, for plates of eggs, meat, beans, rice and tortillas and a sauce. Lunch/Dinner, including a drink or a beer for my husband, was like $25 for the both of us. We loved Mexican prices.

Our hotel had all Spanish-language TV, except CNN. And we couldn’t get Netflix to cast, bec their television wasn’t linked to wi-fi. I know some of the guests at Hacienda came out into the courtyard to get emails or make phone calls bec there wasn’t a signal in their rooms. So, if you’re not in dental pain, there’s not much to do by 8pm. Bring a book.

There are roadside vendors everywhere, so you can shop and bargain and buy yourself things Mexico is known for:

• Vanilla
• Tequila
• Sterling silver
• Cheap Viagra
• Tooled leather – especially holsters and rifle cases!
• Woven serapes, blankets, table cloths etc.
• Embroidered dresses and the OG “boho” shirts

Los Algodones… worth it?

If you don’t have dental insurance, or if like me, you’ve used up your dental benefits it can be worth the trip. The travel expenses are low – hotel @$40 and food for two people ranging from $30-60 per day. If you need expensive pet veterinarian service, I liked this vet. His practice was attached to a pretty serious feed store. I even liked that he cares for every kind of animal from pets to pigs to parrots. He serves his community, and feeds the animals who live in the area.

Dental care and adventure may not go together in your mind, but I think this was a worthwhile and fairly safe adventure. Thousands of Americans do it every year. If you like refried beans and tortillas at every meal, that’s the icing on the cake!