CNNMoney.com reported in July of this year that “barely half the population has dental insurance”. That is a high percentage.
Just a few months ago when I got a gold crown to fix a damaged tooth, it cost me about $600. And that’s with dental insurance. The price they quoted without dental insurance would be $900.
But just step across the border to Mexico at a DentiCenter office and the cost is $250. That’s a huge price difference!
DentiCenter is a small but growing chain of full-service dental centers sitting along the U.S. border of California, Arizona and Texas. The 6 offices are located in Mexico but 97% of its patients come from the U.S.
Vacation in Baja and vist the dentist too. Photo from The Travelers Journal.
I would probably go to the office in Baja, Mexico and visit the beautiful beaches and cove. Then it wouldn’t be so bad to visit the dentist, as long as you get a short vacation out of it.
The idea of traveling abroad for medical care is becoming common. There are even medical tourism companies that cater to just that idea. Especially in Thailand and India.
DentiCenter is one that caters to dental care. The center is founded by Dr. Juan Eng, a USC-trained periodontist from the Baja peninsula. They have been in business for 20 years now. DentiCenter’s services includes free transportation for all patients a convenient shuttle to and from the Mexico-U.S. border.
DentiCenter has many things going for it. As noted by CNNMoney.com:
To attract American clients, Eng set out to make his practice mirror their experience in the U.S. His office in Tijuana, just a few hundred yards from the San Ysidro border at the edge of San Diego, is modern and immaculately clean, with nine bright, comfortable exam rooms. It looks and feels like a typical U.S. dental office — except that the staff is Mexican and bilingual.
Dr. Eng is able to charge less by bringing in many of the services in-house such as manufacturing (crowns, bridges, veneers and dentures). They also process claims as well as run their own pharmacy.
To further save money, DentiCenter’s specialists earn about 1/3 of what U.S. dentist net (which according to the American Dental Association is about $200K annually).
Analyst believe business like DentiCenter will be good as the demand for low cost dental care is growing. Of course we wouldn’t have to travel to Mexico, if dentists in the U.S. could just charge less. I’m sure they would still do fine.
News Source CNNMoney.com
9:11 pm on August 24th, 2010
When I was stranded in Thailand in 2008, I met a Japanese man that went to Thailand for some dental work. He said that they do a good job and cost a lot less, this kind of surprised me because I thought it would be more high tech in Japan than Thailand.
It’s a good thing that my teeth are healthy and only need cleaning twice a year.
9:49 pm on August 29th, 2010
That is a surprising about the Japanese man seeking dental work in Thailand. I always thought Japan had great health care system as well as high tech stuff too. Then again the world seem to be more connected now so maybe he found a really good deal abroad.
As for healthy teeth, you are some of the lucky ones! In my family, I am the most unfortunate. It’s probably because I used to eat lots of candy bars. Now I just eat lots of fruits!