A couple of years ago on 2 separate occasions I cracked some teeth all the way through which required extraction and implants. My dental insurance is weak and it only covered the extraction, the least expensive part of it leaving me with a bill of about $6,500 each time. I told my dentist I now have 2 Kenne Bell superchargers in my mouth.

Once again I broke off another tooth. I saw 2 dentists to get estimates and both came in at about that same mark, $7,500 - to $7,800 before insurance and my part would be around $6 - $6,500. A guy I work with had previously told me that he had gone to Mexico for his implants at a fraction of the cost and they did a great job. I asked him about it again and he said between he and his wife have been the about 10 times combined for various procedures. He gave me the name of the place they go, I did some checking on reviews for places to go through various sources and picked a list of three to check with (I’d forgotten the name of the place he told me by now). I sent off an email to Dental Solutions in Los Algodones (AKA Molar City) with X rays etc and they came back with a price of $1,750! I checked with my friend at work and this was the same place they go. That’s good enough for me, I didn’t bother checking anywhere else.

Around that same time we had dinner with some friends and talking about that they have a rental property in “The Lakes” near Phoenix and they will be down there the first part of May so that’s when I booked my appt figuring we could get together then. They insisted I stay with them, I’m using miles for my plane tickets so really all I’ll have for expenses is a car rental. I’m a Mustang guy so it’s a chance to rent a newer Mustang and hope I get an upgrade to a GT.

My friend I’m staying with texted me this morning letting me know the day of my appt in Mexico is Cinco de Mayo! Of course this is taken very seriously even in Phoenix so it looks like sampling Martinis has now turned into a Tequila journey I need to prepare for. That 6 am flight is going to be a challenge. I just hope they can hold off on their celebrations at the dentist office until they send me on my way! I don’t need this -



Anyone else take advantage of Mexican dental tourism?

No.way.Jose.

My niece and nephew went last month to Turkey for medical tourism. Nope. No thanks. So far they are happy though.

I have family in Yuma and they go to Algodones for everything medical and dental that their insurance won't cover in the US. As I understand it, one guy owns or runs that whole town and it's pretty safe. You park on the US side and walk across and back. There are billboards for all those clinics along I-8 in AZ and CA. I wouldn't hesitate to go, if I needed something expensive.

What happened to crowns?

Foreign medical procedures tourism? NOPE, NADA, NEIN, NYET !!!!!!!!

Maybe invest in better insurance?

As an orthodontist, I treated many patients who were missing teeth. My role was to prepare the spaces for implants along with straightening everything else out. On a handful of occasions, I had patients say they were going to Mexico for the surgery because it was so much cheaper. I advised them against doing so, even though I had no financial interest in where the implant was placed. My job was done at that point.

In at least two (of maybe 5) cases, it went very poorly. One developed a serious infection around the implant after they were home. They ended up having to remove the implant and start over. Of course, the local surgeon charged them the normal fee, as he should. The second case came back with a crown placed on a temporary implant. The temps are sometimes used to provide additional anchor points during orthodontics, but are intended to be removed in 3-6 months. They are basically titanium wood screws and not designed for crown support. The other cases retained the implant at least for a few years, but were hit and miss as far as angulation. If the implant isn't placed at the correct angle, it makes it difficult or impossible to get the porcelain to look right in the final restoration.

quote:

Originally posted by FrankMoses:
Maybe invest in better insurance?

Wut?

First - insurance these days is about the furthest thing from an investment. To get a plan that would cover implants would cost WAY more then if I were to pay out-of-pocket, even locally.

The insurance companies are the problem. Why would I support that even more? There is no reason it should cost four times more for the same procedure just because it’s done in the US.

These dentists are US trained, no less experienced, clean, safe environments, using the same dental products as far as brands of implants, etc., that are used in the US. This is not a procedure that is done in the back of some Cantina that shares a urinal.

The insurance companies have fucked up prescription medication as well. A 90 day supply of Xarelto in the US is close to $1700. My doctor sent my prescription to northwestpharmacy.com in Canada and I got it for $162 shipped.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
What happened to crowns?

Crowns are still used, I have a couple. But they don’t fix every kind of tooth damage. A crown was not an option on any of my implants.

I had a medical procedure in Mexico while I was on vacation- completely unplanned. Ended up with an overnight stay. They took excellent care of me.

I am with mnsig. Not integrating bone in a mexican job. Will it work. Good luck.

I have followed a RV website for many years.
Over those years I have read countless stories about people that have had their dental work done in Mexico, many at Rocky Point or Los Algodones.

I have never read a bad report, only glowing comments.
I wouldn't hesitate to do it. Dental rates here in the USA are crazy.

No recent news, years ago, no problems what so ever that I've heard about now either. I personally would go to Mexico for serious dental work if needed. Sounds like you have good references.
When you walk across the Border, no Leathermans or knives or other "dangerous" stuff, you will not get them back.

I’ve also heard eyeglasses can be bought at a fraction of the cost. I might explore that too while I’m there. That said I’ve recently transitioned from Pearle to Costco that was a big price savings.

The US dollar is pretty strong right now, everything is going to appear cheap in Mexico.
AI Overview
As of late April 2026, $1 US dollar (USD) is worth approximately 17.29 to 17.73 Mexican pesos (MXN). Exchange rates fluctuate, but the rate generally hovers around 17-18 pesos per dollar in recent, high-demand exchange scenarios.

You could have some cheap breasteses installed, too! My vote is hell, no!

As somebody who grew up with immediately post-Soviet-era eastern European medical care, I'm sure Mexican doctors and facilities aren't that bad. The reason other countries have cheaper medical care is due to a lower basic GDP, lower quality equipment and resources, subsidies, and a lack of medical oversight, liability, and litigation. So if something does go wrong, you'll have basically no recourse. If you're cool with that, go for it...I personally think our system could do with a lot less of that last thing. But it does suck if you end up on the wrong side of a truly botched procedure.

My dad had a ton of dental work done in Mexico over the years. Crowns and root canals mostly.

He had nothing but great things to say about all the work that was done at a fraction of the cost in the US. Hell, if I lived closer I would head down there.

quote:

Originally posted by BRL:
I’ve also heard eyeglasses can be bought at a fraction of the cost. I might explore that too while I’m there. That said I’ve recently transitioned from Pearle to Costco that was a big price savings.

Worst damn eye glasses I ever owned were from Costco Canada. I liked them at first, but one of the coatings started delaminating. It wasn't a scratch but instead it was little chunks of coating coming off the lens and eventually one of the chunks was Dead center in my field of vision.

I had purchased them at Costco while living in Canada and then my employer moved me back to the United States. The delamination started after I moved back to the USA. Costco USA wouldn't stand behind them and and new glasses were cheaper than flying back to Canada so I purchased new glasses from someone else despite the old glasses being less than a year old.

I have been a Costco member for 24 years and it was my only bad experience with Costco. However, it was a bad enough experience that those were the first and last pair of glasses I'm ever buying from Costco.