I have had family members and co workers that have had dental work and even surgery in Mexico. They were all Hispanic so could speak the language. I never heard any complaints but it is not something I would do.

Not me , but you can walk into any one of a
dozen shuffle board games in a dozen of Mesa,AZ
snow bird, mobile home
parks and get 4 or five dentist
recommendations.

More than a few have a bus that goes down
too a strip mall or two for dental , optical or
pharmaceutical's.


I've heard great stories and
not so good result stories.
So, kind of like here in the states.

First thing I thought was going to Mexico to save money, then for some 'reason' I don't make it back home. So much for savings.

I know a few dozen people here in Tucson that regularly go to Rocky Point for dental and none has ever had a problem.

It’s not the dentist it’s the insurance that’s the scam. Like other medical treatments designed to separate you from your hard earned dollar to line their pockets at your expense.

As someone who practiced medicine and dentistry for the past 50-ish years, I wouldn't recommend it.  Not because you would get poor care - you might not (more likely than in the US, by a substantial margin), but you might get poor care in the US of A as well.  You just almost certainly won't get adequate follow up across the border, particularly if you have complications.   And you won't have legal redress for failures.  Medical care is not well regulated by our southern neighbors, licensure even less so.  It will be almost certainly cheaper (causes well discussed here and elsewhere), but it's a crap shoot and gamble with your health, long-term and otherwise.  It's a free country (us, not Mexico) so you have choices. My advice is to choose wisely.

I'd do it. I wouldn't go to Canada, but MX? sure.

Wow. You DO have some really crappy insurance. Sorry about that.

As long as the practitioner in Mexico was heavily vetted, I'd be open to it.

I am fortunate that my insurance is significantly better than the OP's situation. What a sad state that in this country he would be forced to consider this action.

I would do some research and look for legitimate reviews. If many reviews were good, I'd definitely consider it.

Mexico has come a long way.
When they have to work indoors, there is now inside plumbing in some buildings, netting to stop the snakes and lizards from falling through the grass/dirt roof. They have kerosene in the oil lamps so they are brighter.
The dentists are masters with hammer/chisel, a skill passed down from many generations.
The opium pain killer they use is to die for.

My sister and her husband do this too. They live in Atlanta and even go down for routine cleanings and exams.

She thinks I’m crazy going to a local dentist. But, I have known my local dentist for 20+ years and trust him.

I have never had an issue with his work, but know if I did he would cover it. Thankfully, my sister has not had any problems, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for some dentist in Mexico to fix a problem he created.

Even living in AZ it wouldn’t be my thing. I don’t want to cross the border for ANY REASON !!

There are some very skilled and well educated medical and dental professionals in the third world. In my medical practice I have treated patients who had emergency surgical procedures in Southeast Asia ( present day Vietnam) and also Mexico and had great results. There is a whole industry based on medical tourism now, and some countries ( in Asia in particular) have healthcare systems that easily rival the states in quality at greatly reduced cost.

The big problem here is the massive administrative burden that CMS ( the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services) and the insurance companies saddle the medical community with. It has massively changed in the 35+ years I have been practicing. When you need a full time office staffer whose only job is to work all day on prior authorizations so we get paid, that is sad.

My biggest gripe with insurance on dental is insistence that replacing lost or broken teeth are considered “cosmetic” as opposed to functional. Obviously it is the cost of most dental procedures that they choke on and want to avoid. It makes me angry on occasion when coverage is given for bullshit like sexual reassignment surgery but not quality of life things like properly working teeth. I find this repugnant and disgusting, especially given the extreme cost of such abominable procedures.

I am in need of a bridge to fix a pair of broken crowns on either side of my left canine that will end up costing around 8-10 grand which is obscene. Implants would be a bit more but the inner tooth might not be a viable candidate due to the thickness of bone in the front of the maxilla . I have Aetna/Mailhandlers and coverage is next to nothing. I can certainly see why people would travel to Mehico to try and avoid financial hardship.

I've been to Algodones several times and would not hesitate to have dental work done there.

There's a reason why thousands do it regularly and keep coming back.

Now, other places I would be much more reserved.

Cheers~

We found a dentist in Aqua Prieta Mexico, across from Douglas. Dr. Dominguez and his dental techs were tra8ned in Tucson. Any dental hardware (crowns, partials) came from a US lab. Facilities and equipment were modern and very clean.

I don't understand why not. There is a, from what I can tell, somewhat booming medical tourism business in both Mexico and Turkey. They have dental resorts in some places. I don't think they would doing that volume if it wasn't up to snuff.

On the other hand, my wife thinks like most of you.