Mexico dental

2013-02-25T04:49:00.004-08:00

Mexico Dental Tours is travel agency serving Americans traveling south of the border for dental work in Mexico. Our clients range from first time patients in need of major dental makeovers to regulars making short trips for routine checkups. Our dentists practice conventional modern dentistry, using state-of-the-art-equipment to bring healthy smiles to people of all walks of life and economic backgrounds. We pride ourselves on matching and often exceeding the standard of care of American dental clinics at a fraction of the cost.

At Mexico Dental Tours, we are committed to conservative dentistry based on universally accepted ethics used throughout the developed world. It is our belief that all of our patients should be well-informed and empowered to make decisions about their treatment. We never recommend procedures that are not needed, and give honest, professional assessments. Many of our patients come to us in need of major restorative work, and it is important that we provide them with as many options as possible within their budget, while also taking into consideration their long-term oral health. It is this long-term outlook and honesty that set our dentists apart.

Our patient coordinators are all American citizens who have personally undergone extensive dental work in Mexico, and have a unique understanding of the needs and concerns of other dental tourists. As your main point of contact, they are responsible for planning and scheduling your trip, as well as making your visit as comfortable as possible. They will work closely with your dentist to map out your treatment plan and ensure that all office and lab work is completed within your time constraints.

Transportation to and from the airport, your hotel room, and all dental visits. For local patients, we will meet you in one of the parking lots on the American side of the border, walk with you through customs, then drive you directly to your appointment. When your appointment is over, we will drive you back to customs. Unlike other clinics, you're never left alone to fend for you self in the crowded and often overwhelming downtown area of Tijuana.

Free use of an international cell phone during your visit. Maintain constant communication with your patient coordinator, and keep in touch with your loved-ones back at home.

Over the years, Tijuana has emerged as one of the dental capitals of the world, with one of the highest concentrations of dental clinics per city block of any city in the world. The best and brightest Mexican dentists call Tijuana their home, and the competition is fierce. Our dentists thrive in this community. They continually advance their educations at seminars and workshops held on both sides of the border. We take continued education very seriously, and invest in new equipment and technologies.

In addition to the excellent quality of care from our local dentists, Tijuana is the perfect destination for Mexico dental tourism because of its proximity to the border. San Diego is located only 15 minutes away. This makes it possible to fly in on a domestic airline, then drive into Mexico, which translates into a huge savings versus flying internationally, not to mention is a huge headache-saver. For most southern California residents, Tijuana is only a short drive away. Our dental clinic and all of the hotels we partner with are located within a few blocks from border, and this immediate border zone is one of the safest and most well-protected areas in all of Mexico. Both the Mexican and American governments have a strong interest in keeping the actual border as safe as possible to protect the local economies. The immediate border zone and surrounding tourist areas are not plagued by the instability that dominates the news reports coming out of Mexico. For more information on border safety in Tijuana, click here.

Dental tour set up like a junket

2013-02-22T01:16:00.000-08:00

If you're planning to fly to Mexico for dental work, the trick is to fly to Phoenix rather than Mexico.
"You can fly Calgary to Phoenix return for $400 and then rent a car to drive back and forth to Mexico," said Neil Giesbrecht who had a dental plan and still couldn't afford the cost of dental work in Canada.

"Even after my dental plan had paid a percentage I was still going to have to pay $9,800," said Giesbrecht. "In Mexico, for the whole thing, I paid $2,060." He bristles with indignation at the
price Hatters are paying. "There is nobody worth $700 an hour," said Giesbrecht calculating what a local dentist was charging. "The quality of the work is the same as here and I am not going to pay the cut-throat rates demanded here."

When he told the Mexican dentist that he was stretched for time she immediately offered to come in on a Saturday He says the dental office wasn't pretentious, but it was spotless.

He had two extractions, eight root canals, eight crowns and two bridges. He was also impressed by the sensible plan the dentist proposed in finding a solution to his dental needs.

The supply of antibiotics and pain killers was supplied as part of the cost of the treatment. He was not given a prescription to pay for.

That was all 18 months ago and he says that he's had no problems. "My wife and I are both going again this fall," said Giesbrecht. "I'm considering implants now."

The Giesbiechts said there are a number of options of where to stay while down there. There is a casino at Nevada and the hotel courtesy vehicle was willing to drive them to the border each day
They stayed in a nice five-star hotel at $72 per night for eight days, their flights from Calgary return were $400 each and rented a car for a litde bit of touring each day after the dental work was over.

"The total cost including the dental work was not even $4,000," said Giesbrecht. He thinks local dentists are only just starting to realize the real competition is in Mexico. Giesbrecht says he's thinking of running a bus load of people down there once a month to give Hatters a choice for
dental work, prescriptions and eye glasses.

"This could be the wave of the future," said Giesbrecht. "I might seriously consider this." This is the third in a three part series of personal experiences with dental tourism.

Dental Implants

2013-02-21T05:08:00.000-08:00

Dental Implants in Mexico

Dental implants are today's best option for replacing missing teeth. They are significantly more durable than bridges or dentures, and offer the only truly permanent replacement for missing teeth. Advances in the science of dental implants make today's restorations indisguishable from your natural teeth and offer success rates near 100%. At American Dental Tours, we fully embrace these modern implant placement techniques. Unlike other Tijuana dental clinics, our general dentists do not install implants, only our implantoligst performs this sensitive procedure. Our implantologist is an M.D. with two years of additional training in the United States. Also, as part of our commitment to lasting implants, we do not offer "same-day" implants, which are notoriously unreliable and often fail within months. Beware of clinics offering "immediate load" implants, and clinics where general dentists claim to be skilled implantologists.

The process begins with a comprehensive oral examination. Your doctor must be sure that your jawbone is in the proper condition to receive a dental implant. Dental implants require high density in the jawbone for the implant to anchor itself securely to the mandible. Typically, we see low bone density in patients who recently had a tooth extracted from the site of the propsed implant, and often in elderly patients who are experiencing decreased bone growth. If you don't have the required density, you will need to begin with a bone graft. During this procedure, a calcium-based material will be injected into the site of the future implant to spur increased bone growth. This is a relatively simple procedure with a nearly 100% success rate. After the bone graft, you will need to wait approximately 1-2 months before continuing with the dental implant.

Next, a small pilot hole is drilled into the site of the implant. It is then slowly widened with a special tool to prepare for the placement of the actual implant screw. After the implant has been screwed into place, it must be allowed to heal for a period of between 1-4 months. This process is called osteointegration. The implant is coated with the same minerals that cover natural teeth, and are therefore recognized and accepted by your body. Your jawbone will, overtime, create an extraordinally strong bond with the implant as if it were your own natural tooth. This is what makes today's dental implants so strong, and so remarkable from a medical point of view.

After the implant has completely fused to your jawbone, an abutement is attached to the implant screw. This is a metal anchor that protrudes above the gums and will eventually hold the final crown. A mold will then be taken of your entire mouth and a temporary crown will be installed. This temporary crown acts as a place-holder while your gums grow it and your final, permanent crown is being fabricated.

Finally, the permanent crown is cemented into place. This restoration will look, feel, and function just like a natural tooth, if not better. Today's dental implants are astondingly strong. With proper care, a dental implant will last for the rest of your life.

What to expect during and after your dental implant surgery

Dental implant surgery is completely painless. Many of our patients actually report experiencing less discomfort than when have a filling placed. In the days following the placement of your implant, there may be some minor swelling of the gums surrounding the implant site, but nothing that an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication can't remedy. For the first week or so after the surgery, you should limit yourself to a diet of soft foods. After your self-dissolving stiches have disappeared, you can slowly begin eating solid foods again. At this stage, it is vital that you maintain exceptionally good oral hygienge. Failure to reguarly brush and floss can lead to infections at the implant site which can cause the implant to fail. Smoking is also a major cause of failed implants, and it strongly recommended that you quit smoking before beginning the implant process.

Dental implants are a two part process, at minimum. First, the dental implant must be placed, then the abutement and crown must be placed over it. Typically, these two steps must be spaced 2-3 months apart. For dental tourists, this means making two trips to Mexico, there is no way around this. The abutement and crown placement can be combined into one trip, as these only need to be spaced out a day or two while the crown is being frabricated. For southern California residents, the 2-3 month waiting period is not a problem, as you are only a short drive away from the dental clinic in Tijuana. For out of state patients, this means you have to book two flights. Fortuntaely, the cost of domestic flights are low enough that your savings will still be drastic compared to what it would cost to have the implants placed in the United States. Even compared to the cost of multiple international flights to the offices of other Mexican dentists in more southern cities such as Cancun or Mazaltan, your savings will still be considerable. Again, we strongly advise against immediate-load implants which are done in one step. These cheap fixes may seem like they'll save you time and money, but in the long-term they are much more likely to fail, and the cost of replacement and additional trips will make you wish you had not chosen same-day implants.

Root Canals

2013-02-20T05:34:00.000-08:00

Dental Infection

Root Canal Therapy
The root canal is one of the most dreaded dental interventions. But is also one of the most misunderstood. When one hears the words root canal, images of archaic medieval torture may come to mind. But how did a procedure meant to alleviate severe pain gain such a bad reputation? Over the years, people have come to associate the pain that precedes a root canal with the procedure itself. Infections that penetrate into the roots of teeth cause extreme pain because they create abysesses that place extreme pressure on the dense nerve clusters in the tissues that surround the tooth. But the treatment used to relieve this pressure and destory the infection is a painless process. Aside from the injected anesthetic, there is no discomfort whatsoever. In fact, many patients are so relieved during the process that they fall asleep in the dentist's chair.

At American Dental Tours, all root canals are performed by endodontists, not general dentists. These "root canal specialists" are highly trained professionals who have completed two to three years of specialized education in addition to four years of general dentistry education. WIth their vast knowledge of the physiology of teeth and ultilization of sophisticated techniques and equipment, they are able to save severly diseased teeth which only years ago would have been deemed unsalvagable.

tooth opening

1. The endodontist will begin by numbing the tooth and surrounding tissue with a local anesthetic. He will then drill through the top of the tooth to create an opening to reach the root of the tooth.

endodontic file

2. Special files are then used to remove the bacteria and diseased pulp from the inner chamber of the tooth. Aside from some light pressure felt in the jaw of the patient, this step in the treatment is actually completely painless to the tooth itself. After all the pulp is removed, the tooth will be incapable of feeling pain, even after the anasetic has worn off.

3. The inner canals of the tooth are then filled with an inert material known as gutta-percha. This will permanently seal the tooth and prevent bacteria and other debris from entering the tooth.

dental filling material

4. The tooth then needs to be strengthened and rebuilt. A temporary filling will be placed above the gupta percha until a permanent crown can be fabricated. Typically, a permanent crown can be created by the lab within a day or two of the original root canal treatment.

5. In many cases, root canal therapy will weaken the overall structure of an already badly damaged tooth. A post is installed before the final crown to strengthen the tooth and redistribute the forces generating by chewing.

dental crown

6. Finally, a permanent crown is cemented into place. With proper care, these crowns can last well over 20 years and extend the life of the tooth indefinitely.

There may be some minor pain or swelling after root canal therapy. This typically only lasts for a couple of days, and can easily be remeded with over the counter anti-inflammatory medications. If you experience severe pain or bleeding, or pain that lasts longer than 3 days, you should contact your dentist to rule out any complications.

Some root canal treatments may require multiple visits. If a tooth is badly infected, the dentist may decide that the infection needs to be wiped up before beginning the treatment. Typically, a one-week course of anti-biotics will be prescribed, and the patient will be instructed to schedule a return appointment after the course is completed. It is extremely important to take the medication as instructed, until it is gone, otherwise the infection may return stronger than ever, and resistant to further antibiotic treatment. After the root canal specialist is confidient the infection is destroyed and brought down to a mangeable size, they will proceed with the treatment.
Because many teeth treated with root canal therapy are severely damaged, they will require a post and crown to strengthen them. This requires multiple visits, even in the absence of a severe infection requiring antibiotic treatment. At American Dental Tours, we understand the need for our patients to have all the steps involved with root canal therapy completed as quickly as possible, as our patients have return flights, must return to work, etc. We will work with our laboratory to have the post and crown completed as quickly as possible. With close coordination between Mexican dentists and dental laboratories, the entire process can be completed in 3 days if the patient is under a time-constaint. In America, this entire process can take many weeks.

Dental Crowns

2013-02-10T05:48:00.000-08:00

Dental Crowns in Mexico

A dental crown is used to repair a tooth that has been badly damaged or severely decayed. This restoration is reserved only for teeth that cannot be fixed with more conservative methods first. It is always best practice to preserve as much of the patient's natural, previous tooth matter as possible before beginning more aggressive treatments. But in some cases, a dental crown is the only option remaining, short of extraction or placing a dental implant. When the decision is made to go through with the treatment, you and your dentist must decide which type of crown to install. There are many different varieties, and each has its benefits and disadvantages.

Metal Crowns

Metal Crowns & Porcelain- Fused-to-Metal (PFC)

The cheapest option is an all metal crown. These should generally be reserved for your back teeth, as they can be rather unsightly on front teeth. This type of crown is strong, and will be able to withstand the strong chewing forces of your mandibular teeth. For a small price increase, you can also opt for a porcelain fused to metal crown, which has a thin coating of natural-looking white porcelain to give the appearance of a natural tooth.

Gold Crowns

Gold Crowns

If the dentist determines that you need a stronger alternative, he may recommend a gold crown. This is the strongest dental crown available. While they are more expensive than a regular metal crown, they are likely to last much, much longer. They will also withstand much stronger chewing forces than base metal. Gold crowns are often coated with a top layer of white for cosmetic reasons, but this layer can crack and peel with time.

Porcelain Crowns

All-porcelain Crowns (E-max)

For a more aesthetic option, you dentist may recommend an all porcelain crown. This is the most life-like option available. These restorations are best suited for front teeth, because they cannot hold up during strong chewing actions. They may not be the right choice for everyone, so it's best to let your dentist make a professional recommendation after a full examination.

Zirconium Crowns

Zirconium Crowns

One of the most recent advancements in dental crown technology is the Zirconium crown. This is the strongest cosmetic option. Zirconium is an extremely hard synthetic material that can be made to appear like a real tooth. Computer-aided technology is used to assist in creating a mold of your mouth and shaping the crown to very precise specifications. Zirconium crowns have become extremely popular in recent years as they are suitable for both front and back teeth, and have a fantastic cosmetic appearance.