Tuesday, March 28, 2017, Mexico Dental Wrap-up

Overall, I will say my experience with the Alamo Dental Group (Yuriria Tellez Barrera, DDS) in Mexico was positive and we will return (if possible) when we need to see a dentist again. I learned from this experience it is important to be clear about the schedule of events and allow plenty of time for the unexpected.

While we were in Yuma, AZ, for a month, I thought I would get two crowns and be out in two days - NO, not even close.  If it were not for the "crown lengthening," a procedure that needed three weeks to heal, it might have been about a week.  But we had two rallies scheduled and left Yuma with plans to day trip back once we settled in Casa Grande, AZ, for a month.  Arizona is a pretty big state which becomes apparent when you drive to Los Algodones from Casa Grande.  It was 190 miles one way (just under 3 hours), so I had to start in the dark to make a 9 am appointment.  We didn't want to leave Sam alone all day, so I drove by myself.

Last Thursday, the dentist did some clean-up work and then made impressions.  She re-installed the temporary crowns (which had been fine for more than four weeks) and I was on my way.  Just a few miles down the road one temporary fell out.  I struggled with the decision for a few minutes and decided to return.  I had to re-park, cross the border again and walk back to the office where they tried a different adhesive.

It felt wrong immediately, but I left thinking I would get used to the feel again.  This time I was 60 miles towards home when it released again. Well, I would just have to chew carefully on one side only. Later that night I noticed the other temporary was missing and had to assume I swallowed it.  I decided I could manage with a liquid diet for a few days until Monday.

When I returned on Monday, they were ready to trial fit the metal - no porcelain crown, just the base.  There was no surprise or concern that the temporaries were missing.  I have to say, I was a little disappointed when I realized this was not going to be my last trip. Tuesday, I made the long, long solo trip to Los Algodones for the third time.  Although I felt like it might have taken longer than it should have, the permanent crowns were cemented in place and felt good.  I cleared customs for the last time confident that everything was finally finished.

We have no reservations about the work that was done. The substantially lower cost ($1,340 total, a $7,000+ savings) offset any inconvenience I experienced (which was mostly due to my misunderstanding of the process).

On a completely separate note, we finally took our toad in for repairs. You might remember the car was hit in Hemet, CA (see Jan 21st). It was more than a month before the insurance agreed they were obligated for repairs. Then we had to wait until we were somewhere long enough to complete the job. We decided that would be now while we are in Casa Grande for a month. The repair shop only took in new work on Tuesdays (and we missed last Tuesday), so today we took it to Service King. I tried to get them to quote doing a few extra things like repainting the hood or repairing a little dent in the driver's door, but they did not really seem interested in anything not covered by the insurance claim.

I have to keep reminding myself just how lucky we were that everything turned out as well as it did - no one was injured and the car remained driveable. State Farm rented us a Nissan Versa to use until the Fit is finished - I just have to get used to the jarring bright blue color.

Thursday, February 9, 2017, Back to the Dentist

Today I returned to Los Algodones, Mexico and I actually had my first experience in the chair. The dentist, Yuriria Tellez Barrera, DDS, who went by Yuri (which sounded more like Judy) spoke a little English. After evaluating my situation, however, she needed help translating to let me know how bad things were. Instead of simply installing two crowns I was going to need some extra work.

Both problem teeth were back molars and both had broken away enough that root canals were necessary (I suspected that would be the case) as well as gum surgery to expose enough of the teeth to mount the crowns a post and core build-up (didn't expect those). I was pleased to find out, even with the extra work needed it was still just a fraction ($1,340 total) of what it would have cost in the US ($8,300+). I gave them the OK and work commenced.

I grabbed this photo from Alamo's website.  I think that is Yuri working on an unknown patient.

Yuri carved the posts and sent me to the next room for the root canals. Surprisingly, I never experienced the least bit of pain or discomfort during the entire process. Later, when the feeling returned, I expected to need something for pain (a prescription was offered), but I never needed it. The next day another doctor cut away some of the gumline in an operation they called "crown lengthening."  After stitching everything up, temporary crowns were installed and they were ready to send me home. They told me I needed to let the surgery heal for three weeks before continuing.

We already had rally plans and reservations down the road, so we would no longer be so close. In 5 weeks we would be in Casa Grande, AZ (a 187 mile one-way trip instead of the 22 miles from our site in Yuma). All I could do was to hope the temporaries held up for the next month until I could get back to finish up.

Bottom line, if you decide to make the trip to Los Algodones for dental, allow plenty of time just in case. So far it has been a great experience, we will see how it goes in 5 weeks.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017, FIrst time in Mexico

I put off needed dental work for more than 6 months until we could get to Mexico. A lot of people told us they had a positive experience south of the border and with no insurance, it seemed like it was worth a try. We parked on the US side and walked across just to get a feel for Los Algodones, Mexico and the process of re-entering the States.

We were told Los Algodones was a very safe city, this is one reason why.

Los Algodones, Mexico has a population of under 6,000. 

Joani's research led us to Alamo Dental. It was down a crowded alleyway, but it looked good and we made an appointment for later in the week.

Fellow RVers recommended Alamo Dental Group to us and the online review cemented that decision.

It was almost comical how many dentists (close to 300), opticians (over 11), and pharmacies (15 or so) were packed into a dozen square blocks. Obviously, there are enough people passing through to keep them in business. We headed back around 11:30 and cleared the border control checkpoint in less than 10 minutes (subsequent visits showed us that was quite an anomaly - the typical wait in the afternoon was more than an hour).