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.