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Americans flock to Mexico for dentistry
Washington Post ^ | 07/02/07 | Manuel Roig-Franzia

Posted on 07/02/2007 2:58:13 PM PDT by Kid Shelleen

---snip--- Americans travel to Mexico for stomach surgery, eye exams and routine checkups. But it is the dentistas - thousands strung along the border - who are in the vanguard in attracting U.S. health consumers.

Mexican dentists often charge one-fifth to one-fourth of those north of the border. Their operating costs are substantially lower, and because the Mexican legal system makes it almost impossible to sue them, they don't have to worry about high malpractice premiums.

(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...


TOPICS: Mexico; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: comparisonshopping; dentalproblems; dentistry; freemarkets; healthcare; jobs; outsourcing
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To: Kid Shelleen
“I owe everything I’ve become to Mexican medicine.” — Steve McQueen
61 posted on 07/02/2007 4:03:00 PM PDT by quark
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To: hermgem

You might want to try that logic on the patient who had the wrong leg cut off by a surgeon in Florida. You could try telling that patient that he could save a lot of money on lawyer fees by not suing for malpractice! On the flip side, he would lose a lot of money by not suing for malpractice.

In reality, lawyers are better than bureaucrats in dealing with malpractice because the taxpayers don’t have to pay their salaries and if lawyers don’t get results for their clients in malpractice lawsuits, they don’t get paid. You can fire a lawyer but you can’t fire a bureaucrat.


62 posted on 07/02/2007 4:05:24 PM PDT by Howard Jarvis Admirer (i)
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To: Diggity
-These people were all worth between 5 and 10 million dollars each.

And what did they save, $10,000?

63 posted on 07/02/2007 4:17:42 PM PDT by TopQuark
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To: vetsvette

Three weeks ago, I was flying to Phoenix with some co-workers and one co-worker sat next to a young girl who said she and her dad were going to Mexico to have dental work done. I had never heard of such a thing. I can imagine them both waking up after anethesia in a tub full of ice with several kidneys missing.


64 posted on 07/02/2007 4:23:16 PM PDT by rabidralph
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To: Diggity
I had 3 friends who went to Mexico for dental work. These people were all worth between 5 and 10 million dollars each

Makes sense.

I had a few friends who told me when they lived in Cali, they used to go to the dentists in mexico, and some other med stuff.

The key part was knowing the reputation of the person and how they practised, and also the very low prices offered.

I.E. Good reputation plus low prices.

65 posted on 07/02/2007 4:25:52 PM PDT by Sonny M ("oderint dum metuant")
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To: Vigilanteman
I wouldn't assume that medical care is great just because it is expensive.

I don't, and I absolutely agree with you on the insurance issue.

And a very smart move on the eye decision.

Bottom line is that you take you chances with any doctor or dentist.

Exactly, and Other than emergencies and maintainance, take care of your body, and Stay away from doctors, dentists, et. al. as much as possible.

66 posted on 07/02/2007 4:31:12 PM PDT by Doomonyou (Let them eat lead.)
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To: Kid Shelleen

I can envision this, especially for people with no insurance or who live close to the border where travel costs would not be a problem. Like most work, you should get a referral so you know which ones do good work and which ones don’t.

Cost does matter. I once had a crown come loose and the tooth became infected. I asked the doctor how much it would cost to cure the infection, refill the tooth and replace the crown. He said, after insurance, about $1,000. I asked how much it would cost to just pull it. He said, after insurance, about $50. I had it pulled.


67 posted on 07/02/2007 4:46:07 PM PDT by Tall_Texan (Global warming? Hell, in Texas, we just call that "summer".)
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To: Kid Shelleen

Mexican dentists give complimentary tubes of Chinese toothpaste to all of their patients.


68 posted on 07/02/2007 4:49:17 PM PDT by vox humana
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To: Sonny M

These people owned homes down there and went there all the time so they knew some of the professional class. Lawyers, Doctors etc.

John


69 posted on 07/02/2007 5:02:20 PM PDT by Diggity
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To: Kid Shelleen
Stupid idea...very,very stupid.For those who want top quality dental care on the cheap they should go to the "student clinic" of their nearest dental school...if you have one nearby.

I've been going to one for years and have paid about $100 for thousands of dollars worth of work (and that $100 was to pay for gold used in crowns).

It's not for those who have dental phobias/fears (it's obvious that they're not as skilled as real dentists) but *all* the work is closely supervised by real dentists.

70 posted on 07/02/2007 5:06:47 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative ("The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to socialism."-Karl Marx)
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To: Kid Shelleen

Having lived across the river from Juarez during the Carter years, I can say that this is nothing new. Through word of mouth (!) you could find a fairly decent dentist. I didn’t use them, but I only went into Mexico a couple of times as it was. Filthy, dangerous...


71 posted on 07/02/2007 5:10:11 PM PDT by Mamzelle (We need a new, conservative chairman of the RNC first, because the elites are about to take revenge)
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To: Tall_Texan

I tried that with my dentist and he quote “We don’t pull teeth around here, we save them”.


72 posted on 07/02/2007 5:29:13 PM PDT by Orange1998 (4 Real)
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To: vetsvette

If we can save that much money let’s send the illegal aliens who are on the dole in America back home for their dental problems.

P. S. Americans are not flocking to Mexico for denistry or for any other reason.

We might soon have to Mexico to get away from Illegal aliens


73 posted on 07/02/2007 5:53:24 PM PDT by R.W.Ratikal
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To: Cagey

Kramer: Next thing you know you’re saying they should have their own schools.

JERRY: They do have their own schools!

KRAMER: Yeah!....


74 posted on 07/02/2007 6:55:12 PM PDT by Mr. Brightside
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To: Kid Shelleen
In Mexico it only takes 2 years of school to become a dentist.

A Mexican dentist set up his practice in his house next door to my cousin in a Houston neighborhood. He was not licensed to practice in the US and deed restrictions did not allow it but he didn’t care. My cousin tried to get the city to shut him down but they never did.

I could get his address for any freeper who wants a deal on their dental work. They don’t even have to cross the border.

75 posted on 07/02/2007 7:02:57 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: Tax-chick

[I expect most of those are “undocumented” Americans]

Most are what we Texans call the “Snow-Birds”. People from the more northerly states driving the $100 thousand dollar Recreational Vehicles.

Most of those dentists went to school in the United States!

I have seen the streets and offices packed with the Snow Birds in the winter months when I have gone to Nuevo Progresso.


76 posted on 07/02/2007 7:09:27 PM PDT by potlatch (MIZARU_ooo_‹(•¿•)›_ooo_MIKAZARU_ooo_‹(•¿•)›_ooo_MAZARU_ooo_‹(•¿•)›_ooo_))
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To: Kid Shelleen

Never. Not even if I had only one toof left in my head! ;)


77 posted on 07/02/2007 7:12:57 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: cardinal4

This stuff is SO predictable in the MSM, isn’t it? Last week it was all the “Poor Latinos Hurt By No Shamnesty Bill” stories flooding the netwaves.

Cripes, they think we’re morons. But with a rather evenly split electorate, a good 50% of us ARE these days and they lap this pond water up like thick cream!


78 posted on 07/02/2007 7:16:45 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: Orange1998

The only dental work that most dentists will do for a patient with meth mout is to pull all the teeth and give them dentures.


79 posted on 07/02/2007 9:27:50 PM PDT by Eva (I)
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