1. Price.
Be careful what you pay for dental care in Mexico. You can get ripped off by dentists who charge Americans a lot more than the going rate. The quality of the dental work in Mexico done at a Tijuana dentist is very comparable to that in the USA, and the price is much cheaper. The reason for this is because the price of University training is subsidized by the government, and the costs of education are not so bloated, compared to the USA. A Mexico dentist, a dentista en Tijuana, will come out of school and will not be head over heals in debt, like an American. Also, the costs of doing business, and the cost of living is a fraction of that in the USA. The result is, there are a lot of great dentists who simply don’t have to charge so much in order to make a good living. Besides that, the local Mexican people are very limited in their income and ability to pay for services. Although there are many dentists near the boarder who cater only to Americans, their prices are still affected by the cheaper dentists just a little further in. But don’t get excited over the lower prices and just use any dentists. If they have a big fancy office, it’s because they are catering only to Americans and are charging a lot more than the competition. If you look around, you can find an equally competent dentist who will charge you less for the same work. I have found that often there are two prices. What they charge a American can be much more than what a regular Mexican pays. That is why I fell in love with Sam Dental Mexico, my Tijuana dentist. They actually post the prices for the work they do on their website. I recently checked out the cost of having a porcelain over metal crown at a couple of other dentists. They wanted to charge $300 for a root canal, $275 for the crown, and $75 for a post, for a total of $650. Sam Dental Tijuana dentist charged me $525 for everything.
2. Location.
For dental work in Mexico, you will want to find a Mexico dentist that is fairly close to the border crossing. Tijuana is a great place to go. You should consider a Tijuana dentist because Tijuana is close to San Diego, close to the beach, they have great hotels, and the dental prices are inexpensive. What I recommend is to take the Trolley to the border. If you fly into San Diego, it is not necessary to rent a car. By asking at the info desk in the lobby at the baggage claim, they will direct you to where you can catch the 992 bus that takes you into down town. Tell the shuttle bus driver that you want to get off to take the Trolley, (light rail train). He’ll drop you off in front of the American Plaza train platform. (From Airport to Trolley it takes 15 minutes). There you’ll buy a ticket at the machine for $2.50 to go on the blue line to San Ysidro, Mexican Border. You just go to the end of the line. When you get off, you’ll see a pedestrian bridge that you walk over until you enter Mexico. Once there, you’ll find dozens of Taxi drivers who are clamoring for you attention. Just grab one. They’ll have someone standing out front, who speaks English, who’ll be asking you where you want to go. Just give them the address. My Mexico dentist in Tijuana is just 5 minutes away. The website can give you the exact address to copy down to hand over to the taxi driver to take you to your dental Mexico clinic. When you call ahead of time to set up your appointment, they’ll walk you through it. The first time I went, they actually sent someone to pick me up.
3. Transportation & Lodging.
If you want to stay in San Diego, and rent a car, I still recommend that you park in the parking lot for the trolley and take it down to Tijuana. I don’t recommend driving a car into Tijuana. All the traffic can make you nervous. If you want to stay in San Diego, there are a lot of inexpensive hotels in Chula Vista off of E Street, which also has access to where you can catch the trolley. If you are a little more adventurous, you might want to simply stay in Tijuana. There are a lot of nice hotels, that are a lot less expensive than in San Diego. In fact, there is a descent hotel, clean but not too many frills, right across the street from my Tijuana dentist. However, I kind of like to stay about 15 minutes away, over in Playas de Tijuana, by the beach. There is a cool walkway with stores and restaurants right on the beach, and I found a coffee shop that I like to sit at and read a book while drinking a frapechino and listening to the breakers. In any case, my dentists office helped me to find a hotel and took care of booking arrangements. I just had to tell them what I wanted.
4. Time frame required.
I have made several trips to the dentist in Mexico and had root canals and crowns done in just 5 days. I have had crowns, with no root canal required, done in 2 days. It costs a little more to have the lab expedite the work, and it is tiring to sit for a long time in the chair having everything done at once, but it is possible and worth it. However, I have to say that in order to figure out how long it will take, the dentist has to check out what needs to be done. If you have a tooth that is infected, you have to get the infection cleared up before a root canal can be performed. Nevertheless, the dentist in Tijuana can get give you a good idea of how much time you need to budget when she talks to you on the phone. If you live in the San Diego or L.A. area, it is a lot easier to go across the border for multiple visits. But if you are flying in, you’ll want to budget enough time to get it all done. There are many US citizens who are going on a dental Mexico vacation today. Last time I was at my Tijuana dentist, we had a couple of days to spare and so we went down to Ensenada. I’d like to go down and do some fishing in the ocean off a boat next time.
5. Documents needed:
To Enter Mexico: USA Visitors to the northern part of Baja California do not need US passports or tourist cards if staying in the country for a short time. If you plan to stay for an extended period, or if you plan to travel beyond Ensenada, You will need to obtain a tourist card. Proof of US citizenship would then be required to return from your Tijuana dentist in Mexico.
Although officially you are supposed to get a US passport, in practice, little has changed. To return back into the USA, hundreds of people cross everyday with just a drivers license and a birth certificate. There may come a time, in a few years, that the U.S. government will tighten up but for right now, in practice, people are not having problems, as long as they have 1. proof of identity, using a government issued photo I.D. , such as a State issued drivers license or I.D. card, and 2. proof of citizenship such as a U.S. birth certificate. If you have time, it is good to get a U.S. passport, but don’t be overly concerned. If you live in San Diego or L.A., you’re good to go, with your California Drivers license and your birth certificate, for the present.
6. Funds.
Fordental Mexico, this is an important point that I don’t want to forget. It is no necessary to travel with a lot of cash to your dentist in Mexico. I only take a couple of hundred dollars in my wallet. Dollars are as accepted as Mexican pesos for the purposes of purchasing things. However, sometimes you’ll get a better exchange rate changing some of your money at a “Cambio” store front. But what I do is simply bring my ATM card and get cash at any banks ATM machine. The exchange rate at the ATM is usually pretty good. You can use your VISA or MASTERCARD to pay for hotels, and most restaurants. I use cash just to pay for small things like taxis, or food at a taco stand or a hamburger joint. At the Tijuana dentist office they prefer cash or travelers checks as the bank card system gives the clinic a poor currency exchange rate.
