Dental Work in Los Algodones, Mexico (Part2)

Posted from Yuma, AZ       (Click on Pics to Enlarge)

The final part of our dental experience in Algodones, Mexico deals with the "play-by-play" of the procedures, the costs, and a summary and impressions of the whole experience.  If you'd like to see more about the logistics of getting to Algodones, selecting a dentist, or general information on the area please click on Part 1.

When we decided to have dental work done in Algodones we already knew pretty much what we wanted (and needed) done.  I had broken a molar (tooth #30) a few months ago, but since there was no pain it appeared that I could hold out until Algodones for treatment.  We both wanted to get our teeth cleaned as well. With Karen's prior dental experience I knew that I was looking at having a crown installed.  (Of course, fear set in, as I have only had two fillings in my entire life done.)

Day #1

Once we completed our initial paperwork, which also indicates what you are requesting to have done, we were directed to the waiting area. The first day (Wednesday) there were probably another 10 persons waiting to be seen. The diagnosing dentists rely heavily on panoramic X-rays to diagnose problems. Karen was the first to head into the X-ray room (approx. 10:15 AM).  She had a panoramic X-ray taken at a cost of $60. She was not really anxious to have another panoramic done as we had both had this type of X-ray done in Casa Grande last November.  I was next (approx. 10:30 AM), but they only took an X-ray of the single tooth area where I was going to need the crown.  Cost for my X-ray $10.

Here's the little room right off the waiting area where they take the X-rays. The wait from hitting the waiting area to having X-rays taken was only 10 or 15 minutes.  

The next step is to head into the "diagnosis" room with a dentist and his assistant (or business person), it was hard to tell.  Karen has had many fillings and several crowns throughout the years.  The dentist relied HEAVILY upon the X-ray to recommend to her that she needed 8-10 crowns done on the teeth with fillings. Fortunately, Karen's prior experience really helped at this point.  She has no problems with the current fillings in her mouth and once she advised the dentist of her prior dental experience, he "backed off" on the notion of doing the crown work. She finally wound up just having her teeth cleaned at a cost of $30.

We knew already that a crown was in my future.  The assistant quickly showed me a zirconium crown (their price $450).  I had already decided that because of the position of the molar (back) that appearance was not crucial to me.  With input from Karen, we decided on a standard porcelain fused to metal crown (their price $160).  At this point, expected procedures are written onto our charts and associated costs are outlined.  We agree to the work and the procedures begin.

Sani Dental Group has three offices in Algodones.  The real differences between the offices are the amount of personal attention a patient desires to have.  We were fine with their largest office on Alamo Street.  This seems to be where the majority of their patients come.  The other offices are called Sani Platinum and Sani Class.  Click on this link to compare the differences.

Karen was actually escorted by Dr. Edgar Garcia to the Sani Class office to perform her cleaning (approx. 11:00 AM). While she was in another location I was taken upstairs to begin my crown prep work.  Dr. Emmanuel (forgot his last name) was introduced by his assistant.  She did most of the English-Spanish translating during this first session.  She was very thorough in letting me know what was going to happen. It was now 12:11 PM (just over two hours since we arrived).

For those who have had crown work done this is probably old news, but a new experience for me. Day 1 consists of grinding the old tooth down to accept a new crown.  An impression is taken to facilitate the construction of the permanent crown. (Sani Dental has their own lab, so the permanent crown will be installed on Day 3.) Today, however, a temporary crown is cemented into place and the height is adjusted to create the desired "bite".

We finished my first day at approximately 1:30 PM and headed back to the border to cross back into the US.  There were only about 10 persons in line ahead of us. The crossing was painless. They looked at our passport and asked us what we had done in Mexico. No purse search or anything.  We were back in our car by 1:45 PM, even after taking a few pictures. There were quite a few cars entering Mexico during this time of day.

Day #2

My appointment today was at 12:00 PM. The parking lot was about as crowded as yesterday, but it does seem as though folks come earlier this time of the year and are leaving by mid-afternoon. We were actually running a bit late, but still got to the dental office at 12:02 PM.

Our wait was approximately 30 minutes I was led upstairs again to the same treatment room. Dr. Emmanuel was my attending dentist each day, but the assistants changed daily.  Today the temporary crown was removed and the metal coping for the final crown was fitted.  I also had Dr. Emmanuel grind the temporary crown a bit to make for a better "bite" fit. We were back in the car again by about 1:30 PM.  Again, an easy border crossing.  Customs took about 5 minutes today.

Day#3

This was my final day of treatment (hopefully)!  My appointment was again for 12:00 PM. We arrived at 11:50 AM and I was taken upstairs at 12:20 PM.  The final porcelain to metal crown was cemented into place and I had a cleaning done. Out of the chair today at 1:00 PM.

We wandered through some of the streets and checked out a few vendors (not too closely, however) before heading back to the border crossing.  Didn't I mention sometime earlier that there are a LOT of dentists in Algodones.  Again, the border crossing was quick, almost no line at all.

I lived with the new crown through the weekend and decided that it needed just a small bit of adjustment to lower the height to improve the bite. (Karen thought this was normal.)  We decided to go back on Monday to purchase eyeglasses and drop by the dental office again (without an appointment) to have the crown adjusted.  Wait time was about an hour this time and time in the chair was about 10 minutes.  The adjustment helped GREATLY.
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Summary and Our Impressions of Our Experience

1. Costs

The actual prices of Sani Dental Group's procedures can be viewed on their web page. These prices were actual and we encountered no deviations from these.  This was very helpful as it gives you an idea upfront of what it's going to cost.

Our costs were as follows:
  Karen-  Cleaning $30, Panoramic X-Ray $60   TOTAL  $90
  Steve-   Cleaning $30, Single X-Ray $10, Porcelein to Metal Crown $160  TOTAL  $200

Just as a point of comparison, when Karen left the dental field in 2012, typical costs in the northern Virginia area would have been (these will vary by region, of course):

Cleaning:  $80
Panoramic X-ray:  $75
Periapical X-ray:   $15
Porcelein-to-Metal Crown:  $1700

2. Quality of Dental Work

(Karen's Impressions)  The ability of the dentists to make diagnoses relies too heavily on X-rays. She noted that a "hands on" inspection of her mouth was lacking. No periodontal probing was done to check for any potential problems below the gum line.
The cleaning was performed using a cavitron (ultrasonic cleaner) and scaler use was minimal at best.

She felt that my crown work was very good and comparable, or better, to dentists in the US.

3. Recommendations 

Our experiences indicated that Mexican dentists are geared toward "procedures" such as crowns, bridges, implants, etc.  They do not concentrate as much on diagnoses and routine cleanings.  If you intend to have "procedures" done in Mexico you would probably be best served to visit a familiar dentist in the US and then develop a treatment plan.  Get the prices from the US office, then do a comparison with the Mexican dental offices.  I can't imagine that you would not save a bunch of money.

Would be do it again!  Yes, and we probably will if we need to have work done.  We will, however, probably have our next cleaning done in Casa Grande, AZ in about 6 months before we leave the area for the winter.  The reason for this is that with our Delta Dental plan we only pay 20% of the cost agreed upon between Delta Dental and the dental office.  Our cleanings last November were $60, which meant that we only paid $12 out-of-pocket.


Hopefully, these two blogs on our experiences with one Mexican dentist will give you a bit more insight to enable you to make a responsible and more informed decision about whether crossing the border for dental work is right for you.


Thanks again for taking a look!

Dental Work in Los Algodones, Mexico (Part 1)

Posted from Yuma, AZ      (Click on Pics to Enlarge)

So our last post was at the Grand Canyon. So why Yuma, AZ when it's still fairly hot down this way? We came to Yuma to get some dental work done in Los Algodones, Mexico. We booked 8 days in the Escapee Co-Op named KOFA here in Yuma to give us plenty of time to get all of the dental work completed, and a few extra days should we need it for any complications.

So why did we decide to take the chance and have dental work done in Mexico?  Mainly one word COST.  We did as much research as possible before deciding to go to Mexico by reading forums, personal blogs, and looking at as many reviews on the internet as we could find.  In our travels, we have also spoken to many folks who had dental procedures done in Mexico (and lived to tell about it).

I am a dental "chicken".  I don't like going to the dentist and make no bones about it.  For some reason, I've been blessed with pretty healthy teeth through the years, however.  I've managed to have only one tooth filled when I was 18 YOA and a second filling just 2 years ago.  About 4 months ago, the tooth with the old filling broke into several pieces.  Needless to say, I was pretty nervous about this.  Karen reassured me that it was not the end of the world.

Most of you probably know that Karen was a dental hygienist for 28 years and a dental assistant for 7 years prior to that.  Fortunately, that gives us a bit of an "edge" when it come to dental procedures and the need for (or not) to have something done.  More on that a bit later.

This blog on our experience with Mexican dentistry is going to be broken into 2 parts.  Today's blog, Part 1, will be on selecting a dentist and the logistics of getting into and out of Mexico.

Part 2 will be on our actual experiences with the dentist we selected, along with associated costs and waiting times, etc.
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DISCLAIMERS: We decided to choose Sani Dental Group for our dentist in Los Algodones.  There are literally hundreds of dentists, with both small and large practices, in a four or five block area of Los Algodones. As stated above, after doing a lot of research and reading a lot of reviews, this is why we chose the dentist we did.  This does NOT mean that this is the correct (or best) dentist for you.  DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST!
We also still have dental insurance (Delta Dental) in the US.  Sani Dental Group will actually complete the necessary paperwork to enable you to file with your dental insurance group for a $30 fee.  I do not know how, or if,  other dental offices in Mexico handle this.

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On to Mexico!

Getting To Los Algodones

Finding Los Algodones is very simple and an easy drive.  Since we are staying in the Yuma area, just jump onto Interstate 8 and drive west into California. Take Exit 166 and head south on Rt. 186 (Algodones Rd/Andrade Rd) for 1.5 miles.  You'll pass by the Quechan Casino on your right and Sleepy Hollow RV Park also on your right just prior to reaching the large parking lot owned by the Quechan Indian Tribe also on your right.

At this point you'll need to decide whether you want to park in the parking lot and walk across the border or drive your vehicle into Mexico.  We opted to walk across the border and unless you are spending a lengthy (meaning several days straight) in Mexico I see no reason to drive across the border.  The parking lot is fenced all around and the Quechan Tribe has security which drives through the lot on a regular basis.  The current cost to park all day is $6, well worth it in my opinion.

Since I was going in to have a crown inserted, we knew that we'd be coming down for 3 days at least.  Although you can just walk in to most dental offices off the street, we had made online appointments.  (More on that in Part 2).  Our first day we were expected at 10:30 AM, so we were in the parking lot at 9:48 AM.  This was off season and on a Wednesday, so the lot is not very full at all.

The parking lot literally dumps pedestrians right at the entrance to the border crossing.  I felt a bit anxious (for no justified reason) about our crossing the first morning.  Here's a look at the vehicle crossing into Mexico, with the pedestrian sidewalk immediately to the right.

It is VERY easy to get in to Mexico, a bit harder to get out.  This is the turnstile to enter Mexico.  No officials, nothing to slow you down at all. Once you swing through the gate you're in Mexico.

Getting to the Dental Office

Because we had made online appointments, Sani Dental had given us a map and instructions on how to get to their business.  Very simple.  Do not make any turns, stay straight, cross over "A" Street, then "B" Street, and they would be mid-block on the left side.  From the border to their office was approximately 1/4 mile and a very easy walk. Early in the morning the streets are now crowded.

Pic By: Travelswithtwinkles.blogspot.com

The most unsettling thing for me were the street vendors.  Don't get me wrong, they weren't rude or too "in your face", but still not the type of shopping experience which I like or am accustomed to.  Because we were in somewhat of a hurry to get to our dental office, a simple no thank you and a brisk walking pace was all that was needed to get through the gauntlet.  Note:  The street vendors are set up on the sidewalks so that you have to pass by them, or walk in the street, which I don't recommend.

It took us only 8 minutes from the time we left the car to being in front of the Sani Dental Group's Alamo Street office.  Pretty good I thought for not ever being here before.



We went inside and checked in with the receptionist and advised her of our 10:30 appointment. NOTE: Do not be afraid of communication problems with the staff.  We NEVER had any problems throughout the entire 3 days we had work done here. If the particular dentist, assistant, or whomever didn't speak fluent English, there was always someone close by to interpret.  (Again, more on this in Part 2.)  We filled out a 1-page new patient form (very simple compared to the US since HIPAA rules do not apply in Mexico.

After the form was completed we were directed to the waiting area.  This was now 10:29 AM and remember our appointment isn't until 10:30 AM.  The reception and waiting areas are very modern and clean.  (Better than many offices I've seen in the US).  The waiting area boasts very cool air conditioning, along with flat screen televisions on the wall and several computer stations to "kill" time.

That's going to be it for Part 1.  In the next entry I'll go into details on what work we had done and do more of a step-by-step blog on that work (including costs).

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

The Grand Canyon and Onward

Posted from Yuma, AZ    (Click on Pictures to Enlarge)

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To view additional pictures, CLICK HERE to view the Google+ album.
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It's time to play "blog catch up" again.  We were recently staying at the Trailer Village in Grand Canyon NP and the cell reception was pretty slow, so I just decided to wait until we got a better signal.

We visited the Grand Canyon 19 years ago when we made a hurried trip to the west from Virginia.  At that time we camped in Flagstaff and just drove up to the Canyon for a single day visit.  This time we spent 5 nights (way too short) within the park.

We pulled in on Tuesday and the campground was not too busy (surprisingly).  This elk was grazing right behind our rig and didn't even pay any attention to us.

On Wednesday we ventured over to the Visitor's Center via the excellent shuttle bus system provided by the park.  We parked the Honda the entire time of our stay.  Picked up some brochures and saw a video presentation of the park. The Visitor's Center has had many upgrades since we were here last.

The next day we jumped on the bus again (a stop right at the entrance to the campground) and road out to the "red line" transfer station for Hermit Road. This time of the year only shuttle buses are allowed to travel on Hermit Road (along with hikers and bicyclists).

We decided to ease into hiking here and rode the bus to the Monument Creek Vista stop, then hiked (actually walked on a paved trail called The Greenway) to Hermit's Rest.

Here's a better look at The Greenway trail.  It runs along the south rim in this area.

Here's a look at the Colorado River far below from Pima Point.

After about 2.8 miles we made it to Hermit's Rest.  This is the end of the line for the shuttle bus.  From here, everything heads back east again. Hermit's Rest was built in 1914 and served tourists visiting Hermit Camp (long gone) by coach. This is the westernmost terminus of the Hermit Road.

The building was designed and constructed to blend in to the natural surroundings.

Today the building contains a gift shop, small snack shop, and is still a place to relax before hiking into the Canyon from the nearby trails.

After our short hike we visited the Grand Canyon Railroad Depot.  The train line still runs today and makes trips to Williams, AZ.  This is a permanently retired engine #3859 which worked the rails in years past.  The Depot is located just below the Bright Angel Lodge.

These guys were not only comfortable with tourists, but the unused portion of the train rails as well.

The next day we decided to take a hike "below the rim".  After reading the trail descriptions we decided to take the Bright Angel Trail down to the 1.5 mile rest station.  Here's a view near the trailhead looking down into the Canyon.

This is the same trail which the mules carry tourists down into the Canyon, but our schedules didn't coincide today.  Here's a bit of rock art for Sherry.  This was up on the wall just as you pass through one of the tunnels.

The brochures indicated that it takes twice as long to return back to the rim as it does to hike down.  It didn't take us that long, but we did make more than a few stops on the way back up. We only hiked 1.5 miles down, but the elevation still dropped 1000 feet.

There a many "scary" overlooks at the Grand Canyon, but when you see a sign like this it's probably a good thing to pay attention.

The final evening we rode the bus again over to Yaki Point to wait for sunset.  We honestly didn't get any real nice pictures of the sun setting in the canyon, but had a nice time anyway.

Believe me, we were not alone.  There were a lot of folks out on the rocks with similar ideas.

The sky wasn't the greatest for photographing as there weren't too many clouds in the sky this evening.






The Grand Canyon is always a place we look forward to returning.  Being able to stay at the campground within the park and use the shuttle bus system worked out very well.  Just a word of warning, however.  Although there is a general store near the campground, prices for food are greatly inflated.  Stock up if you can before arriving.

In an attempt to bring our travels in line with the blog, I have no pictures from the past couple of days. We left the Grand Canyon on Sunday and traveled to Cottonwood, AZ where we stayed for two nights at the Thousand Trails Verde Valley campground.  This was our first time at this TT.  It was definitely one of the better ones we've stayed in.

Today (10/7) we left Cottonwood and headed to Yuma, AZ.  We're staying in the Escapees KOFA Co-Op for a few days while we have some dental work done in Algodones, Mexico.  Hopefully, I'll have an entire blog on our Mexican dental "adventure".  Stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Arches NP (Devil's Garden Trail)

Posted from the Grand Canyon  (click on pics to enlarge)

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There are MANY more pictures in our Google Photo Album for this blog post.
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This was our last hike in Arches NP and I believe it was the best.  It has many different elements offered in a single hike.  You've got lots of arches, beautiful scenery from the ridges, "fins" to rock scramble across, and the trail itself is varied.  For those with less time or physical ability, the first part is basically on a flat, well groomed trail. For the more adventurous there are steep climbs, scrambles over slickrock, and narrow ledges (and that's even before you enter the "primitive" trail).

We originally intended to just head out to Dark Angel and come back to the trailhead along the same route. By the time we got to Double O Arch we changed our minds and returned along the primitive trail.  The NPS map indicated a total distance of approximately 7.2 miles, but by the time we saw every arch along the way, the total distance wound up being a bit over 8.5 miles  More on the primitive section later, however.

As I indicated earlier, the start of the trail is very "tame". Two tall verticals frame the beginning walk.

Pine Tree Arch

We took the first side trail to view Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. The only reason I could determine why it was named Pine Tree Arch was because of a pine tree growing right in the center of the arch's floor.

Tunnel Arch

Tunnel Arch was only a short distance back toward the main trail.  I have to say that it was one of the least impressive arches, however.

The first 1/2 mile or so of the trail was pretty busy.  That's probably because we again got a late start (around noon) and it seems like many other folks have a similar mindset.  The starting temperature was in the low 60's.

Landscape Arch

The end of the most visited part of the main trail culminates at Landscape Arch.  This one, to me, should be re-named extremely delicate arch.  Back in 1991, a large section of rock fell from the section of the arch leaving a very narrow strip of rock to form the arch. (I would have loved to have been in the area when 60 feet of rock fell to the earth.)

Beginning after Landscape Arch was a section I enjoyed.  This picture shows a gentleman "keeping a low center of gravity" as he descends the steep and narrow slickrock.

Here's Karen taking a moment after making the ascent of the same rock group shown in the previous picture.

Partition Arch

The next little side trail takes us to Partition Arch. The view through this arch to the valley below was spectacular.

On our trek toward Navajo Arch we came across these bizarre looking vertical walls created as the result of erosion.

Navajo Arch

Here's a picture of Navajo Arch taken from underneath the arch.  Notice the amount of standing water beneath the arch.  This will be important later on in this hike.

We're almost 2 hours into our hike at this point and the dark clouds are rolling in.  We hope that they will bypass us and head north.  Turning around at this point really isn't an option.

The vertical closely formed walls are called "fins".  Here we are beginning to cross a section of fins as the raindrops are beginning.  Slickrock is not a good place to be when it's raining.

Ok, it's time for lunch anyway.  With the rain getting closer we seek out some shelter.  Fortunately, the rain is still fairly light.

Double O Arch

At Double O Arch we had the option of continuing to the end of the trail at Dark Angel, or beginning the primitive trail for our return.

Because of the impending storm, we shortened the hike and turned onto the primitive trail.  Paying attention to signs is a good idea. The decription of the primitive trail in the NPS guide read "Expect narrow ledges with rocky surface hiking and scrambling on slickrock. Not recommended when rock is wet or snowy."

Private Arch

The primitive trail is aptly named.  There are very few directional signs on this trail. It's important to understand how to follow cairns in this area. The first side trail took us to Private Arch. This is an appropriately named arch as it cannot be seen hiking toward it on the trail.  You come around a wall (where Karen is standing) and there it is.

I just threw this picture in because I like the "fins".

Some of the rock scrambling got a bit steep at this point.  Combining verticals and lack of good foot holds, sometimes this is the best method to get down.

This was probably our "scariest" section of rock to cross.  I didn't get any candid shots here because I was trying to keep from slipping. The rock was actually flatter and higher than it looks in this picture. (I added the red line to show the direction we used to traverse this section.)

Remember that standing water I spoke about back near the Navajo Arch? Well, we found some more. We're almost 4 hours into the hike now and getting a bit tired.  We should have only about another mile or so to the finish, but now we come upon an impasse in the trail.  There is no way to climb around the water on one side and the other side is a very narrow bit of slickrock. We were told by other hikers on the trail that the water was about thigh deep.  Ok, that's the route then.  COLD!

Back on the trail again and heading toward the finish.  The rains we've had the past couple of days met the ground as snow in the higher mountains nearby.

Finally, after 4 hours and 45 minutes we finished the Devil's Garden Trail.  This was a great hike!





This was our last day in Arches NP and in the Moab, UT area.  There is so much more that we wanted to see and do while in the area, but I guess we'll just have to make a return visit to fulfill those wants.



Thanks for dropping by to take a look!