Recommend a good dentist?

[butcher99]

My brother in law needed $4000 worth of dental work. He found a great dentist in La Penita Mexico. It cost him $1000 and he got a 3 week vacation in the sun for the difference and came home money ahead.

Ugh. Not this again. So who is going to look after him if he has a problem? What about post op care? It is not uncommon to require adjustments when you have a lot of work done at once. What about the materials used? Do they meet Canadian standards? How about the sterilization procedures in the clinic? In a country where you can't drink the water....

So that was a year ago. No problems and he took the $1000. he had left over from the 4 grand and went on another holiday.

BTW, this dentist was trained in California. Speaks perfect english.
I have been getting my dental work done there for 3 years now. No problems.
and yes, the materials meet or exceed canadian standards.

[Ken7]

So that was a year ago. No problems and he took the $1000. he had left over from the 4 grand and went on another holiday.

BTW, this dentist was trained in California. Speaks perfect english.
I have been getting my dental work done there for 3 years now. No problems.
and yes, the materials meet or exceed canadian standards.

Just a word of CAUTION. I have heard that some Kelowna Dentists will not work on your teeth if you have gone the Mexico route. If you do, you might later find a problem.

[butcher99]

Just a word of CAUTION. I have heard that some Kelowna Dentists will not work on your teeth if you have gone the Mexico route. If you do, you might later find a problem.

no problem.. for what kelowna dentists charge I can go back to mexico get my dental work done and have some fun in the sun and get what amounts to a free vacation. If I do have an emergency and a kelowna dentist does not want my money there are others who will.

We spend lots of time in Mexico. We talk to lots of people there. I have yet to hear of one person who had a problem. Although i am sure problems do occur. Just like they do with Canadian dentists

[Ken7]

no problem.. for what kelowna dentists charge I can go back to mexico get my dental work done and have some fun in the sun and get what amounts to a free vacation. If I do have an emergency and a kelowna dentist does not want my money there are others who will.

We spend lots of time in Mexico. We talk to lots of people there. I have yet to hear of one person who had a problem. Although i am sure problems do occur. Just like they do with Canadian dentists

Not saying the dentist in Mex are under trained. But, Canadian Dentists do not want to work on you if you have used them. Guess when you can't travel anymore you could always mail your teeth in and have them patched up...

A lady I know had work done in MEX, years later she needed more but wanted it completed in Kelowna...Oh, No!

[Jo]

Not saying the dentist in Mex are under trained. But, Canadian Dentists do not want to work on you if you have used them.

Sure they do, and are more than willing to do so. It's money in their pockets, fixing what the Mexican dentists bugger up.

[butcher99]

Sure they do, and are more than willing to do so. It's money in their pockets, fixing what the Mexican dentists bugger up.

I have not heard anyone complain about a bad dental job in Mexico. I spend a lot of time there. The dentist we go to was trained in California. She has all the latest tools. The medical system in general rivals the Canadian system and so does dentistry.
Before my first trip to a dentist there I was as hesitant as you and worried about the quality of work. No longer.
It is nice to go to a dentist who says things like, I have looked at that old crown you have and I see nothing wrong with it but we have to keep an eye on it rather than one that says, well you have had that crown for X number of years, we should replace it.

[Eyeswideopen]

does anyone reccommend a dentist that does dental implants....and does anyone know what they cost?
I know a lot of people are going to Mexico?? any one have any opiniion on that as wel.

Thanks.

I have shopped around globally and I find Canada quite reasonable for implants. They tend to require multiple visits so I would suggest finding someone here in Kelowna. I would suggest going to several places before deciding even though you will have to pay something for the visit each time. Almost everyone says they do it and that it's routine but that wasn't my experience. So I would go with someone with a long history of doing it. A lot of people prefer oral surgeons because they have been doing implants the longest and can also sedate you so no memory...however you are going to pay more for oral surgeons.

I can tell you a few places NOT to go as well as one horror story but I don't feel like saying anything bad about any of them.

I find all the dentists in the Orchard Plaza professional building to be expensive for some reason. There must be at least 20 dentists in that building. I have been to 3 and all wanted to get me to keep coming in first for the consult then for the comprehensive exam then for the cleaning etc. before even discussing the specific job I came in for originally. All those things seemed expensive compared to other places as well. So I just avoid all the dentists in that building now. Once you get xrays at one place you can just go to another place and give them the name of the dentist who took the xrays so they don't have to do that again. It's routine for dentists to request xrays from other dentists.

Anything besides implants is usually a lot cheaper in places like Mexico. Don't believe the fearmongering about how it's inferior and you will get an infection and they will knock you out and remove your spleen or whatever other nonsense people are fearmongering about. A lot of the dentists there or elsewhere are US/Canada trained. You can find good and bad dentists anywhere in the world.

[I Think]

My experience with Mexican dentists is top drawer. Reasonable prices and the one I use is very highly trained and has the latest technology.
Similarly with SWMBO, who has had work performed in a different city from my dentist,
I am sure there are poor dentists, you need to check out your dentist here or in any other city.

[butcher99]

Anything besides implants is usually a lot cheaper in places like Mexico. Don't believe the fearmongering about how it's inferior and you will get an infection and they will knock you out and remove your spleen or whatever other nonsense people are fearmongering about. A lot of the dentists there or elsewhere are US/Canada trained. You can find good and bad dentists anywhere in the world.

i have found implants to be quite cheap in mexico. However they do a different procedure. here they put the titanium post in and then wait 6 months to make sure it takes. I have heard that in Mexico they do the entire procedure at once. There is about a 10% chance your body will reject the titanium which means it has to be redone. Keep that in mind. I do not know for certain that is how they do it but it is what I was told by someone in Mexico while we were talking about proceedures there.

[MAPearce]

Sure they do, and are more than willing to do so. It's money in their pockets, fixing what the Mexican dentists bugger up

Dentistry is more of an industry than a medical science...

[Captain Awesome]

Most things you pay money for are industries, not science.

[I Think]

The dentist I know in Mexico implants the pin, then after 6 months does the procedure.

[Eyeswideopen]

i have found implants to be quite cheap in mexico. However they do a different procedure. here they put the titanium post in and then wait 6 months to make sure it takes. I have heard that in Mexico they do the entire procedure at once. There is about a 10% chance your body will reject the titanium which means it has to be redone. Keep that in mind. I do not know for certain that is how they do it but it is what I was told by someone in Mexico while we were talking about proceedures there.

You will run into that here in Canada/Kelowna as well which is kind of what happened to me. There are a few different ways of doing it and depends on your situation what tooth etc. They use Titanium because bone will bond with it so they cover up the screw and let the bonding happen which takes maybe 3-6months before fitting a crown on top.

All I can say is don't believe the general dentists who say it's routine because it's not necessarily true. Most of the time it can be but not always. The key question to ask them is how many implants they have done and how long have they been doing it. The guy I found who seems to actually know what he is doing (after talking to 4 others who I don't think do) has been doing implants for over 15 years. A lot of these other dentists have only been on short weeklong courses and may not have done very many.

There is no board certified implant credential as far as I know so they all get their implant certification hanging on their wall but that doesn't mean they know what they are doing. Oral surgeons typically have the most experience with it but you can find general dentists who have done a lot and will be a lot cheaper.

I have priced it out and I can get a proper implant here for about the same price as in Mexico. Prices can vary depending on who you talk to and how they want to do it so make sure you are comparing apples to apples. I think the reason it's about the same price is because a lot of the cost is in the materials. The titanium screw and crown. Those will probably cost about the same no matter where you. Also there are different types of screws and crowns. So again, you have to make sure you are comparing the same things.

Other things like cleaning and root canals can be significantly cheaper in Mexico though.

[Eyeswideopen]

Not saying the dentist in Mex are under trained. But, Canadian Dentists do not want to work on you if you have used them. Guess when you can't travel anymore you could always mail your teeth in and have them patched up...

A lady I know had work done in MEX, years later she needed more but wanted it completed in Kelowna...Oh, No!

Nonsense. I have had lots of work done in other countries and had no problem finding dentists in Kelowna. I have yet to find one that turned me away. They are all looking for more business. Besides, they don't need to know who worked on your teeth and where you got it done.

One thing I have found is that they want to get you coming in over and over again. First the initial check/x-rays, then a cleaning, then on a 3rd visit they will discuss the work you came in to get done in the first place. That part is aggrevating especially since they are dinging you $100, $200+ each visit. I try steer clear of those guys now. I don't seem to have any problem just getting the necessary work done. Not everyone is willing to do that though.

[two_shoes1mit]

Try Dr. Dale Christophe at ACORN DENTAL in Rutland.

Our whole family is pleased with him. Our young daughter has never had any issues
with his care, and having children of his own, he is very good with children.