This was a story posted that we found about one persons dental tourism experience in Costa Rica. We enjoy sharing them when we find them. It was written anonymously in reply to a bloggers question regarding seeking treatment in Costa Rica.

I got some dental work done in CR in June, and I have plans to go back for more. If you are looking for a dentist that caters to tourists (they speak English and many are American educated) a root canal will cost you about $300 (I think) and a crown is about $550. Keep in mind the $550 crown is the top quality one that I can’t afford in the states. I used Dr Mario Garita. I didn’t get a root canal, so I’m trying to remember the price, or maybe I didn’t get that quoted? Don’t take my word for it, but my extraction was $30, my cleaning and xrays was $50 and my crown was $550. It’s a first class operation. I’m going back to get my old crowns replaced with the good crowns and get veneers on the fronts. I highly recommend them.

The crown fee is about 1/3 the price of many US dentists, the extraction about 1/5 the price. So why not dental vacation to Costa Rica?

Dental Vacation Reviews

One of the necessities for any dental vacation are your x-rays. The language of x-rays is universal. Dentists around the world are taught how to read dental x-rays. The reading is not in a language but in the nuances of the picture. Being able to tell which gray areas on the x-ray are healthy and which are possible dental decay or abcess is what each dental student learns on their progression towards becoming a doctor.
As such they are easily transfered between dentists and do not need a written translation. Thus no matter if you are a dentist in the US or Thailand you will be able to diagnose from a x-ray put in front of you. Since most x-rays are now in a digital format they can easlily be sent to any computer around the world.
The dentist you choose in another country will be able to give you a recommendation of treatment from those x-rays and from that a price quote. One thing to keep in mind though is that x-rays are only one diagnostic tool for dentists to use. It is also important for dentists to do a visual exam to get a more complete picture of ones’ dental health. But having those x-rays is an important first step for you experince in dental tourism.

Dental Vacation Reviews

Dental tourism has its advantages and it is important for both employees and employers to understand how it works as more and more employers provide this option for their employees. Qualified health and dental care providers abroad offer medical and dental care to people, and at a lower price than in their home countries. Patients who travel for health care avoid waiting lists in their own countries and have courses of treatment and necessary procedures done earlier than they would be done at home.
Dental tourism companies gives some benefits to both employers and employees. This type of care is offered as a part of the health insurance policies to reduce employees’ health care costs. It is quite possible for firms and companies which suggest their employees with health insurance policies to pay for travel and at the same time to save some money for their employees’ health care benefits. Employees also need to understand that, very often, dental treatment is not as expensive as in the countries where they live. This creates the opportunity for a dental vacation to a country like India, Mexico or Thailand as they realize cost savings.
A lot of insurance companies may propose a medical tourism option in their health insurance policies. Such medical travel plans may include reduced travel expenses. Medical tourism prices may be compared by both patients and employers and their cost cutting will be considerable and the treatment quality will be of high level.
If used in conjunction with a health/dental plan, a tourism facilitator must be chosen very carefully. Employers and employees should use the service of the top reputable companies and understand clearly preferred medical and dental tourism destinations. Nowadays medical tourism providers also suggest high level aftercare to the patients.

Dental Vacatin Reviews