In June 2007, our local news channel ran a story about a
young man named Rudy, who crossed the border to Juarez,
Mexico to get discount dental care. It seemed he wanted his
teeth capped, and his dental benefits didn't cover cosmetic
dentistry. He couldn't afford the $14,000 price tag in the
U.S. to get it done.
When the story began, I thought, "Why in the world would
someone cross the border to another country to get
'cosmetic' dental work done? Is he crazy or just really,
really desperate?" Then I looked up at the screen to see a
"before" picture of Rudy. His teeth (if they could be
called that) were so tiny and broken and crooked and
discolored they looked like they belonged to a vicious
little Chihuahua rather than to this nice young man named
Rudy. The Rudy who was now smiling back at me with a full
set of nicely capped, white teeth, didn't look like he
regretted his decision at all. He paid $3000 for a mouthful
of neatly sculpted caps-a fraction of what the dentist
wanted in the U.S.
The news reporter on the story interviewed an American
dentist to get a professional opinion about Rudy and others
who cross into Mexico to get discount dental care, and it
was this. 'There are risks when you go to another country,
whose standards are not as high as ours, to get discount
dental care,' she said. 'When you go outside of the US in
search of cheap dental work, you're likely to get what you
pay for.' But she offered no viable choice for Rudy to get
quality care inside the U.S.
I wondered why neither of them had ever heard of
Consumer-Driven Discount Dental Plans. CDD dental plans
just make good sense. They offer dental care without
restrictions at an affordable price, with the same quality
care as the $14K dentist, and they are backed by the
American Dental Association, as well. With an average
discount dental program, Rudy's total payment would have
been 56% below his dentist's standard rates-and without the
added cost of airfare, hotel stay, car, bus or taxi
service, and other travel expenses. Without dealing with
passports or birth certificates (or whatever legal
documents are tendered on your way to Juarez). No missed
work. And, should there be a problem with Rudy's dental
work under the a US Consumer-Driven discount dental
program, Rudy simply drives up the street to get the
problem fixed rather than having to book a flight and deal
with all the aforementioned details needed for travel to
Mexico.
For Rudy, the story appears to have had a happy ending. His
teeth look 100 percent better than before his trip to
Juarez. But the warnings from the American dentist in his
story are partly true. You do need to think carefully when
you go to another country for discount dental work. The
question of whether the dentists in Juarez (or anywhere
outside the US) are as skilled as those inside the US is
perhaps a question for another news reporter. But the cost
in time, money, risk and convenience is much too high for
me.
Good luck, Rudy. I wish you the best.
----------------------------------------------------
Jim Martinez is a National Sales Director for AmeriPlan USA
offering discount dental, health, vision, prescription and
chiropractic benefits plans starting at only $19.95 per
month for your entire household. Sign up today for discount
dental benefits plans at
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