LET'S JUST GET OUR FACTS STRAIGHT, CUZ I'M NO DUMMY...

I don't know if it would be a comedy, or a sad drama-if I was to make a movie about my dental escapades. I had a appointment made long ago (well, in December) to go get some work done at a dental office that I just signed on to with some insurance that I purchased, which was supposed to pay enough for me to afford the procedures. As it turned out, the dentist recommended everything that was not covered by insurance, and essentially, I'd be working on the slow and long-term plan where my issues would finally be resolved sometime before my 75th birthday, I'd be broke over it all, and the dentist would be that much richer. It was just another "no surprise," and that was my final U.S. option. I already have my passport in the works, appointment made at American Biological Dentistry in Mexico, where they care about your health entirely, as well as your budget, and they use the best biocompatible materials such as zirconium oxide. I got my reminder call from the dentist here, and I told her that I wanted to get my teeth repaired with the "not now, but right now" plan, not the "I want my teeth to look great when I'm in my coffin" plan. I told her I would call when I got back from Mexico. She said, "Okay, we'll look forward to it..." 10 minutes later, she calls me back to explain to me all the dangers involved with my plan in Mexico. First off, said started with this generalized, blanket statement, which was a penalty with me right off the bat: "Those dentists in Mexico use inferior materials that are going to break right away, and you'll have to do it all over again..." Number one, I can't count the number of people who have told me that story countless time, but we are talking about U.S. dentistry, not Mexico. 2nd, and more important, "those dentists?" You mean, every single dentist collectively, they ALL use poor materials, and you know this, how? I don't think that is a statement that is even possible to make unless she did a study on EVERY dentist in Mexico, and she could tell me their names and what they use. Then maybe, she could generalize the whole country as one in reference to the dentistry materials used. Maybe even some case studies of the patients who had to replace their fillings prematurely. Then she said, "Maybe if you were going to Europe or something, I would say yeah, go ahead!" Really? I am trying to accomplish something that is out of my "affordability" reach. If If could go to Sweden, Switzerland, or Singapore-only 3 out of 36 countries with great dental care-I guess I would probably have enough money to just book my appointment with your office, now wouldn't I? Again, no logic. She fails to see that I can either take the 20 year plan with their office (or solicit the help of family and friends, and don't you know you are always looking for a family member to help out with dental bills! I just want to punch her their teeth out when they suggest that) or, I could: Do extensive research, as I have done over the last 2 years, about safe dentists to go to in Mexico, which is-oh yeah, a hop, skip, and a jump away from OC, and have the same work done, same materials-or better, definitely the choices are the same. The prices are lower because you are not paying for the U.S. overhead costs of the office, the dentist does pass malpractice insurance costs onto you, they don't have to deal with insurance costs, and you don't have to pay for their student loans. You can get a bad dentist in the U.S., Mexico, or anywhere in the world. It is up to the consumer to be educated and aware. I don't even want to go back to my U.S. dentist after hearing such ignorant comments. Though I appreciate their concern, I KNOW the concern is more about how many dollars they will be losing from me, not the welfare of my teeth. If they were, they would work with me without the shyster finance companies that all the dentists use, or perform what it covered by insurance. I give kudos to Mexico for taking advantage of a good opportunity when they see it, and helping out the poor middle class of America (and Canada, etc.) for that matter! Touche'! Tocar! Whatever!