Download PDF - Medical Tourism Magazine

Got a Passport?
Get a smile!
There is currently a trend in the United
States, where more and more Americans travel
abroad for various medical and dental
procedures offered by specialists around the
globe.
It is not a secret that a great number of
Americans are not covered by dental
insurance. For those who have dental
insurance, their insurance generally does not
cover cosmetic or aesthetic procedures, such
as veneers, crowns, bleaching or dental
implants. Even though these procedures offer
superior treatment results, and provide
patients with an improvement in their quality
of life, insurance companies do not consider
them basic dental treatments, and usually
reject any claims filed by the patients.
The only solution for some patients is to
pay out of pocket for dental treatments at
typically very high prices. The underlying
factors creating the high cost of dental
procedures in the U.S. include the high cost of
materials that are used, unusually high cost of
malpractice insurance, overpriced labor and the
unaffordable cost of living in the U.S.
Additionally, the number of years of training
34 DECEMBER 2007
MEDICAL TOURISM
By EUGENIO J. BRENES, DDS & JAVIER QUIROS, DDS
that are required by the dental doctors
providing these types of procedures is very
high in order to provide their patients with
predictable and successful treatments.
People often may ask themselves why travel
abroad? Which procedures can be done in
foreign countries? How does one choose the
right Doctor? How does one contact these
professionals?
In order to answer these questions, it is
important to understand that a very
important factor that drives people to travel
outside the U.S. for dental treatment is
finances. As emphasized, dental treatments
in the U.S. can be extremely expensive,
leaving most procedures out of reach for a
great percentage of the population.
As a result, Americans are traveling abroad
seeking more affordable dental care. One of
the countries that is fast becoming a Mecca
for dental treatments is Costa Rica. Costa Rica
has a large number of dental specialists, many
of whom are trained in the U.S. at the highest
levels and standards, and they provide dental
treatment at a fraction of the cost in the U.S.
In my case, I had five years of dental
training in Costa Rica, followed by four years
of post graduate training and residency in
aesthetics, restorative, and prosthodontics
procedures at Loma Linda University, in
California. Dr Quiros on the other hand,
studied in Costa Rica for six years and
continued his post graduate education in
Dallas, Texas with a Fellowship of two years
in Esthetic Dentistry, and a three year
Residency in Advanced Prosthodontics.
We both speak perfect English and perform
the same treatments that are performed in the
U.S. We both decided to return to our
country and open our practice using all the
knowledge and experience we gained, training
at some of the top ranked dental schools in
the U.S., to help the people in our country.
One may wonder how U.S. trained
specialists in Costa Rica can charge a third of
what a U.S. based specialist will charge.
There are a number of reasons for this. First,
Costa Rica has a lower cost of labor and fees
charged by dental labs (labs that custom make
crowns, veneers, dentures, etc.). Costa Rican
dental labs provide excellent quality of work