retirement travel

Joe visited Los Algodones, B.C., Mexico as a “dental tourist.” Joe was impressed with his new dentist and especially appreciated being asked about medication options; for example, he opted out of a local anesthetic for a simple front tooth side filling which saved money. His American dentists would have injected him as a matter of routine (and charged accordingly!). His extraction, crowns, and fillings cost about half of what we would pay in the U.S., even with our supplemental dental insurance, and the thousands of Canadian and American patients who flock to this small Mexican town prove that the care provided is safe and effective.

The town serves mainly retirees who are wintering here in the southwest desert. Formerly a small border town with a few bars, Los Algodones now boasts about 600 dentists and several major pharmacies offering generic prescription drugs at a fraction of the American and Canadian price tags. Josef Woodman, of Patients Beyond Borders, suggests that 65% of medical tourism is for dental care.

Why is dental care for seniors so expensive in the United States? According to the Medicare website, Medicare doesn’t cover most dental care, dental procedures, or supplies, like cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions, dentures, dental plates, or other dental devices. Supplemental premiums may be purchased, but the out-of-pocket expenses are prohibitive to most American retirees, and the policies mostly cover only routine checkups and cleanings. Most major procedures, such as root canals and crowns, are not covered.

Running a dental clinic in the U.S. is expensive largely due to malpractice insurance premiums and high rents for offices. Most American dentists also graduate with huge loads of student debt which gets passed on to their future patients. For the same education, using the same materials, laboratory equipment, and protocol as any dental school in the U.S., Mexican dentists pay less than ten percent of the college fees of American dental schools ($6K vs $70K in annual tuition). Joe’s Mexican dentist’s clinic is small (he rents space to one other dentist) and most new patients have been referred by a former patient. He has an excellent reputation for being thorough and friendly. Even dental-phobic folks have found this dentist to be reassuring and calming.

Everyone we met who has visited a Los Algodones dentist raves about the professionalism, the English-speaking staff, and the ease of making appointments by phone or online. Some of our Westwind RV friends from Canada have been using the same Mexican dentist since first retiring more than a decade ago. Some clinics offer shuttle service between the Yuma, AZ airport and Los Algodones. Most people park in the large lot on the U.S. side and walk across the border.

While Joe was at the dentist, I and our friends visiting from Colorado, amused ourselves wandering the shopping alleys and enjoyed shrimp tacos for lunch. We’ll be back next year.