Okay, it may not have been great, but it was as good as a dentist visit can be. Pain free, and inexpensive. That's what I look for in a visit to the dentist!
There's a father/daughter dentist office here in the town of Valle de Juarez. The daughter, Lissette, has had rave reviews from some of the campers who have had work done, and Ruth actually had a cleaning and inspection done when we were here last year.
The last time I was at a dentist was when I had a molar repaired when we were in Puerto Escondido two years ago. And we're going to be spending six months in Canada so I wanted to get a cleaning and inspection done before heading north. There's no way I want to be handing any money over to a Canadian dentist ever again!
Kevin in the dental chair while Dr. Lissette does her thing.
Any dentist we've ever been to in Mexico does their own cleaning and inspection. In our experiences, the job of cleaning isn't farmed out to a lower paid dental hygienist. Sorry to all you dental hygienists out there, but your job exists in Canada and the U.S. solely to make more money for your boss! In Canada and the U.S., dentistry is a business. But because Mexico doesn't put their health care professionals on a financial pedestal, the dental care is all done by the dentist. Although I would expect that the many busy dental offices in the Mexican border cities catering to Americans probably also make use of dental hygienists to maximize their "profit per patient hour" as dentists in the northern part of North America are taught to do.
Cleaning and inspection done, however she found one tiny cavity beside a previous filling done many years ago. So I've made another appointment for the 27th to go back and have that repaired.
When she was finished, I asked how much I owed her for the 45 minutes of work. She said "oh, you can just pay me all at once when we finish up next week".
Okay.
But we know from when Ruth visited last year that her cleaning and inspection cost 200 pesos ($16.80). So I'm guessing that this tiny filling (she said it would be another half hour) will probably add another 200 pesos to the bill. I'm guessing when I go to pay the bill next week that it won't be much more than 400 pesos ($33.60) in total.
The rest of the day was uneventful. We cooked up a delicious top sirloin steak, although it could have been a little more tender. Not bad though!
Grilled potatoes and top sirloin steak!
Happy Birthday to Tony (Ruth's dad)....hope you have a great day!
Heading north back to Canada.....WHY
ReplyDeleteBecause we're not independently wealthy! We are working in Saskatchewan from May through September!
DeleteWhy not stay and work in Mexico for the summer?
DeleteFirst, we are only here on a visitor's permit. And second, like the Mexican's, we can make more money north of the border!
DeleteGlad you have had good success with your dentists in Mexico. I have also had good work done in Tijuana and Algodones, several times, but the last time was a disaster in Algodones, Went to Valenzua dental group, recommended by a friend and they messed up atwo root canals. after 2 years I had to havethe teeth pulled in Wa. I hear many success stories, but there are a few screw ups. When you get good work done that is such a saving to our pocket book
ReplyDeleteSorry that you had a bad experience on your last lot of dental work at Algodones. As you say there are many success stories and yes, I am sure there are screw ups but they are also screw ups with USA/Canadian dentists as well. The three different dentists we have dealt with in Mexico over our five winters have all been professional and have all had clean offices and up-to-date equipment.
DeleteYes, Norma had a screwed up root canal done in Canada before we retired. It cost her thousands to rectify it. Thankfully we had dental coverage back then.
DeleteI wish Dr. Lissette was in Georgia. ;)
ReplyDeleteWow, I thought $40 was a great price for fillings---less than $20 is just amazing. And you're right, hygienists usually do all the teeth cleaning in Algodones. I just figured all dentists used them.
ReplyDeleteThe dentist I use in Algodones does the cleaning. Do you use the dental groups? I think the groups that advertise on Facebook probably follow american type business procedures.
DeleteI know Ruth is a amazing cook but...Tenderize your steak with a little worchetshire sauce and a good stabbing with a fork a few hrs before grilling and you will turn tough steak into suave meat! Sorry bout spelling of the sauce, but tough to even say correctly, Adios.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately we can't use Worcestershire sauce as it contains wheat. Normally we would get ribeye steaks as we do find them the most tender. Last time I marinated our steaks with some seasoning and some pineapple juice and I forgot to do it this time. The acid in the pineapple juice helps to tenderize the steak also we only left it in the fridge for two days maybe we should have left it another day or two.
DeleteNice to see you making use of that Weber,looks great.
ReplyDeleteWe like cook a prime rib, ribeye steak or porterhouse when we find on sale, always tender.
A marinade with worcestershire, oil, vinegar, garlic and pepper works good too. No salt, it makes the meat.
Yep, we like ribeye steaks the best and will ask for them the next time. As I mentioned above, I can't use Worcestershire sauce as it contains wheat. Also keep in mind that most Mexican beef is not aged so that doesn't always help with the meat being the most tender.
DeleteA cleaning at my dentist is $120 USD. But, I have noticed that since the Great Recession started, he has shortened the office hours to three days a week.
ReplyDeleteIs that because people can't afford it or that he is making enough money that he doesn't need to work as many hours to make a good living for himself?
Delete$120 is two days pay for a minimum wage worker in the USA. Just thought I would mention that. After they pay for rent and food there is little left for root canals or cleanings.
DeleteTypical reaction from a "medical professional". "There is a recession and people can no longer afford my services. What shall I do? Reduce my prices so people can stay healthy or reduce my hours? Oh, the dilemma!"
The majority of dental work is covered by insurance benefit plans, at least in Canada it is. Kevin's old accountant specialized in doing the taxes for many dentists in Ottawa and trust us they made lots of money and many only worked a four day week because they wanted to go out and play golf on a day when the courses weren't quite so busy.
DeleteYup you`ll see alot of that in southern Sask....but wish I could post a few pics of what you will see in the north....which is nothing like your header pic...you`ll see soon enough. You may have to stay a lil south of Sturgeon Lake before your job starts...it was -27 deg C in Saskatoon this morning...90 deg C in Tobago today....
ReplyDeleteI keep telling Kevin that Saskatchewan isn't all flat land. I drove through there once when I was a teenager and there were some beautiful rolling hills and I know that there is a lot of forested areas too. Guess he will find out for himself when we get there.
DeleteWould definitely like to stay further south for longer but a commitment is a commitment. There is just over a month to go so hopefully it will be a lot warmer than -27C. We're having beautiful weather right here too! Enjoy the sunshine while you can!
Sounds like she was a lot better than the dentist I had in Melaque. She filled a bunch of teeth (with no freezing) while watching Mexican soap operas, my finger prints are still in her chair. Six months later most of them fell out and I had to have them redone in Canada.
ReplyDeleteDr. Lisette is very good. She is very professional and takes her time, doesn't do anything more than what needs to be done. She took the time to show Kevin with the use of mirrors exactly where is cavity was and explained what she needed to do. Her cleaning was every bit as through as the cleanings we had back home when we used to work and had a dental plan. Just about every camper that comes here and stays for any length of time has made a visit to her and so far everyone has had rave reviews of her work.
DeleteYour experience sounded scary!
I have had no dental work done in Mexico (or anywhere else) except for several cleanings and examinations, all from my favorite dentist in Mazatlan. He is very professional and takes about four times as long as they used to in Canada. Like you say, about 200 pesos. I once went to him with a gum infection caused by a piece of taco chip jammed between the tooth and gum. He took x-rays to confirm my story and cleaned the area out. He then added a complete cleaning and a detailed report of my dental health. All for 400 pesos ($30)!
DeleteI meant, no dental work done since I retired 13 years ago. All work previous to that was done in Canada where we had dental plans.
DeleteTry marinading in plain yogurt for a day. If you are going to grill, its ok to quickly rinse and pat dry, then season! The thing that suprised us about Mexican beef is its dry - there's no blood. Even in the stores. Damn vampire bats I guess...!
ReplyDeleteKent
Thanks Kent, we will try that next time. First time I have heard of marinading steak in yogurt. What kind is best, strawberry or peach? Just kidding, I know to do it in plain yogurt! Yes, we have noticed that the beef does seem more dry down here.
DeleteHow far are you from the border? And, is sherman or LBC going to take you back north?
ReplyDeleteWe are about 1,600km (1000mi)from the border. We will be leaving Sherman here for the summer and taking the Little Blue Car back up north with us.
Delete