A Visit to the Dentist

I mentioned in passing in an earlier post that I had my first visit to the dentist in Mexico on Monday.

Certainly, another stressful element of moving is finding new doctors, and it is even harder when you move to a new country.  Since I was due for a teeth cleaning in the month of November, a dentist was the first health professional that I needed to find.  Fortunately, Alejandro's sister recommended her dentist and made an appointment for me.

The dentist's office was within walking distance of the family's house, but Alejandro drove me there for my first visit.  Just as with the doctor visit that I described recently, someone from the United States would probably find the office very spartan.  There was just a small waiting room, and the dentist's examining room.  Furthermore, was no receptionist, no billing clerk, and no dental hygienist... it was just the dentist and me.  (Keep in mind that Alejandro's family lives in a working-class neighborhood.  Perhaps in a ritzier "colonia", the experience is more similar to that in the U.S.)  However, the dentist was very professional and pleasant, and the equipment was the same you would find north of the border.  I don't know if the dentist speaks English, but her Spanish was clear, and we had no problem communicating.  

Back in Ohio, my insurance covered most of my dental bills, although I had to pay a portion.  Of course, my insurance does not work down here in Mexico.  However, my bill for the cleaning (plus she gave me a fluoride treatment to boot) cost only 6000 pesos (34 U.S. dollars), less than what I would have paid in the U,S. with my insurance.

So, I now have a dentist in Mexico!