Category Archives: travel Mexico

Is Your Dentist RIPPING You Off?

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Your brain surgeon should be very well paid.

But why should a dentist be a millionaire?

by Sarah Lorge Butler for CBS MoneyWatch.com:

Cost of the (2) crowns: $1,395 apiece. Cost of foundation fillings, or “cores” to put the crowns on: $326 apiece. Total bill, if you’re scoring at home: $3,442.

His dentist sold him membership into an office savings plan for $319 for the year. So that saves him 20% on all dental procedures and gives him two free cleanings. Knock off 20% (but add back in the $319) and we’re down to $3072.60 on this bit of drilling.

When I look at this bill, I wonder why I obsess about the weekly price fluctuations of Cheerios or the shrinking size of a can of tuna. All the economical choices a family makes in a year can be wiped out by a trip to the dentist. No wonder people are going to Thailand and Mexico for dental work. …

read more

Is $3000 over-priced for 2 crowns?

What is the cost for the materials?

How much are those working on your crowns paid?

How much does the dentist pocket?

If we knew those numbers, I’m guessing that we’d agree our dentist is ripping us off.

There are over 1000 comments on that post, most feeling ripped off.

A stranger recently contacted me for advice on my dentist, Dr. Lorenia Estrada, in La Paz, Mexico. I enthusiastically recommended her.

If you suspect your dentist is ripping you off, get a quote from Mexico. … The only down side is that you have very little recourse if unhappy with the work there.

Thanks Dana.

Feliz Navidad

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Many times I’ve been in warm, sunny climes for close to Christmas.

The best was when Greg Chartier and I took a dubious “shortcut” hiking in New Zealand, … and ended up in a 5 star resort bar on Christmas Day.

There’s sometime zany about relocating a northern European December tradition to the tropics.

You can actually grow Christmas flowers …

But not Christmas trees …

I’ve heard a few gringos actually bring down a real Christmas tree to Baja.

La Paz, Baja


more Feliz Navidad pics

La Paz, Baja photos

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La Paz. Peace.

A great non-tourist town. I don’t think I’ve ever had a more relaxing holiday. … Relaxing aside from all those dentist needles.

(Actually I love anesthetic. Gimme the epidural!)

Love all the statues …

La Paz, Baja

La Paz, Baja

Can’t get enough of these sunset shots …

La Paz, Baja

La Paz, Baja

For the first time I hiked up above town to get the BIG PICTURE …

La Paz, Baja

See the rest of my La Paz photos on flickr

the trouble with Mexico

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If you head on over to my hiking site, you’ll find my trip report hiking Tecolote Beach, Baja.

Looks a paradise, don’t you think?

Even seagulls holiday on Tecolote.

The weather and beaches are excellent. But for several years now I’ve been recommending against travel to Mexico. I’d definitely not be here this year … if Canadian dentists weren’t so over-priced.

Why?

Cost is high. Most things in Baja now cost more than they do in Canada or the States. But not much of that money goes to wages. The rich are getting richer on your tourist dollar.

Quality is low. This beach looks nice. But it’s full of starving dogs.

When they die, nobody here bothers to bury the corpse.

The litter problem is actually better than when I first started coming to Mexico. But locals still litter frequently.

Mexico is right now in a rotten stage of development. It’s certainly not a developing nation, where you might forgive some injustice and growing pains.

But it’s not enough of a developed nation that you can trust food, water or services. (Happily I’ve yet to be shortchanged this trip, though. Nor hassled by cops.)

I recommend Guatamala and Nicaragua as excellent alternatives.

mmrgakshcmhrghhrm

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I’ve never been more powerless and vulnerable than when lying on the dentist’s chair.

But having had so much practice over the years, I believe I’ve gotten quite skilled at being a compliant patient.

Today I had 3 of the 4 corners of my mouth frozen prepping for the installation of permanent bridges. My dentista popped the question: … while we’re here, do you want to fix the 4th corner?

… Why not.

I’m very happy with Dr. Lorenia Estrada, my lady dentist from La Paz, Baja. (I’ve written of my Stockholm syndrome for her before.)

One new thought came to mind on the death bed this time. I believe women make better dentists than men, on average.

They are more empathetic and gentle.

Male dentists are dead to me from here on in.

My cost for all the dental work I’ve had done in La Paz is about $4800.

8,920km Baja road trip

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Mom, Dad, Pete and myself arrived safely back in Parksville, B.C. after a month. No major problems. How about that?

It was our first time driving to Baja, California, an epic adventure.

We toured the peninsula right to Cabo. Then crossed to the mainland via the surprisingly good La Paz to Los Mochis ferry.

ferry at La Paz, Baja

ferry at La Paz, Baja

Returning via Needles, California, we visited my Uncle Bob Moore and his wife Lydia.

Uncle Bob Moore, Needles, California

… note that his Flames flag is not yet at half mast. Incidentally, Needles is like many parts of California, an economic disaster. You could buy a mobile home in Bob’s river front park for $10,000. Pay $300/month rent. Play golf year round outside your door for $600/year.

map of Needles, CA

Prices have dropped to almost zero. Yet nothing sells in Needles, CA. If you cross the river into Arizona, fuel prices drop from $3.60/gallon to $2.60/gallon.

The most beautiful sections of our driving tour, I thought, were the stark deserts of northern Baja and Nevada.

Driving to Baja is one of those epic trips that we’ll look back at fondly, while doggedly insisting that we’d never do it again.

Actually, I’ll be headed back to La Paz by air later this Spring for final installation of 3 new dental bridges. I’ve got temporaries now.

Mexican truck

exploring beaches out of La Paz, Baja

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My parents and I spent 7 nights in the El Moro hotel, a luxurious getaway. We stayed because only a few hotels are up to this guy’s high standards:

near El Coyote, Baja

El Moro is OK. Hotel choices in La Paz are not all that interesting, in my opinion. Most do not allow pets.

Each day, scheduled between my dental appointments, we made road trips.

First was wonderful Tecolote, the best beach near La Paz. I could camp out here, gladly. It’s paradise.

Mom - La Paz, Baja - Tecolote

This is the jumping off point for Isla Santo Espirito kayak trips.

Another day we got lost on the “road to nowhere” (El Coyote) and found this near deserted beach.

near El Coyote, Baja

On a big loop of Baja south we really liked El Sargento beach, a hangout for snowbirds from British Columbia.

El Sergento beach, Baja

Most everyone likes the south of Baja.

We caught the ferry to mainland Mexico. Is it Summer in Canada yet? We’re on the way home.

I must love the dentist

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As a kid I had a horrible dentist. And rotten teeth.

I shunned dentists and avoided their haunts.

Older and wiser, two years ago I flew twice to Mazatlan for major dental work.

Last year I got some work done in Kathmandu.

Over the last week in La Paz, Mexico I’ve spent some quality time with my new dentist, Dr. Lorenia Estrada.

… at least 6 extractions, 5 fillings, 3 long temporary bridges, more …

At times lying back in the chair, trying to relax, trying even to sleep, I believe I turned into Patty Hearst. It was Stockholm syndrome, for sure.

I started to get emotionally attached to my captors. My punishment flashed me back to earlier in the day, floating on an air mattress in the outdoor hot tub at the hotel pool. The dentist’s harsh light reminded me of the tropical sun between palm fronds.

Am I going mad in the Apocalypse Now sense of the word?