Dark and early on Monday, Feb. 17th, 5:30am to be exact, I drove out of the Sands RV Resort headed for Los Algodones, Mexico. It’s a 3 hour drive and my appointment at Sani Dental was for 9am. Paulette stayed home with Rylie as she had no desire to visit Algodones based on the stories she’d heard about the hucksters and vendors hassling visitors. I arrived at the big parking lot right on schedule, parked my truck for $6 and followed the crowds toward the border crossing.
My first look at the dental clinics in Algodones wasn’t exactly reassuring
My first surprise was that there were no border agents, guards or any type of Mexican authorities at the gates where we entered Mexico. Just walk right in! Immediately, I was struck by the change. Vendors and pitchmen swarmed over me every 10 ft. or so urging me to let them take me to dental clinics, optometrists and pharmacies. All of the buildings looked pretty shabby and didn’t appear to have seen new paint in decades. I was seriously considering just turning around and leaving this madhouse but just in the nick of time I happened to spot the Sani Dental Clinic.
The dental specialist section of the spotless Sani Dental waiting room
When I walked in the clinic I felt much more at ease as it was spotless and the front office staff was very courteous and friendly. I filled out some forms then found a chair in the long, narrow waiting room that faced many doors I assumed correctly were the dentist’s offices. Within 5 minutes, I was called into a room where a technician took panoramic x-rays. Then, promptly at 9am, Dr. Manuel Santiago walked out, nice and friendly, telling me he would be doing the assessment. Soon, I was in the dreaded dentist chair and I could see the x-rays of my teeth already displayed on a huge computer monitor..
| Dr. Santiago was ‘extremely’ professional and knowledgeable |
 | D.D.S. Manuel Salvador De Santiago Pintado
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As I lay there looking around at all the fancy looking equipment, Dr. Santiago was studying my x-ray. He just sat there staring for a good 3 or 4 minutes. Just as I was beginning to wonder, he turned to me and said “we can fix you up so that you will have a beautiful smile. That’s what we do here, we put beautiful smiles on our patient’s faces”. He then gave me a detailed explanation of the condition of my teeth, bridgework, jawbones and what options I had His assessment was exactly like the ones I heard from my own dentists in Victoria and in Palm Springs – my current bridgework was toast.
Sani’s cutting edge technology includes the use of Intraoral cameras
The only difference in Dr. Santiago’s explanation was it was much more detailed and using his computer, he showed me exactly on my x-rays where the problem areas were. For instance, because of bone loss even I could see on the x-rays, whether I went with a full upper denture or extensive implant/bridgework I would require a bone graft first. I did recall the Prosthodontist back in Victoria talking about this but he was kind of vague about it probably thinking it would scare me off. Ha! It was the $30,000 price tag that scared me away not the bone graft!
Image of All-on-Four Implants for replacing all bottom teeth
I told Dr. Santiago that I didn’t want a full upper denture as I knew I’d hate it. I asked him what he could do, how long it would take and what would it cost to replace my current bridgework. Given my situation, he recommended All-on-4 Implants that are a permanent set of teeth that look and feel like natural teeth. The All-on-Four treatment would provide me with a same day immediately loaded fixed acrylic prosthesis supported by 4 implants. All four titanium implants are placed so that the bone will grow around and secure them in place.
The acrylic teeth and bridgework for an upper All-on-Four
But, before I could get the implants I needed some work done. Dr. Santiago then recommended a 3 step procedure each separated by about 5 or 6 months. Very apprehensively, I asked “how much would all this extensive work cost”? His assistant quickly printed off a list detailing what needed to be done and the cost of each procedure. I was completely blown away. The full cost for the All-On-Four solution was only $9,140!! That’s a long way from $30,000!!! I said “let’s go” and made 2 appointments for Feb. 23 and 24. No more procrastinating.
| Procedure #1 – Performed painlessly on Feb. 24, 2015 |
| Quantity | Description | Cost |
| 1 | Upper Plate and 1 Reline | $180 |
| 7 | Extractions | $280 |
| 1 | Bonegraft | $380 |
| 1 | X-ray | $60 |
| 1 | Laser treatment | $190 |
| Total | $1,090 |
I have to admit the idea of 7 tooth extractions and a bone graft kind of scared me as I hadn’t had a tooth pulled in over 35 years. My February 23rd appointment was easy as all they did that day was make an impression of my mouth. Sani-Dental has their own lab and said the full upper denture would be ready for my appointment the next day at 9am. I didn’t hang around in Los Algodones at all, I just headed back to the border to get in the line to cross back into the USA.
| The 7 extractions and bone graft were absolutely painless – amazing work |
 | D.D.S. Alejandro Barragán
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Well before dawn on the morning of Feb. 24th I headed for Los Algodones with dread in my heart. I was sure this was going to be excruciatingly painful. I was dead wrong. This time, Dr. Alejandro Barragan, a 33 yr. old Oral Surgeon worked on me and he was absolutely terrific. It took him only 90 minutes to extract 7 teeth, do the bone graft, apply sutures and I never felt a thing. It was simply amazing. He is good. After that, a new dental specialist came in to do a Laser treatment that sterilized my entire mouth killing any existing infections and cauterizing my gums.
This is the first stage – my temporary upper denture
Sani Dental’s KaVo Everest CAD/CAM Lab Equipment – best in the business
Next, the Dentist who specializes in dentures appeared with the new upper plate they had made. It fit perfectly and looked pretty good. Not bad for only $1,090, eh? They wrote me a prescription for 6 days of Ampicillin at a cost of only $10 and 30 capsules 600mg pills of Ibuprofen also $10. I was feeling pretty good and had no trouble driving the 3 hours back to the Sands. I only took the Ibuprofen for 2 days as I wasn’t suffering any pain at all. I have to return on March 16 to get my denture relined for a perfect fit as any gum swelling will have receded by then.
| Procedure #2 – Sometime this summer in Los Algodones |
| Quantity | Description | Cost |
| 1 | All-On-Four Acrylic Teeth | $3,500 |
| 1 | Cat Scan | $150 |
| 4 | Implants | $4,400 |
| Total | $8,050 |
So what’s next? The bone graft will take about 5 months to heal so sometime this summer I’m going to fly down to Palm Springs (I have enough WestJet points for a free return flight), rent a car and drive down to Sani Dental in Los Algodones. In just one day, they’ll do the 4 implants and fit me with a provisional All-on-Four like the one shown in an above image. I’ll then return to Palm Springs and fly home. It takes about 5 months for the Titanium implants to completely fuse to the jawbone. In the meantime, my denture will be gone and I’ll have a full set of teeth again.
| How are All-on-4 Dental Implants different from dentures? |
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In January, when we return to the Sands RV Resort for the winter, I’ll make an appointment at Sani Dental to have the provisional All-on-Four removed and the new final prosthesis attached permanently to my implants. The dentists at Sani Dental have assured me that I’ll love the feel, use and look of my new teeth. They have a 98% success rate with this procedure and it is their #1 method for full mouth restoration. They use the exact same Nobel Biocare implants that dentists in the USA and Canada use. I’m very glad that I made the trip to Los Algodones!
Thanks for visiting!
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