had some dental work done in santiago

laurapasinifan · #1 04-19-2006, 01:46 PM

I had asked before hand about getting some work done. hillbilly recomended a woman in santiago named Rita. He also gave me the info I needed to get the xrays done before hand. I went to the clinic for the xrays, they only took one and it was of the tooth I needed I wanted work done on. The fee was 150 pesos. Not bad! so then I went to Ritas office and met her and while she didnt talk the best of english my gf did the interpretations. And she felt I didnt need the root and canal my american dentist wanted. I think an older filling that was kinda large was giving me trouble and the dentists here said they needed to kill the root and cap it. But she removed the older filling and the one in the adjacent tooth. I only have 4 fillings in my mouth but apparently three of them have been causing all my recent problems. The work my dentist here did was similar to what Rita did. Cut out an old one and put in a temporary to see if probelms arise..if not finnish with the permanent filling. The work here is envolves a porceline filling. that fee was $1,050 here in america and my insurance covers 60% after I paid a $50 deductable. I am having that work finnished this sat. the work rita did will be finnished when i go back in may. her fee is $1,000 PESOS!!!!!!!!!!

for truths sake i will add that my work here was done with novacane in the DR there was none used..a little discomfort( ok pain) was involved here. and in america the dentist had an assistant that administer a vacumn for the water the drill used....so I never had my mouth fill up. In santiago I had to lean over and spit into the dental sink every minute or so.....

just a little info to pass along. Right now I am happy when i run out of dental benefits each year,I'd consider going to the dr for the rest of any work that i would need. Hopefully Ill be done for another 20 years!...hopefully.

my daughter doesnt have dental nsurance anymore....if she need major work think Ill jst fly her there and take a little vacation while she gets her work done...since i end up paying her bills lately anyway.

ps Thank Luis for the leg work
bob

HOWMAR · #2 04-19-2006, 02:01 PM

Glad that you are satisfied with the work. As I have said in previous posts, denatl work in the DR is a bargain compared to the US. I only want to note that you don't have to settle for care of lesser quality than you would get in the US though. I have used two dentist's offices in Puerto Plata. The only reason I switched from one to the other was due to Insurance coverage. Both Dr Senor's office and Dr. Leppe's office have all modern equipment, including x-ray and suction in the treatment rooms. I have had a root canal done in both offices and both were done as well as a previous one which I had done in the US by an endodontist. Both offices used adequate local anesthesia. Bob, glad you were happy with the treatment you got, but, there is better available.
BTW, my Dominican Health Insurance (ARS Palic Salud), covers 80% with no limit.

Hillbilly · #3 04-19-2006, 02:51 PM

You're welcome. I will make sure that Dr. Muñoz puts some suction in there next time. I need it too.

These Estomatologists are great!

HB

laurapasinifan · #4 04-19-2006, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hillbilly

You're welcome. I will make sure that Dr. Muñoz puts some suction in there next time. I need it too.

These Estomatologists are great!

HB

are you hinting for me to leave my GF home next time?? ha ha ha ha

howmar...my insurance will cover the work done in the dr up to my limits. they apply the out of network fees...but it doesnt hurt with the low fees the dr dentists ask

bob

gary short · #5 04-19-2006, 05:15 PM

HOWMAR if you don't mind me asking how much do you pay for your insurance.

HOWMAR · #6 04-19-2006, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary short

HOWMAR if you don't mind me asking how much do you pay for your insurance.

From another post I made.

Quote:

Currently I am covered by ARS PAlic Salud. Single coverage costs RD$540/month. Covers Hospital and Inpatient Charges 100%, Doctor visit w/50 co-pay, 80% prescriptions up to RD$3,000/year, 80% Dental, 80% Outpatient Lab and X-Ray, 100% Emergency Room, etc. Maximum coverage is RD$300,000/year. I recently was in Centro Medical Bournigal for 5 days and my total out-of-pocket cost was RD$300 for services not covered. Although RD$300,000 is not a great deal of coverage in case of a major illness, I figure it would be adequate until I could arrange transport back to the US

.

Talldrink · #7 04-19-2006, 05:24 PM

I got one very large filling taken out and fixed (in white) and then had some work done to about 4 more teeth. all for the low price of $200 - the cap alone would have been $1000 dollars in the US and insurance doesnt cover that.

I did experience discomfort in ONE tooth - not pain. and I hated not having the suction function thingy.

The one thing that I hate about changing the fillings is the sensitivity issue - that will happen there and in the US. Will go back for more when I go visit DR again in a heartbeat!