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hey dave!!! great to hear from you. yeah, i agree it's a little nuts to me that folks would travel all that way just to get so-so or average work of any kind done but that's the way it goes. i figure that the research i did will benefit those who choose to use it and it's no skin off my nose if they don't use it <grin>. i actually have been to c.r. several times since i had my work done to visit friends i made and see some more sights. for about a minute i thought of doing eco-adventure-dent al tours as a side business but my own headhunting company takes up a lot of time so, at least for now, doing tours is not going to happen. but, i admit, each time i go to c.r., i visit dental offices i have missed or ones that are newly mentioned on the blog, just to see what's up and just in case i change my mind about the tourism thing. i just sit in the waiting rooms and chat w/the clients. interestingly, the dental offices that were good before are still good now and the new offices are learning from the old. c.r. is way ahead of the states in dentistry. i'm not sure if it's because they have more experience with serious cases or ??? but by the time folks go to c.r. from the states, their dental situation is usually pretty bleak so any positive outcome might be considered amazing. that sort of battlefield experience has to be great training! as an aside ... i would not recommend mexico for treatment, imho. the safety factor due to the cartels is of consideration. as an american, you are a target for kidnapping for ransom. this is a situation that happens frequently, even in the big cities. as for the other comment i just caught up on... yep, i agree. most folks who go to c.r. for dentistry are way ahead of the game and in most cases, have a more (or less) positive outcome regardless of the dentist chosen. there are only a couple of offices i've tried to discourage folks from going to due to their low record of positive outcomes. yeah, dave... i don't post very often now... i DO answer all the emails i get and frequently chat w/folks on the phone, as time permits. i can't believe it's been 4+ years since my first trip to c.r. great to 'hear' from you. glad all is well and thanks for the kind words! austin misses you, chicago misses you and maybe you'll head out to california so we can get you and nc will have the chance to miss you. <very big grin> jerry6665@yahoo.co m (Apr 20, 2013 | post #442)
hiya, what's wrong w/your gums? if you have periodontal disease, you should get that cleared up asap. if it's smoking related, you already know the answer to that. the implants are really concerned with your available bone. you have to have enough for the implants to grab onto. so, if you don't have enough bone, you'll need grafts first. that'll take a few months to become a permanent part of your jaw(s). so when you talk with the dentists, tell them what's wrong with your gums so they can make a ratioal plan for you. just think, this time next year, you'll be eating everything and not have any partials rattling around in your mouth if you get the work done. <smile> you can tell your mom that you'll be fine. not to worry. jerry6665@yahoo.co m (Apr 15, 2013 | post #430)
Woman Dies from Lethal Butt Injections in Costa Rica
good advice, fabio. i don't think it's just laziness in doing their research. more likely, to me it seems most folks don't know about the colegio. also, most of the colegio info has historically been available in spanish. and, many of their listings use categories that are not universally understood. jerry6665@yahoo.co m (Apr 15, 2013 | post #3)
great news about the insurance card! you'll get sooooo much more for the same price down in c.r. now you just gotta kick the cigs. they'll really make things much more difficult and can cause the implants to fail. they also wreak havoc with healing and can cause infections to occur. :-( jerry6665@yahoo.co m (Apr 11, 2013 | post #425)
hi amy, the kind of xrays you'll need are panoramic xrays. those are not the ones that have little, hard, xray squares that are forced into your mouth. panoramic xrays (nicknamed 'panos') are made by a machine that circles around your head while you sit in a chair. it only takes a minute but there are few dentists in the states who have the equipment to make panos. most of the better dentists in costa rica do have them. there is another way of doing these much more detailed xrays but the cheapest and easiest to find in the states is the pano. panos can be emailed unlike the little squares. there ARE xray offices that do nothing but xrays. i don't know how far away from a major city you are but most major cities have such offices. look 'em up in the phone book or online. then, you can email the panos to the docs before you leave. if you can't get the panos where you are, don't worry. when you get to c.r., the doc has the machine and can get them done for you at a small cost. i live right outside l.a., california at the beach and got mine done in town for about $80. my friend in texas got hers done for about $90. as for telling your local dentist about your new adventure in c.r... it just depends on your dentist. one of the bloggers told her dentist that she just 'happened to be in c.r.' when there was an emergency dental problem <grin> so had to get the work done immediately. on the other hand, MY dentist was thrilled to see i got the work done and has even referred another of her patients to dr. c because the extensive work needed was beyond the patient's budget. let's face it... YOU are the only one who wakes up every morning with your teeth. your dentist doesn't. YOU are the one impacted by what's going on with your teeth, not your dentist. a good dentist or doctor wants what's best for the patient, imho, and waiting for 10 years to get work done may not be the best. the longer you wait, the worse it is on your mouth and overall health. also, more often now, dental insurances are covering docs outside the usa because of the cost savings the insurance company enjoys from dental tourism. the savings include not just the original cost but the savings from a lack of future, more serious needs that will cost even more because the problems were not addressed in time. your trip has already begun and it will be soooo cool for you when it's completed! congrats on finding your way to this blog. lornack (who started this blog) is a cool lady, too. she has a lot of info and encourages honest, non-commercial posts so you really know what's happened to folks who have already done the work. you'll have fun in costa rica and you'll come home with a great grin. jerry6665@yahoo.co m (Apr 10, 2013 | post #421)
b/t/w, don't sell the tourist things short. you'll have a great time in between dental work and have stuff to share with friends at home who reeeeally won't want to hear about the toothy stuff. ah, and they'll all be so envious of the trip you took. jerry (Mar 3, 2013 | post #354)
hi, you don't say what your actual problem is. jerry (Sep 3, 2012 | post #4)
re-post: hi all, a couple of posters have called me and other clients of cavallini's offices 'shills' because we posted about our excellent experiences. they have also maligned satisfied clients of other offices. i agree with lornack's comment. in the past, i have mentioned good work i have seen done by other dental offices as well as my very high opinion of cavallini. i had visited many offices in an effort to choose the one to do a major mouth restoration. i chose cavallini because of the work i saw in his facility. this is 3+ years later and my work is still just as wonderful as it was the day i got home. did it ever occur to the folks who post over and over that we're shills that we just are so grateful for the difference in our lives made by the cavallini offices (or any other excellent dental office in c.r., for that matter, that we want to help other dental tourists know about excellent care? makes me wonder why the 'haters' are trying to steer folks who have never been to c.r. away from the top dentists. i never mention many of the less-than-excellen t offices i visited doing the research while i was IN costa rica. why would i?! i've heard negative comments about everyone from anglada (yes, anglada) to cavallini but i was IN costa rica, i checked out the offices and found those negative comments to be unimpressive when i saw the excellent work coming out of those places. unless you've actually been to all the offices mentioned on the blog, you can't really compare them. so, take even negative comments with a grain of salt, so to speak. usually, by the time a person looks to costa rica, their mouths are in major need. one cannot expect to remediate a lifetime's worth of dental neglect overnight and have a 100% positive outcome 100% of the time. get real! sometimes the work needs to be revisited. sometimes, there's no good answer but the dentist will try to fix things. a rational person understands that. cavallini understands that, too, and gives a lifetime guarantee. use your brain... would YOU give a lifetime guarantee on any of YOUR work no matter WHAT your job is??? i can unequivocably say that i was thrilled with the outcome of my work at cavallinis' offices as was my very surprised l.a. dentist. others are thrilled with the work done at other offices. but, almost all will tell you that the care they received from dentists in c.r. was compassionate and expert. mine certainly was. and, as many of you know... i'm a businessperson living at the beach in los angeles area and very easy to contact. i haven't been on this blog for almost a year but see many of the same folks are still here. hello to you all and i hope all your work is still great. jerry6665@yahoo.co m (Jun 2, 2012 | post #3182)
Costa Rica's Online Community Joins Fight Against SOPA an...
costa rica is a wonderful country and i spend time there whenever i can. this latest intelligent stance against SOPA, etc., is just one more indication that costa rica is on target. i know many americans think of costa rica as a 3rd world country but obviously they've not been paying attention if that's how they believe. lots of cutting edge work going on in costa rica and life is good for most folks. i know many americans and canadians who won't go to anyone but a costa rican dentist or prosthodontist for their care and it's not just because of the cost. the equipment is top notch and the care is personal and highly compassionate. this latest stance by costa ricans is just one more indication of their concern and intelligence. thank you costa rica! (Jan 23, 2012 | post #1)
p.s.... dr. cavallini has airport pickup and delivery as well as hotel help. there's a hotel right next door to their office, as well. i'm told they can also arrange for things to do. i'm not sure about that part, though. jerry (Mar 29, 2010 | post #632)
Morality: Relative Truth Or Absolute Truth.
ok, i'll join the fray. i have a 1984 nissan(at that time it was datsun) 300zx. i used it as a courier vehicle and put 100,000 miles on it in one year. i used it as a farm truck. it can haul 2 3-wire bales of hay plus 3 50-lb sacks of feed and a saddle, etc. all in the one car. it has been cross country more times than i can count. it passes test-only (most stringent required vehicle testing here in california) smog every year on the first try. i've had it since it was 'born'. therefore, i know all the repairs, etc. it has the original transmission and engine with NO major work although i am now on my 3rd clutch. so what? THIS CAR HAS 493,000 MILES ON IT. AND, IT STILL DRIVES WELL AND PASSES VEHICLE TESTING. yes, you read that right- let me repeat, this car has 493,000 MILES ON IT! i also have a 1988 nissan 300zx with 230,000 miles but someone else owned it before me and i can't vouch for much besides the engine and tranny are both original. i drive this car back and forth from los angeles to san francisco monthly. no problems. i drive in the insane l.a. traffic, stop and go, stop and go, stop and stop....idle, go then stop again. very hard on a car. but, it, too, is a workhorse and produces reliably. astoundingly (even to the mechanic), it gets about 18 in the city's clogged traffic and a shocking 35 on the road! that's a 21 year old car! AND, it can still beat most of the cars on the open road, cranking up to 120 mph. (but, don't tell the highway patrol <grin>) b/t/w, most of the american cars are now produced overseas and most of the 'foreign' cars are produced here in the states. jerry6665@yahoo.co m (Mar 8, 2010 | post #185)
We dont want gays in Boone County
sigh, this is my last post on this topic. if one reads the posts, the peurile whining of the 'get out of boone county' posters sounds like an ignorant (meaning 'untaught' for those posters) child throwing a tantrum. even the language is juvenile. the spelling and punctuation suggests those posters have never been to school. the bottom line is i am willing to do battle for what i believe but it is both cruel and futile to battle with the unarmed. enjoy your stereotype porch-rocking, chaw spitting, blind hatred bigon, et al (for those posters, this means and the rest of you.) i can't be bothered to even read your posts - you're just too boring. (Mar 8, 2010 | post #181)
hello jeff, i think what ladyboss was trying to say was that she went to prisma based on what you and someone else who worked for prisma said. had she known you were basically shilling for prisma, she might have researched further. i am not a shill for anyone. i will say that i have seen very few patients from prisma who have been happy with their work. i've spent 3 months in c.r. researching now and, sadly, prisma is at the bottom of the list from the folks with whom i've spoken. if you want to truly help prisma, here are the complaints which i've heard and the results of the complaints which i've seen with my own eyes. 1. no after care. if there is a problem there is no one to help/no one who WILL help after hours. 2. if the work is not good, prisma does not stand behind the work. they either refuse to return calls or request MORE payment to correct their own mistakes. 3. shoddy workmanship. color matching is poor, attention to detail to make the job good is non-existent. implants don't tend to last. 4. the price quoted almost unanimously goes up when thelma has you in her chair. same with her husband. the price increases between 15% to 40% according to the patients with whom i've spoken face to face. 5. impersonal treatment. the patient is treated as a number tied to $$$$. once the money is paid, the dentists are anxious for you to be gone and out of their hair. this information was collected over 3 trips and 3 months total. it was collected by face to face, phone and in a couple of cases, online interviews directly with the patients, not on any forums. also, i was IN prisma's offices interviewing patients so it's not like i wasn't TRYING to find satisfied patients. prisma is lucky to have a spokesperson like you but your treatment seems to be the exception not the norm. the normal result from what patients of prisma have told me is great dissatisfaction with the care at prisma. jerry6665@yahoo.co m (Mar 7, 2010 | post #584)
hi jooce, goodwill, etc., will no longer take anything they can't actually use because it costs them too much $$ to dispose of the unwanted items. so, you have to take stuff to hazardous waste. once or twice a year, a hazardous waste road show comes to your neighborhood or you can take it to hyperion water plant down by manhattan beach or to ucla. (Mar 7, 2010 | post #3)
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