Dentist in Costa Rica

[Jarho]

I will be in Costa Rica from Aug. 28th to Sept. 7. I would love to meet up with anyone who is there at that time. I will be staying in a private home in Escazu.

[ErinK]

Just wanted to post a follow-up on my full mouth reconstruction now that it is complete and give a big thanks to Costa Rica Dental Team. Like everyone else on this forum, I researched, emailed, and made numerous phone calls before taking the plunge. I had 11 root canals, post/build-ups, crown lengthening surgery (75% of my mouth), and 28 crowns at Costa Rica Dental Team. My work was split into two visits (April and August) due to the surgeries.

I love my perfect smile and feel that everyone at this practice went above and beyond to make me comfortable and achieve this outcome. They take pride in their clients and their work. It also made a big difference that the lab is onsite so adjustments can be made immediately and the technician knows exactly what the dentist needs. The entire staff always answered my questions promptly (which really helped with making travel arrangements) and always kept me involved with the treatment plan so that I knew exactly what to expect.

Now I can honestly say that I have a fabulous smile and saved about $50k (yeah, it was really that big of a price difference between dentists in Virginia and Costa Rica). I also got to visit some beautiful places like Arenal hot springs and Tortuga Island.

Can't thank everyone enough at Costa Rica Dental Team for making this happen.

[LornaCK]

Jarho,

I will be there at that time. Maybe we could hook up in town for lunch in-between dental appointments. Saturday if the weather is decent I may take a tour to Arenal Volcano or somewhere.

Which dental clinic are you using? I will be going to the Cavallini Clinic. Let me know how to email or hook up with you.

ErinK,
I am happy for you! I love hearing about a happy ending for a dental outcome. Congratulations on your new smile.

[Snaggle tooth]

Would love to correspond with people that have had implants done in Costa Rica that live near to central Tennessee

[infoseeker]

Has anyone had an all-on-4 implant? If so, could you tell me by whom and how much it cost? You can post here or privately at [e-mail].

[LornaCK]

Does anyone have Porcelain over Zirconium Bridges and crowns? Is there any problem with chipping and fracturing between the porcelain and zirconium?

Does anyone have just Zironium Bridges and Crowns and how do they look if you do and how are they holding up?

Dr. Marco and technician want to do Porcelain over Ziconium. The technician today said just all Ziconium Bridges would be to thick and not look good but I have been reading that there have been problems with chipping and fracturing with P over Z.

Any immediate imput would be very helpful since I am in Costa Rica right now getting my work done!

Thanks

[janie]

LornaCK wrote:

Does anyone have Porcelain over Zirconium Bridges and crowns? Is there any problem with chipping and fracturing between the porcelain and zirconium?
Does anyone have just Zironium Bridges and Crowns and how do they look if you do and how are they holding up?
Dr. Marco and technician want to do Porcelain over Ziconium. The technician today said just all Ziconium Bridges would be to thick and not look good but I have been reading that there have been problems with chipping and fracturing with P over Z.
Any immediate imput would be very helpful since I am in Costa Rica right now getting my work done!
Thanks

I have a zirconium only 3 part bridge in front - it looks great and very realistic (done by Castro)

[Ms K]

LornaCK,
They truly are experts in what they do, and they guarantee their work, so why not trust them that they know what they are doing?
I think many of the chipping problems you might be reading about could be when dentists use the Cerac machines to create their crowns, those are not nearly as strong as lab made crowns.

LornaCK wrote:

Does anyone have Porcelain over Zirconium Bridges and crowns? Is there any problem with chipping and fracturing between the porcelain and zirconium?
Does anyone have just Zironium Bridges and Crowns and how do they look if you do and how are they holding up?
Dr. Marco and technician want to do Porcelain over Ziconium. The technician today said just all Ziconium Bridges would be to thick and not look good but I have been reading that there have been problems with chipping and fracturing with P over Z.
Any immediate imput would be very helpful since I am in Costa Rica right now getting my work done!
Thanks

[LornaCK]

Ms K wrote:

LornaCK,
They truly are experts in what they do, and they guarantee their work, so why not trust them that they know what they are doing?
I think many of the chipping problems you might be reading about could be when dentists use the Cerac machines to create their crowns, those are not nearly as strong as lab made crowns.
<quoted text>

I agree but even Dr. Marco said he makes mistakes and is not perfect. I am concerned about the upper tooth that was mismatched before and having more problems. He cleaned it out but some of it is almost to the gum. My temps are so high on the bottom they are as high as my natural bite! Imagine opening your mouth to take a bite of food then having teeth set in that high. Very uncomfortable.

Dr. Marco is swamped and I have not seen much of his dad. When people get too rushed and too busy that is when they make errors. I am concerned.

[LornaCK]

janie wrote:

<quoted text>
I have a zirconium only 3 part bridge in front - it looks great and very realistic (done by Castro)

Thanks Janie for the answer. I hate to ask this on here because it is not dental related. Where can I get a calling card for local calls?

[Marie m]

LornaCK wrote:

Does anyone have Porcelain over Zirconium Bridges and crowns? Is there any problem with chipping and fracturing between the porcelain and zirconium?
Does anyone have just Zironium Bridges and Crowns and how do they look if you do and how are they holding up?
Dr. Marco and technician want to do Porcelain over Ziconium. The technician today said just all Ziconium Bridges would be to thick and not look good but I have been reading that there have been problems with chipping and fracturing with P over Z.
Any immediate imput would be very helpful since I am in Costa Rica right now getting my work done!
Thanks

I had my done last month. I am very happy and it looks very good and holding up perfectly Dr Cavallini did them Very well done.

[LornaCK]

Marie m wrote:

<quoted text>
I had my done last month. I am very happy and it looks very good and holding up perfectly Dr Cavallini did them Very well done.

Thank you Marie m,
I have my crowns in and they are beautiful. Seeing just the Zirconium I understand why they needed a Porcelain overlay. I am working on updating everything. It is has been a busy week.

[ChaseCP]

I'm a gringo living in CR. I'm going to get all my teeth replaced. Pulled.. then dentures then implants. Will take about a year. Ask me questions. I want to dis-spell the negativity in medical tourism in CR. I am not using a fancy doctor. I'll post pics and bills as progress if anyone is interested.

[Ducksoop]

Good luck with your treatment ChaseCP. Let us know how you are doing.

[Dr R]

Karen SC wrote:

Sorry if this is a repost. I think I was timed out. We are currently in CR. After exhaustive research, we felt most comfortable with the protocol and pricing of Dr. Anglada and Dr. Castro. My husband requires a full mouth restoration, and we are very comfortable with the drs' rationale for a three-trip protocol. My husband required all of his teeth to be removed and in no way did Dr. Anglada advocate sedation for the surgery. He told us he preferred my husband being able to communicate with him during the procedure. Of course, he informed us that sedation was an option but said he encouraged it only for patients who have either extreme dental phobia.
Surgery went well last Tuesday. 28 teeth were removed (he hoped to be able to save two teeth, but they were not healthy enough) sinus lifts throughout the uppers and bone grafts on lower jaw. Total time in surgery was just over 3 hours. Dr. Anglada originally planned to insert implants, but the amount and area of lifts required caused us to push back the date for his 24 implants 6 months, so the bone grafts may heal. This will not increase the timeline or cost.
We are headed back to the US in two days. Dr. Anglada has, in our opinion, demonstrated superior skill as a surgeon as well as being a very pleasant fella. His office has state of the art equipment, it's clean, all employees wash hands, change gloves, wear masks, etc. I even chose to have my teeth cleaned and whitened and am very, very pleased with the thoroughness of the cleaning and whitening results.
My husband's current hurdles are: normal recovery pain, smoking cessation (4 puffs in 7 days, yay!), the final adjustments to the healing dentures, pinching from suture knots (some knots were cut off today).
I am impressed by Dr. Anglada's pride in his work. He refers to the end result as "my signature." I feel confident that my husband's finished smile will have teeth with a healthy, yet natural, whiteness, shapes (lengths and widths) close to his natural shape. I've seen too many "after" photos from other practitioners (from the US, CR, India) that, to me, look like either donkey teeth or small, square teeth that looked like chiquilette gum.
So far, and, yes, we are only 1/3 through the process, we have been treated with expert skill, extremely patient doctors who listen carefully to our long-term expectations, immediate concerns, and the entire office staff appears to be a cohesive, well-mannered, empathetic, bi-lingual team.
A big shout out of THANK YOU to the folks (PHIL!) on this board who shared their own personal experiences, both good and bad, which helped us make what we firmly believe the best decisions for this huge undertaking.

I am seeing Dr.Anglada in early October. I was a little afraid at first but gaining confidence as I communicate with him and some former patients. I feel I have done due diligence so will post on my return about experience. Somehow I feel I will be in good hands. I thought the price was right, about mid-range, I firstly eliminated the cheap ones and a couple that touted as being so over qualified for thier age it was hard to believe.
Thanks to all hose who have walked before me it has been very helpful.
DR Canada

[Dr R]

phil_p wrote:

<quoted text>
Karen & Hubby,
Big shout out to you both and sincerely hope all is well and complication free. Twenty-eight extractions along with grafts and lifts is a record on this site. The only other one that can close was SKMax with 18. We all need to light a few candles for your husbands fast, full and pain free recovery.
Couple of questions if I may:
Did Anglada/Catro provide dentures the wear to cover and protect the grafts and facilitate eating? When I had my grafts and sinus lifts there were no other teeth in the back to tie a temp bridge to so they were left exposed. I believe I had declined a removable partial at the time which was a big mistake on my part since I had some difficulty chewing everything with my front teeth to "protect" the grafts.
Also curious as to why you're getting a full 28 implants in lieu of a combination of implants and pontics/bridges? A combination of bridges supported by implants on either side and all implants in the molar/pre-molar areas for chewing would reduce the number of implants by about 1/3 -1/4, save you a bunch of money, pain & effort and may be just as strong and lasting. Just wondering.
Also, big kudos to your husband for quitting smoking. Tough to do. I blame the failure of at least 1 implant and the wreaking of 2 others on my smoking. So far, I'm smoke free for 11 months, really don't feel any better and I do sometimes stand close to those who are smoking to grab a whiff or 2.
Good luck and enjoy the new smile.
Phil

yahoo for quiting smoking. What keeps me quit is firstly attacking and getting angry at the addiction and then insisting to myself that I will never do that again. Don't you just hate being manipulated!! I got angry at the delivery systems available for nicotine, first the cigarettes then the nicorette stuff. I hope you finally say enough is enough. I now sleep like a baby, have fewer wrinkles and natural colour on my face and loving the taste of food which is healthier now!

[Terry]

I had some implants done by Anglada and they were just ok. When he found out that I want to get the crowns placed on the implants somewhere else because Castro is slow his entire attitude changed. I had to fight to actually find out what type of implants he gave me.

He sometimes mentions Noble Biocare. He has never given anyone Noble Biocare. He uses something like 3i which are ok but not really the best.

My dentist in The States looked at my implants. He said they were ok but looked like someone did them from like 10 years ago. Old fashion. He said the implants were off center and that the suturing used to close the implants were like they used to do it.

No one, no mentions that the dental clinic is like is some low rent neighborhood. I freaked out when I frist saw it. Then you go up some underlite stairs The offices are small and dingy. People were popping in and out while I got my dental. The work areas were small. Certainly nothing to brag about.

I have heard there is a nice office somewhere. Was never offered to me.

I had to pull teeth to find out what his stateside number was. You would think with all the money he is making off US patients that he would make it easy - state side or 800 to call on the website. Try and find that on the website. He wants everyone to make a international long distant call.

After my uncomfortable experience I kept reading this blog. I read about the one poor women who was suppose to get 3 implants and like 9 root canals. They told her that since the roots were something they would have to be pulled and done with implants.

I have a friend who knows a lot about dental. He told me that was bunk. He said the person doing the root canals just didn't know what they were doing.

I feel sorry for the lady. She never posted back on this forum.

So truth - Anglada is ok. He is old fashion. He is doing dental like it was done 10 years ago. If you don't mind paying for extra implants and doing 3 trips instead on 2 - at least his implants don't fall out.

To say Casto is a a cosmetic dentist is a stretch. He places implants on crowns. One of the easier things to do. Don't have to worry about a lot of stuff you need to do if there is an actually tooth. He basically takes an impression and then cements the crowns that come back from the lab. I might be able to do that. Probably would have to work with not making a mess with the glue.

Anglada is not a bad dentist. If you need a few implants he is probably in the top ten. However, if you are doing lots with sinus lifts and stuff he is not the guy.

Also when it comes to crowns Casto is slow. He wanted like 10 days to do mine. I had them done in 5 somewhere else.

Last time Anglada took a training course was like 10 years ago.

He does make a big deal about doing something with The University. Every dentist in costa rica has to do some pay back to the university. So it is not like he is the best or anything.

This is what I found out - if you want slow and old fashion anglada is your guy.

If you do have a problem after then he is a completely different person. I think this may be why he does not list a stateside phone number on his website.

I know lots of people think he is great. I guess that is because their implants haven't fallen out.

I would just say he is ok. There are better implant people, especially if you have something that requires a lot of work or don't want to spends weeks in Costa Rica.

[GiGi]

JohnMcDa wrote:

<quoted text>
I had a complete mouth restoration from Cavallini's clinic. His son Dr Marco did my work. I had 14 implants and a full upper and lower bridge. I am completely happy with the care, the quality and the care I received. You will get your work done for the cost quoted or less - mine was less.
I stayed at the recovery center above the clinic - what a pleasure - the people were fantastic and I could lounge around until the called me to come downstairs for my appointment. They are very busy and the wait time is sometimes excessive. Needless to say I was and am impressed.
I'm back in Atlanta now and eating anything I want. My procedures were performed the last week in January and the first week in February of 2011.
All I can report is my own experience. You need to do your research and satisfy yourself that you have chosen the right clinic.

Hi John,

Am trying to decide where to have my dental work done in CR, and have narrowed it down to Anglada and Cavallini. Since I will be travelling alone I am concerned about safety,comfort,and price. My work is not as extensive as yours (5 implants with bridges, and some venners if I can afford it. Would it be possible to contact you directly to discuss your experience and best housing options?

[wonderchild]

Snaggle tooth wrote:

Would love to correspond with people that have had implants done in Costa Rica that live near to central Tennessee

I live in western north carolina and had my work done with Drs Cavallini and Marco. It is now almost 2 yrs ago that I was there and my husband had an implant there as well. We are both doing fine and highly recommend this clinic. My first visit to CR for dental work was with Anglada and I had some trouble with a crown breaking and an implant breaking after 6 months. After a brief visit to Anglada's office again in Feb 2011, I decided to make an appt with Dr. Cavallini and I was happy that i did that. They make the entire process very effortless and painless. So with the experience with 2 different dentists there in San JOse, I highly recommend Dr Cavallini and Marco, a father and son team with excellent staff. Please feel free to contact me or my husband to ask any questions about our experience.

[wonderchild]

GiGi wrote:

<quoted text>
Hi John,
Am trying to decide where to have my dental work done in CR, and have narrowed it down to Anglada and Cavallini. Since I will be travelling alone I am concerned about safety,comfort,and price. My work is not as extensive as yours (5 implants with bridges, and some venners if I can afford it. Would it be possible to contact you directly to discuss your experience and best housing options?

I would stay at Cavallinis hotel which is right there in the same building as his office. It is new, well maintained and very safe. Once you get there you will see what I am talking about. The staff in the hotel speak English so you will have no problem. All of the patients get to know each other so you will feel comfortable right way as you sit in the waiting rooms for your appts. The office picks you up at the airport and takes you right to their hotel/office. You never even have to leave until you get ready to go home and then you get a ride to the airport. Truly, you will be safe.