Dentist in Costa Rica

[Eric]

Hi,
I had a root canal, 3 crowns and other work done recently at Prisma. I live in the RTP are of North Carolina and flew down on the reccomendation of my girlfriend, who is an international flight attendant for Continental. I am probably going to sound like a paid shill (which I certainly am not), but I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Prisma, Dr. Rubenstein or her staff. Due to a miscommunication on my part, I came in a week earlier than they were expecting me to be there. This was a Thursday before a long weekend as it was their Independence Day long weekend celebration that weekend. I got to the B&B we were staying at and called to let them know I was there and that is when we discovered the error. As my flights are free, I told them no problem, it was my fault and I was going to reschedule. They had me come in immediately, took x-rays, we discussed the different options and they started working immediately and stayed there until almost 9pm that night to accommodate me for an error that was mine. They were fully booked the next day but told me to come in the morning so they could make the crown impressions and send them to the lab (their own lab, they do not farm anything out) so that they could be constructing the crowns over the long weekend. That Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, they worked me in so that I could make my original flight and fly back with my girlfriend. What was going to cost me over $11,000 locally in NC cost me less than $2000 there. And I had my general dentist look at the work and his opinion was that the 3 crowns they did were by and far better workmanship and quality than the other two I had done here in Durham, NC.

Feel free to email me at ewestrom at gmail dot com if you have any questions. And yes, I will be letting them do more work for me. Sometime before then end of the year, I will be returning to have some almalgem fillings removed and replaced with porcelin. I could not afford to have that done here and as my ex-wife is a dental hygenist, I would NEVER let a dentist I was uncomfortable with work on me. I highly recommend Prisma. They are exceptional people with a first class and completely modern practice. They had x-ray machines that are newer than anything locally here and the fact that they control the entire process is very important to me.

Hope my input was helpful

Eric W

Ivy1 wrote:

<quoted text>
Boza,
Have you heard of Prisma Dental in San Jose? What about Dentista Telma Rubinstein and her husband Josef Cordero Pinchanski? I want to get frenillos for my son and myself believe it or not. The price in New York is outrageous. If you could help me out with feedback, I'd appreciate it. I am planning a trip for either Semana Santa (which, now that I think about it may be a bad time to go to the dentist) or in July (G_d willing) of next year. I want to go visit my family and go to San Jose a few days before my vacation is over to get my teeth done and my son's.

[Todd]

The 3 best denitst to see in San jose costa rica are mario garita or telma rubinstein or her husband josph cordero(same practice) finally dr kavier. Two best places to stay is either courtyard marriott in escarzu or if you want a serviced apartment...Villas del Rio, I have never heard of a dr aborn Sorry. I have stayed at both places.

[Todd]

I don't think it would be financially feasable to got there for braces. I would recomend contacting your nearist dental school get with the dept. of prosthodontics and get on the waiting list. They will do it at a reduced fee. Probably looking at 1,000-1,500

[Ivy1]

Todd wrote:

I don't think it would be financially feasable to got there for braces. I would recomend contacting your nearist dental school get with the dept. of prosthodontics and get on the waiting list. They will do it at a reduced fee. Probably looking at 1,000-1,500

I am curious as to why you don't think it would be financially feasible to get braces in Costa Rica? Please dish.

[Todd]

Your looking at 400 round trip one person. You said your son needs them. So that 800 rite there. Furthermore braces need to be adjusted or tightened on a routine basis. I think you would find no dentist is going to mess with another dentist braces. People who go to costa rica for dental work go for crowns or veneers or implants. However i will give you the name of the dentist who i seen and he hooked me up with a hollywood smile and i saved a bounch of money. Here is the dental group. http://www.costaricacosmeticdental.com/index....

Good luck.

[AbbeyQ]

Hey everyone-I just got back from a consultation with my dentist and oral surgeon yesterday and the surgeon's cost - not counting the dentist's cost for crowns is 15k. I am desperately searching for alternatives and stubled upon this site. I can't go back more than 2 pages of your chat but can someone tell me who the dentists were that did a bad job in Cost Rica? I need to go this week probably - I am a flight attendant for Continental so airfare is no prob - but would appreciate any testimonials and hotel recommendations. Thanks a million if you guys are still there!!

[Ivy1]

Todd wrote:

Your looking at 400 round trip one person. You said your son needs them. So that 800 rite there. Furthermore braces need to be adjusted or tightened on a routine basis. I think you would find no dentist is going to mess with another dentist braces. People who go to costa rica for dental work go for crowns or veneers or implants. However i will give you the name of the dentist who i seen and he hooked me up with a hollywood smile and i saved a bounch of money. Here is the dental group. http://www.costaricacosmeticdental.com/index....
Good luck.

O.K., I see where you are going but fortunately for me it works out to be much cheaper there are certain times of the year where a round trip ticket to Costa Rica costs as little as $275.00 on Lacsa rountrip but even 800.00 for both my son and myself plus the cost of the dental work (for my son 800 plus $50 for x-rays and for myself 1350 in total because I want porcelain braces). I don't have to worry about the expense of a hotel because I have relatives, I can stay with. The cost of braces for both me and my son in NYC is almost $13,000.00 and I think I can find a dentist willing to tighten and remove the braces. Picture this scenario, someone from Georgia moves to New York and has braces, what is that person expected to do, go all the way back to Georgia for tightening. Not really practical. He would find a dentist in New York to do the job or someone from London moves to New York with braces, I don't think he would fly all the way back the the UK for regular tightening and removal. He would find a dentist where he lives but thanks for your response, anyway.

[Cheryl L]

I highly recommend Dr. Arnoldo Anglada who is one of 3 certified specialists in dental implants in CR. I am a healthcare practitioner and my son is going through the process of implants so needless to say I am very choosy about where he goes.

[Rolfsing]

Hi Cheryl-
If possible, I'd really appreciate some detail in regards to this dentist and your experience. I am in need of several implants, a bridge and many crowns due to negligent dental practices here in the states. Someone (dentist) left me hanging and I really need help. Anyone else out there who has direct experience with dentist in CR, I'd appreciate any details about why you did/didn't have a good experience. Thanks so much -
Lauren

Cheryl L wrote:

I highly recommend Dr. Arnoldo Anglada who is one of 3 certified specialists in dental implants in CR. I am a healthcare practitioner and my son is going through the process of implants so needless to say I am very choosy about where he goes.

[Cheryl L]

Hi Lauren, I just back on this board after going through my bookmarks. Do you still need some info?

[Jeff Schult]

Susan wrote:

I read on one site said that Prisma Dental quotes you one price but then adds significantly more charges to your bill. That is one of the many reasons that I am looking for an ethical & capable dentist.

I suppose no one can please everyone, and misunderstandings can occur with anyone. I think that Prisma is extraordinarily reputable. I had extensive work done there in 2004 (www.tftb.com/beautyfromafar )... Prisma has been restoring American smiles for 16 years.

[Jim]

Desperately Seeking wrote:

I need an ethical & capable dentist.

I had 1 bridge, 1 crown, and one Inlay for less than $1000 by Dr. Abraham Scalone in Costa Rica.
I highly recommend his ability and his excellent work.

[John]

Dr Mario Garita is the best around. Me and my wife have been going to see him for the past few years and have been very satisfied. His prices are much better than the states but expensive for Costa Rica. We feel it is worth the extra money to have top quality work done by a dentist with great training (went to University of Miami) and is head over Dentists in Central America. I highly recommend Dr Garita

[zelda]

Eric wrote:

Hi,
I had a root canal, 3 crowns and other work done recently at Prisma. I live in the RTP are of North Carolina and flew down on the reccomendation of my girlfriend, who is an international flight attendant for Continental. I am probably going to sound like a paid shill (which I certainly am not), but I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Prisma, Dr. Rubenstein or her staff. Due to a miscommunication on my part, I came in a week earlier than they were expecting me to be there. This was a Thursday before a long weekend as it was their Independence Day long weekend celebration that weekend. I got to the B&B we were staying at and called to let them know I was there and that is when we discovered the error. As my flights are free, I told them no problem, it was my fault and I was going to reschedule. They had me come in immediately, took x-rays, we discussed the different options and they started working immediately and stayed there until almost 9pm that night to accommodate me for an error that was mine. They were fully booked the next day but told me to come in the morning so they could make the crown impressions and send them to the lab (their own lab, they do not farm anything out) so that they could be constructing the crowns over the long weekend. That Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, they worked me in so that I could make my original flight and fly back with my girlfriend. What was going to cost me over $11,000 locally in NC cost me less than $2000 there. And I had my general dentist look at the work and his opinion was that the 3 crowns they did were by and far better workmanship and quality than the other two I had done here in Durham, NC.
Feel free to email me at ewestrom at gmail dot com if you have any questions. And yes, I will be letting them do more work for me. Sometime before then end of the year, I will be returning to have some almalgem fillings removed and replaced with porcelin. I could not afford to have that done here and as my ex-wife is a dental hygenist, I would NEVER let a dentist I was uncomfortable with work on me. I highly recommend Prisma. They are exceptional people with a first class and completely modern practice. They had x-ray machines that are newer than anything locally here and the fact that they control the entire process is very important to me.
Hope my input was helpful
Eric W
<quoted text>

I however had a very negative experience at Prisma Dental. More done than needed. No significant follow up and a lot of pain. Several people have reported experiences like that there in various message boards. I never see negative comments about other dentists mentioned frequently on the message boards.

[Dental Cosmetics CR]

Feel free to consult with us for any of the procedures you require. I don't want to sound to forward by advertising this way, but somehow I found myself inmersed in your discussion, and seems to me that your looking for budget, yet quality and guaranteed treatment, performed by specialists in evrey field you might need, and that meets US standards.
Our office has been treating Us and Canadian folks for over 5 years now.
Our staff includes specialists in Prosthodontics (Cosmetic dentistry and oral rehabilitation), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Periodontics, Endodontics and Orthodontics.
Every one of us attend at least once a year to Dental seminars in the USA, and several others in Latin America.
In our website you will find some updated references of some of our recent patients, feel free to get in touch with them, as I am confident they will lead you towards the right path, since they all have been succesfully treated by us, and have nothing than good things to say about their results.
Again, I'm at your service for anything you might need.
Best regards,
Dr. Alejandro Mora L.
Specialist in Oral Rehabilitation and Aesthetics
www.dentalcosmeticscr.com
www.costaricacosmeticdentists.com
[e-mail]

[thaddeuscas]

ok you had had bad work done n your teeth..now please dont hold back that information on WHO did the bad work..save us the guessing game ..WHO where they what dentist in cr

Desperately Seeking wrote:

Also i never had work done by Dr. Garita we did email. He offered to have me visit him on terrible dental work done by two dentists in CR where front teeth broke off by on Dentist, and another just had no clear idea how to make teeth. I relied on my trip for a complete restoration and now have 6 teeth missing in the first year. I also suffer from exposed teeth that were ground and prepaired but what were applied was crap.
Dr. Garita offered to represent me to the Dental staff that over sees all licensed Dentists in CR.
He also told me he ran the Chicago Marathon one year. I hope he can get to run the NYC Marathon one day.
Mario Garita is a fine guy. Just by emails i can recommend him. He has an extended background and feels to me like a person i can trust. His English and typing shows he knows us, and feels a strong part of being part of us. Contact him, he knows.
Mike A.
NYC

[rrenault]

Kobe earns first MVP

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story

[Marilyn]

Blog on Costa Rica Dentists. Need more blogs on Costa Rica dentists, so people don't go to the wrong dentist.

I want to comment on Costa Rica San Jose dentists as there are a lot of people coming to this country for dental work, and I live here and have had experience with many dentists here. First, important not to go to the dentists that are most visilbe on the Internet. I have had bad experiences with Prisma Dental, and feel they are only out for the money. Prisma dental is higher price, and they recommend procedure you don't need. I was suffering a lot of pain and Primsa Dental would not return my phone cals. Dr. Rubenstein told me I needed immediate surgery and would fit me in with their special surgeon. Their special surgeon was old and they charged me more than double what all the other dentists in Costa Rica charge for a sinus lift procedure, bone graft. I had a lot of pain,and an infection, and they never returned any phone calls when I told them i was in pain and having problems. and they were not kind. I would not recommend Prisma Dental.

Meza Dental is another one that is all over the Internet, Tthey are good if you wnat your teeth to look prettier, but not terribly good for serious dental work. Hope this helps someone aoid the same mistakes I made.

[Marilyn]

A lot of dentists and probably cosmetic surgeons are very clever with respect to Blogs. The most blogged dentist is probably one y9ou shoud RUN from.

I had HORRIBLE EXPERIENCES WITH PRISMA DENTAL, and will need to have all the work redone in a few months after i have had time to heal. Be very careeful with blogs on Prisma dental as they have a professional blogger who's sole function is to blog positively about Prisma Dental is. I am discovering belatedly that the best websites and best dental blogs are there because these are the people who want US clients and US money. Prisma is more expensive and less competent especially regarding implants, sinus lifts and bone grafts. These are not the people to use for serious dental work in San Jose Costa Rica. Prisma Dental blog is all over the place, but that is the work of professional web designers and not the honest feed back of patients. I am a former patient on antibiotics and painkillers because of the bad work that was done at Prisma. They were high pressuyre- high priced and once they had my money they never returned phone calls when i called to tell them I was in serious pain. I would never recomend Prisma. They are uncaring and incompetent. Don't rely on blogs for dentists in Costa Rica.

[Bernardo]

www.costaricacosmeticdentists.com - great service in san jose costa rica