Peter Greenberg: Medical Tourism: Dentists in Mexico
By: Peter Greenberg | Source: AARP.org | 2008-06-27
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My mother is elderly, lives in Washington state, and is in need of a lot of expensive dental work. Do you know of any dental travel packages to Mexico from San Diego or another border town in the Western United States? I would like to find her a hotel that is close to a town with reputable dentists who speak English and whose offices can be reached by bus or taxi. Thank you.
-Danette, Las Vegas, N.M.
Sounds like your mother is about to join the growing ranks of medical tourists. If there's one place that's practically made for this type of dental tourism that you're talking about, it's a town called Los Algodones, Mexico, located a few miles from Yuma, Ariz. Most people park their cars in lots adjacent to the border and walk across (it's about five blocks), but since Yuma is only seven miles away, it shouldn't be expensive to get a taxi to take your mother there. Hotel space is limited, so most American visitors stay in Yuma.
The main site for information (in English) on the town’s dental professionals is on the site http://www.dentistsofalgodones.com/.
This site offers plenty of links to the dozens of dentists that flock to the town to offer dental services to American visitors—and thus, most speak English—and you can make an appointment through the site if you'd like. Be aware that many dentists are seasonal, coming into Los Algodones from nearby cities for the busy winter season and returning to their practices elsewhere as the "snowbirds" head back north in the spring.
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