How to save thousands by getting dental work in Medellin
Save 70% on dental work in Medellin
Every year, millions of Canadians and Americans fly to Medellin, Colombia to save thousands of dollars on dental work. Typically, dental work is about a third the cost of what you’re used to seeing back home, all without a drop in the quality of dental care.
Porcelain veneers are $490 USD, dental implant procedures (implant, abutment, and crown) are $1,385 USD, and teeth whitening is $100 USD per session. And to make things even sweeter, you also receive an additional vacation to one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
All it takes is a little research and a few more logistics to make this happen. The article below will highlight the steps necessary to get dental care done in Medellin, and in the process save you thousands of dollars.
Obtain a quote for your dental work in Medellin
One of the initial tasks will be to get a quote for the dental work you want done in Medellin. Identify a few candidates that you feel that you’d like to compare between. How are the prices? Are they similar or drastically different?
Be sure to disregard any outliers. A dentist in Medellin that is too expensive may be trying to take advantage of foreigners like yourself, and a dentist that is too cheap may signal a poor quality in care.
In addition, please ensure you are properly comparing the same procedures as nomenclature among dental offices can vary from place to place. For an individual who may not know a lot about dentistry, this may come across as confusing.
As an example, some offices like to say ceramic while others will use the word porcelain when they’re both describing the exact same material. Some will say composite when others say resin, abutment and post, and on and on.
You get the picture. In the end, you simply want to make sure you’re comparing “apples to apples” so to speak. If you’re not sure, simply ask or do a quick search online to make sure you’re comparing the same procedures.
Do a free online consultation with a dentist in Medellin
Comparing dental costs is one thing, having a dentist in Medellin take the time to have a good look at your teeth and come up with an initial dental treatment plan is another thing entirely. You won’t be able to save thousands of dollars on dental work in Medellin if you don’t know what dental work is required in the first place.
Often times, simply texting or emailing a few photos to the dentist in Medellin will work just fine. Note that dentists could ask for any xrays and/or treatment plans from previous dentists if the situation calls for it and they’re available.
Please understand that sending photos does not replace the need of a physical clinical examination and having x-rays done. Doing an online consultation will simply provide you and the dentist in Medellin a better idea of what needs to be done. This will make it possible to give you a proper quote for the dental procedures necessary.
Review online testimonials of your dentist in Medellin
If you are content with the dental quote and consultation response you received, you will want to make sure that the dentist in Medellin you are considering is the real deal. How long have they been in practice? What are their qualifications?
And most importantly, what have their previous patients said about the level of treatment and care they received? Make sure you review their site for testimonials but also ensure you look them up on independent sites like Google or Yelp.
Taking a look at the photos of their dental work on their Instagram page may not be the same as reading reviews but this is still an excellent way to judge the quality of care and results you may expect from a given dentist in Medellin.
Making sure the reviews and photos meet the quality of care you expect is another step in saving thousands of dollars by getting dental work done in Medellin.
Communicate with the office of the dentist in Medellin
Excellent, so you have completed a free online consultation, you are content with the updated dental quote, and the online testimonials are positive enough for you to continue. What’s the next step?
We strongly recommend that you take the time to actually speak with the dental office in Medellin. Doing this will give you a good sense of whether or not you will be able to have a productive discussion about your dental care. That’s important after all right?
Here are a few quick questions to ask yourself. How’s their English? Can both parties communicate well? How professional are they? Do they respond quickly and informatively? If you answer yes to all of these questions then it may be time for you to talk about when you’d like to come visit.
After all, you need to make sure the dentist in Medellin can see you when you’d like to be seen before you decide to spend your money on flights, take time off of work, and travel all the way down to Medellin.
It would be a real shame if you did all that work only to find out that the dentist in Medellin has a full schedule and cannot see you when you’re in town.
Often times, Colombian dentists will coordinate to have staff members pick you up from the airport, help you check you into your hotel, and take you to your first appointment as well. For many patients (and possibly yourself), this is the first time they’re visiting Colombia, and for some, the first time they’re leaving their home country.
A concierge service like this is to help make your arrival as smooth and easy as possible. Communicate with the dental office in Medellin before making an appointment to make sure they will be able to coordinate your airport pick up.
Find a place to stay for your trip to Medellin
After you’ve decided on a dentist in Medellin and the office has secured your appointment date, it’s time to find a place to stay. Often dentists in Medellin will recommend nearby hotels that their international patients often stay at.
Reach out and get a hold of this list and identify your choice hotel, then check to see if they have availability for the days you’ll be in town. If for some reason the dental office does not have a list of recommended hotels, a quick search will show you which hotels are close to the office with space for you.
Before you book, make sure you know how many days you will need for the procedure you want done. It would be a shame if you reserved hotels for not enough days.
Book round-trip flights to Medellin
The final step in saving thousands of dollars by getting dental work in Colombia is booking flights. Getting to Medellin is easy. There are frequent, cheap, hour long flights from Bogota and Cartagena that go out multiple times a day. Since Colombia is so mountainous, flights are more popular to get from city to city than driving.
Be sure to share your flight information with your dentist in Medellin so they can coordinate your airport pick up upon your arrival. If time is of the essence, you may opt to see your dentist in Medellin directly after you land.
This is a common practice among many professionals who take time off of work to come to Medellin to save thousands on dental care. Many will take advantage of Saturday since most dental offices are open then and most professionals have off.
