Personal dental care

[SeanMaine]

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this in.

How available are toothpaste and floss in different parts of the cruising world? What about dental care? Is it possible/advisable to get cavities filled in, for example, outside of the major ports in the Caribbean?

Might be a dumb question but I'm curious.

[Safari38LH]

Originally Posted by SeanMaine

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this in.



How available are toothpaste and floss in different parts of the cruising world? What about dental care? Is it possible/advisable to get cavities filled in, for example, outside of the major ports in the Caribbean?



Might be a dumb question but I'm curious.

I am wondering the same thing about the Bahamas. Is dental work in Nassau cheaper (and as good) as in the US?

[thomm225]

Looks like cruising is changing these days......lots of concerns

Unless you plan on spending years in the Bahamas, I'm thinking bringing a bit of extra floss and toothpaste you should be ok.

If all else fails, bring at least one ice skate......ouch (Sorry, Cast Away is playing constantly on HBO)

[model 10]

There is no dental floss in Belize or Guatemala, there might be in MX but nowhere we have been, further south, same thing. Plenty of tooth brushes and tooth paste.
You can get some amazing custom gold trim on your teeth if you want.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Safari38LH

I am wondering the same thing about the Bahamas. Is dental work in Nassau cheaper (and as good) as in the US?

Excellent dental care in Georgetown, Exuma. So inexpensive as to be almost free.

[Safari38LH]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Excellent dental care in Georgetown, Exuma. So inexpensive as to be almost free.

How about things such as crowns or implants? We are in need of an implant and the timing doesn't work out for my wife to get one before we cruise there.

I have heard that in places like Costa Rica the cost of an implant is 1/4 what it is in the states. Same in Georgetown?

[SeanMaine]

Thanks for the response, Gord. In your experience, how prevalent is that throughout the tropics?

[SeanMaine]

Loving the gold trim idea

[sailorboy1]

I will take a guess that places that don't have tooth paste and floss and dentists. It's just they only know hhow to do fillings and pull teeth.

BTW in George Town the impression I got was that the dentist only is around once in a while.

[icedog11]

be careful of bargains in health care and parachute packing. You can find well trained dentist all over the world and shitty dentist in the same places, in the USA or abroad. Dentistry is as much a manual skill as it is a medical field. I would look at previous patients results and where their training was completed. In countries like Costa Rica I am sure you will find ex pat American trained dentists. This does not mean they are good. It means they had good training. I work in the field and would be more comfortable answering direct questions than posting a whole manifesto on dentistry.

[sailorboy1]

Ok,as a boat cruiser how does someone find a "good" affordable dentist?

[icedog11]

its a difficult question to answer. you have no unbiased sources to ask in this case and the internet is mostly unreliable. People tend to judge a dentist by how well they
A) like him
B) causes pain.
I judge dentist on their technical ability. take my personal dentist,
not many people would like him, but technically he is superior.

without a technical base, you need to look for someone with technical knowledge for an opinion. A dental technician that has seen the Dr's work is in a great position if he is honest and does not have financial interest in where you go. Same with a dental materials rep. Other than that you are at the mercy of the internet, and local dental society( does he have a number of complaints against him or malpractice suits filed against him. that is where I would start.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Ok,as a boat cruiser how does someone find a "good" affordable dentist?

In the Rio Dulce for example it's word of mouth but there are not many choices. For serious care, like high quality implants etc, you take a bus to Guatemla City or Antigua and they have all the latest German equipment. The local guy in the Rio does the minor repairs. The opinions are from older people who have been to dentists a few times, so better than an online review.

[icedog11]

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Originally Posted by Guy

In the Rio Dulce for example it's word of mouth but there are not many choices. For serious care, like high quality implants etc, you take a bus to Guatemla City or Antigua and they have all the latest German equipment. The local guy in the Rio does the minor repairs. The opinions are from older people who have been to dentists a few times, so better than an online review.

again this is from a very narrow perspective. 99% of lay people have no basis for their opinions other than do I like the Dr. and does he hurt me. The problem with poor restorative dentistry is only an xray will reveal it or over a long period of time it will fail. The technical merits of the work can be hidden by what looks to be beautiful teeth. when in fact the natural tooth underneath is going to rot out over time, and when it does your in a much worse position that you were previously. I have over 35 years as a dental professional. There are more bad dentists than good.