Americans Are Going to Juarez for Cheap Dental Care

[TBoneTX 45,266]

Happy that your brother's lifespan has been extended, even at such cost for the specialty treatments. Yes, medical procedures and devices are often unavailable overseas before they're approved for use in the U.S. I once talked with an employee at a cardiac-device company who matter-of-factly said that their products are routinely in use in Europe and Turkey long before U.S. approval is achieved.

In Mexico, many of the doctors and dentists have been schooled in the U.S. -- and in the border areas where the dentists compete for gringo business, they make a big deal out of where they studied (such as the top dental school in Mexico). I never have a second thought about their capabilities.

An intangible quality is the (perceived or actual) comparative difference in attention and attentive care delivered by medical professionals in other countries. The attitudes can vary in the U.S. (attentiveness toward each patient vs. assembly-line treatment of patients). In Mexico and Ecuador, I've always been dealt with as though I'm the only patient that they're seeing that day.