Dental Care in Merida
By John McCue

My wife, Bonnie, has needed a great deal of dental work, and this winter had been in a great deal of pain with a bad front tooth, limited to soft foods, etc. The local dental surgeon estimated $10,000 plus to extract 4 teeth & deep clean all quadrants. She would still need to see several other specialists, and this work would be spread over at least five months of further pain. This was looking like $15 - 20K in expense in our home of Tampa, Florida.

So, we just got back from ten days in Merida, and her total dental bill, all drs. included, was $34,000 pesos (around $3,300). They were able to save all but the one tooth, using bone grafts and mesh to rebuild her gums. More sophisticated than just yankin' em out. We were treated by Dr. Javier Camara Patron, Calle 17 #170 x 8 y 10, Col Garcia Generes. All the dental specialists came to us at Dr. Camara's clean, comfortable, modest office. He's ADA member, trained & worked in Houston & California. A laser whitening for me was $1,850 pesos (~$165)! English speaking was always present.

We spent five days at the dentist office, but had a long weekend before the fifth one. By the time they took out Bonnie's stitches on Monday, her discomfort was almost gone she could eat regular foods again. The service was much more personalized and less factory-ized than Tampa, which gave me great confidence in them. The evening pain medicine recommended was "tequila"!

We had four free days to see the Mayan ruins at Uxmal and Chichen Itza,and the wild flamingos at Celestun. Wandering the beach there, we stumbled onto Sol Beer's free cerveza beach party! The people there were incrediby friendly and polite.

We stayed in the newer northern part of the city at the Americanized Hyatt. It was near the dentist, which was convenient and very comfortable for Bonnie, but twice what I was looking to pay. The air was also twice what I expected. However, the food, drink, and excursions were all inexpensive. Of course we still saved thousands of dollars and had the enitre work done in a very personable and non-factory environment. In a year, we're to return for a permanent bridge.

I regrettably stuck myself in a package deal with Expedia; I will do different next time, and probably fly to Cancun and take the bus to Merida, maybe stop at Valladolid for a night or two on the way.

Although the car ferry to Progresso leaves just down the road from us in Port Manatee, I could not find a direct flight from anyone. So we had to connect (thru Atlanta?) to arrive at decent hour on a Sunday, for the Merida Domingo festival. Our trip back home via Mexico City and Atlanta was very tedious, and we arrived home (after 15 hrs. flying) with no food, no pesos, little money, but 3 bottles of smooth tequila and pricelss memories. We were very pleased with the way we were able to turn a huge dental expense into a much smaller one plus priceless memories.

NOTE: Neither Yucatan Today nor any of its editors or contributors expressly recommend any of the doctors or dentists listed above. As always, anywhere in the world, you are responsible for your own decisions about your health.

Recommended reading:
 Healthcare in the Yucatan
 Tourism Healthcare: Star Medica