Prisma Dental is closed Monday, May 5, for Labor Day in Costa Rica. The staff will be back in the office on Tuesday, May 6. They appreciate your patience.
As always, the blog is open for your reading pleasure. We have added a currency exchange calculator, near the bottom of the column on the right column, and will be adding other features for the convenience of readers and patients in the near future.
The Baltimore Sun, in a story today, quotes experts as saying that dental care for seniors is a major issue — one that will only become more acute as the population ages. Many lack insurance coverage, money and specialists, the headline warns.
Many of Prisma’s patients have been older Americans in exactly the situations described by the newspaper article, coming to Costa Rica for high quality dental work they cannot afford at home.
“… About 12 years ago, Carrie Lemon started losing teeth. One by one, to curb pain, Lemon had most of her teeth extracted.
“Today, at 72, she has only six left. Eating has become a daily chore, and Lemon wants desperately to be fitted for a set of dentures. ‘I’ve just been going from one dentist to another, but all of them tell me that our medical system doesn’t cover it,” Lemon said. “I don’t have the money to get them.’ “
According to Dr. Richard H. Price, a spokesman for the American Dental Association, “Twenty-five million adults forgo dental care because they can’t afford it. A goodly amount are seniors.” Read the rest of this entry »
Folks from the U.S. and elsewhere who have come to Prisma for dental work and care are always struck by the friendly atmosphere and the flexibility of the dentists and the staff, even on the busiest of days. Drs. Telma and Josef know that their patients are juggling their own schedules and home lives and do everything they can to accommodate that, including fitting in walk-ins.
But patients who need major work — dental implants, oral surgery, crowns, veneers, etc. — generally must schedule their appointments a month in advance. Prisma’s overseas patient coordinator, Tiffany, who does an incredible job of handling patient e-mail and phone calls and also helping with accommodations and travel, advises that April is just about booked up for major dental work.
“I have great May and June dates still, but April is just too tight,” she said today. “Some things can’t be rushed, and great dental work is one of those things.” Read the rest of this entry »
Companion Global Dental of Columbia, South Carolina — a company that has chosen Prisma Dental in launching its option of overseas dental care for Americans — has now affiliated with a tour company to provide “one stop access” to scenic attractions in Costa Rica.
U.S. patients who travel to Costa Rica for care now have a convenient way to see Costa Rica’s volcanoes, national parks, coffee farms, biological reserves and other breathtaking scenery while awaiting their dental appointments, according to Phil Midden, Companion Global Dental’s manager of operations. Companion Global Dental, a division of Columbia, S.C.-based Companion Global Healthcare Inc., has affiliated with Tropical Expeditions of Costa Rica to provide its clients with day or overnight tours of popular attractions. Clients may schedule tours for before or after completion of dental work, or between appointments if multiple visits are required over several days.
“At Prisma Dental, we have had a happy association with Tropical Expeditions and we look forward to continuing to work with them,” said Dr. Telma Rubinstein. “We often have patients from abroad for full mouth reconstruction, crowns and implants who spend a week or two in Costa Rica, and they want to see some of our beautiful country. Providing that there is no medical risk, we are happy to help them do so.”
Tropical Expeditions specializes in tours for medical patients. Tours, including white-water rafting, waterfall excursions, rain forest tours and more, are led by English-speaking guides certified in first aid and CPR. Read the rest of this entry »
The media in the U.K. recently has been full of stories about the inadequacy of dental care under the National Health System there, as we pointed out on Feb. 28 here. Today, there’s a report about waiting lists from The Scotsman.
“WHEN Caroline Dollemore-Hunt urgently needed a dentist to treat a painful problem with her teeth, she thought the NHS would provide one.
But after being told she is 6,836th on the waiting list merely to be registered with an NHS dentist, she has become resigned to her teeth crumbling and falling out before she can get help …”
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Our Toll-Free Number from the United States is: 1.866.741.8194.
Our Main Number in Costa Rica is: 506.2291.5151.
You can email us at clinic@prismadental.com
