And one more ...
Pay close attention to who you actually see when you get there vs. who the website implies you will see.
(This is a long post; feel free to skip the rest unless you want details on why/how this could be an issue.)
In my experience (not sure how universal this is), sometimes a dentist who, per the website, has qualifications and certifications up the yazoo will be supervising a large team of dentists, and you might get a team member who you know nothing about. Or the website may list a specialist, with credentials, and you may end up being seen by a generalist (whose credentials may or may not be listed). Or the specialist may not even be in-house, and their name and credentials may not even be on the website, even though the clinic advertises that it offers that specialty ("we have someone who comes in once a month, he's really good, he works at the hospital").
Today (my third attempt), in spite of being really assertive about this, I never saw a dentist at all, just someone who I assume was a dental assistant, plus the $%^&¡ receptionist ("trust me, I've been doing this for 13 years"), who wore jeans and a t-shirt and carried a slightly grotty belly-pack. They talked me into a relatively expensive x-ray, saying I could see the dentist after that, and then supposedly showed it to him, and he supposedly said I have to have even more expensive x-rays before he can bother to see me in person. My carefully thought through list of questions never saw the light of day. So much for "free consultation, specialist in-house!"
This was the second time I had to listen to medical advice from a receptionist. (The other time, for telephone advice on a post-procedure problem, they told me "we're having our Winter Texan Appreciation party today and the dentists have all gone home." Soooo confidence inspiring.)
I'm fine -- I'm at a safe place in the process to put it on hold for a few months while I rethink. Just wanted to mention this b/c I know others have been curious about this topic.
Not ready to give up on the idea of a Mexican dentist, yet. If you're seeing a generalist for basic care -- or if you have a solid recommendation from someone you trust -- it might be a whole other ball game, too. And three dentists in one city are not enough to generalize from (though I did a s-ton of research and really thought these were top of list, arrgh).
But I would definitely say, once you've done your shopping around, make sure you see who you think you're gonna see. Or if they pull a switch, make sure you evaluate the new person as carefully as you did the old, and don't let yourself be rushed.
And nothing would make me happier than to see a chorus of posts here saying "I've had dental work done in Mexico for 20 years and never saw anything like this." Not saying it's a bad scene. Just saying, pay attention to this issue. Getting clear info on who your doc will be is not a lot to ask.
