get the benefits of many consultations

One of the biggest factors in bad health care is errors in diagnosis. People can quite literally die because the doctor they visit has not seen your particular illness before. Your doctor may be a great doctor with the best of intentions and a commitment to quality care, but something new and rarely seen often requires an experienced doctor. This is nothing new. This advice has been given for years and years, and is common sense.

What is unfortunate is that in America the costs for 2nd and 3rd opinions is often too high to be practical. For a major surgery, those opinions are of life-and-death importance!

For a DentaRica traveler, its easy to get these extra consultation, resulting in better outcomes. Prices in Costa Rica are so much more reasonable that just about anyone can afford multiple doctor visits.

Speaking of better outcomes, did you know that you can afford a better doctor of dentist for much less money? Did you know how marvelously high-tech Costa Rican medicine can be? It's shocking.

Our newest partner, Dr. Retana, has been to France and the U.S. to lecture and teach other dentists! He has personally designed his dental office to be among the safest in Costa Rica. His sanitation methods are above and beyond what we have come to expect. He is one of very few Costa Rican densists (outside of hospitals) to have an anesthesiologist on staff, specializing in sedation dentistry. He has a long list of international and professional accreditations and certifications, including the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, NYU College of Dentistry, and AAAASF International.

For example, most U.S. dentists will do their best to know where the nerves are in your jawbone before your dental surgery. They do the best they can without expensive medical scans which would make their prices unpopular. In Costa Rica, they do not have to sacrifice quality to keep costs low, because even the higher prices in Costa Rica are cheap compared to the U.S. prices.
They are not trying to be cheap. This is not cut-rate quality!
Look at his website for yourselves! He describes all this in detail.

Ask your U.S. dentist why he doesn't do a scan on the nerves in your jaw. Ask him or her if they have an AAAASF International certification. Ask if there is an an anesthesiologist on staff.

And simply consider the health benefits of extra personal attention! In the U.S., there is often one nurse to every twelve patients, or sometimes worse. The nurses in the U.S. (bless them) just can't provide the personal attention that they want to. In Costa Rica, it's one nurse for every four patients. How civilized! In my opinion, that is the way healthcare should be for everyone. That's simply humane.

So, in short, my travelers receive BETTER healthcare for LESS money (even after expenses).

We can help "last-minute travelers"

Sometimes people feel too busy for even just 4 days of being out-of-town, but dental needs can will force a person to make the time. Do you know anyone whose dental pain has just gotten to be too much, that they rush to make dentist appointments?

It's just a sad fact that things like this happen, but I am very proud that I can help. Sometimes, for people with fixed incomes, DentaRica is the only way out! 

Delays is decisions to book (and booking a plane ticket is usually the dragging part) are very often related to finances, but not always. Last-minute travelers will often take their time to look at his or her options and consider, which as I have often said on my blog I respect and moreover encourage. We also make that easier on you with our personal knowledge.

Speaking of personal knowledge, we try to book our travelers in a hotel near the dentist or doctor's office. Sometimes, we can make it right across the street. A person from the U.S. inquiring in Costa Rica would have the language barrier on top of talking to slick sales people, and wind up with costly 45-minute taxi rides. We have had a customer who really wanted a downtown location near the casinos, despite the taxi ride times. We found that for him. If someone needs a handicapped-friendly hotel, we know where to go. If a person wants an adventurous hostel experience, we can find that too.

It's also very important a last-minute traveller has a passport already, because that is one thing we can do nothing about! Government-issued passports at regular price can require around 2 months sometimes! Wait too long, and expedited service fees are charged by the U.S. government. 

Our "in and out" appointments are available for someone with responsibilities, whether those be children to care for a job to be back to. These can be done in as few as 2 days.

We also have our longer stays in Costa Rica available, for relaxed recovery, additional dental or medical options, tourism, and simply enjoying a vacation. Someone may want to take advantage of the low prices in Costa Rica to get, say, a whitening treatment ($25) or a skin cancer screening ($20) or an eye exam ($6). And then -and THEN- everyone knows how beautiful Costa Rica is! Look here

You choose what is best for you!

Mr. G. from Lexington, NC is having a successful trip

I am using a pseudonym for his privacy, but Mr. G has told us he is very happy to share things about his trip! He is scheduled to return today and he has only been gone a few days. "In and out" travel we call this, and this kind of travel is perfect for busy people who want affordable dental or medical, and then to get back to their responsibilities. Whether a person has children to look after or a job to look after, we can make it happen!

Mr. G. has said he will probably go back  at some later date. He went alone on this trip, although he was met by DentaRica staff in Costa Rica itself. For a fee, he can have a DentaRica staff travel along to make sure all his concerns are addressed while travelling. In fact, we are having client like that getting ready right now! Mr. L is from Greensboro, NC, and has requested one of our staff to offer personal assistance during his stay, travelling with him from NC to Florida to Costa Rica, and back. Our services will include translation services, personal experience, and access to our FREE international phoneline. Mr. L will be leaving on his trip soon as well!

I will have to keep everyone updated on exactly how much money they saved, even AFTER expenses.

Exciting DentaRica news! This online video link is great!

Please watch the Facebook video link about our newest partner!

https://www.facebook.com/DentaRicaTravelLlc#!/photo.php?v=513954715337562&set=vb.470446122977338&type=2&theater

DentaRica just returned from the ProMed Medical Tourism Summit at the Los Suenos Resort on the Pacific ocean of Costa Rica. DentaRica is partnering with Dr. Retana, DDS in Costa Rica to bring the best procedures and dental treatments at very affordable prices to Americans and Canadians. Watch our video as see for yourself why Dr. Retana is your first choice in dental care in Costa Rica. Go to our website for information about booking an appointment with him, prices, and travel information.

We're back! (with photos)

I had a very successful trip, as did our whole tour group. After our travelling patients departed homebound for the United States, I went on to attend the 2013 ProMed Medical Summit, held in April at the Los Suenos Marriot on the gorgeous Pacific coastline.

I took many photos, including one with a esteemed former President of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Figueres, one of the many guest speakers. Please follow this link to see them!

I felt very strongly about attending this conference. It is pricey to attend, and certainly a time commitment, but I think it says a lot about the truth behind our avowed commitment to personal experience shared with our travellers. We don't just do this as a hobby, or a side-business, or as one of many possible destinations. We are committed both to Costa Rican medicine and our customers.

Our tour is happily arrived in Costa Rica!

Hello, this is Kathy's assistant Richard filling in on her blog. She can access the internet and her blog, but she wants to give her guests her full attention while abroad. That is part of our business model. We make a commitment to personalized service, both at home and abroad.

Kathy wants to report that the tour group has arrived without complications. The tour group will be staying for a little over a week.

She will be taking lots of pictures and will be uploading them soon!

If you wish to call her while she is in Costa Rica and speak to some of our guests, I would be happy to give you the number. It's a hassle-free toll-free call! Please call or e-mail me: sales@dentarica.com or 336-731-6362.

--Richard

Exciting! Next tour next week! We are getting the show on the road!

I can't wait to get back to Costa Rica. You see, I am going personally, for many reasons.

First and most importantly, it is a central value of our business at DentaRica to provide personalized services. We want all our guests to know what we have learned from experience and to have a great vacation. For travellers of the more adventurous sort, we of course can arrange to let people "do this on their own" while also taking advantage of DentaRica's quality-assurance partners. Additionally, for travellers on a budget we can scale down our services and fees.

Second, I will be getting dental work done myself. I needed it done, and this is a perfect time. My appointment is at our partner clinic DentaVac, a member of our quality-control network, PROMED. Yes, I myself will be getting dental work done at the same clinic and by the same dentists that our travellers see. We trust them that much, and for good reason. You see, I've been there for dental work before. I will see familiar faces; people whose skill I trust.

Third, I will be attending a conference on medical tourism hosted by PROMED, and scheduled in Costa Rica at the Los Sueños Ocean & Golf Resort in Playa Herradura on the coast. This is a region of Costa Rica I have not been to before, and I am very excited to get to expereience all that Costa Rica has to offer. I hear that nearby is Manuel Antonio, a national park and wilderness area. I am very much looking forward to seeing the natural, pristine beaches!  I can then better tell our guests about it. But I don't even have to go to a national park because the resort has a 1,100-acre rainforest almost right beside it!
http://themedicaltravelsummit.com/2013/04/gold-sponsor-exportar/

Here is a you tube video about the conference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqjCbtE5XSw

Fourth, I  simply love being in Costa Rica. I miss the atmosphere: the food, the people, the climate, everything about  being there. I'm so happy to be going back!

My costs for travel are basically the same as what our guests see. I had to shop around for the best priced airline ticket for the right day and time, but also with consideration for the quality of the airline experience. I bought a ticket for Monday, April 22 for $160 and returning on Tuesday, April 30 for $148.  I'm serious! Now I add in the many and various travel expenses, of course. Then I add the cost of the dental work itself, and there you have it. I'm sure you can see how international travel is not only affordable, but rather inexpensive compared to what many people assume the cost would be.