Is it safe to get expensive dental work done abroad?
High domestic dental quotes—ranging from thousands of dollars for human crowns to massive vet bills for pets—force people to look for treatment options closer to home or abroad. Without finding affordable alternatives, patients are left unable to afford necessary procedures.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1traveling abroad to destinations like Mexico or Malaysia for dental tourism
- 2looking into clinics that use CEREC machines for same-day crowns
- 3shopping around for alternative vet quotes
- 4paying higher prices at a trusted vet for better care and aftercare
- 5Going to a local dental college or university for reduced prices
- 6Traveling to Mexico for cheaper dental care
- 7Getting a second opinion from another dentist
- 8Finding a dentist not owned by private equity
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My vet in the metro Detroit area is quoting me around $1,000 for the dental cleaning and closer to $2,000 if extractions are needed.”source ↗
“I’m in a different state (VA) but just paid $4,500 for a dog dental cleaning with no extractions.”source ↗
“I paid $2400 for my 10 lb cat to have a dental cleaning with x-rays and a couple of extractions.”source ↗
“Man I just paid $800 for my cat dental cleaning in Grand Rapids and they said extractions would push it over $1500 easy.”source ↗
“Yeah I need to check that cause I'm not sure if they can. If they can't, I don't think I can do this and would instead have to explore something abroad that is closer to home”source ↗
“I need to get alot of dental work done and the dentist can fix it but its considered cosmetic and my insurance wont cover anything went to sage dental and the say its going to be over 8k for what I need and I didn't get approved for any kind of financing options.”source ↗
“I'm quoted 6,000 CAD here in Canada for 3 crowns on the left side bottom row, so $2,000 each.”source ↗
Where this came up
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