Hi all,

My husband never went to a real dentist in Morocco.

Once in Morocco he broke two teeth--yes, opening a bottle with his teeth . So, he went to the tooth man in Djmaa al Fna (a big open market in the Marrakech medina). I'm going to try to insert a picture here:


Ok, so a big strong guy held him down while the tooth man extracted his teeth with a pliers--no novicane, no painkillers, etc. He paid the equivalent of one dollar a tooth!

When Simo came to the US, I brought him to the dentist for a broken tooth but I had terrible dental insurance. With insurance, we ended up paying $300 to get a tooth pulled. Simo thought that was highway robbery and hasn't been back until today.

So now he has good insurance, and he went in for a cleaning/evaluation. Needless to say there are some issues. He apparently needs 13 fillings, one of his wisdom teeth pulled and his gums are not looking so good (oh, if only he would quit smoking!)!!

Ugh. I don't know how much this is going to cost us out of pocket, but it sure ain't pretty. We may need to prioritize and do some next year (we may hit the max on the dental insurance for the year).

My thoughts: if you have the opportunity, try to get any dental work done in your habibi's home country...it is MUCH cheaper (though I don't think dentists are very common).

Cheers,
Carolyn

omg the toothman picture!!!



If I were on speaking terms with my parents I'd love to send that picture to my dad since he's a dentist.

Hello Carolyn. Thanks for sharing that. I know for me... I could never afford all the dental work I need/ed done in the US. Quoted thousands and thousands of dollars. But in Algeria I started to work on my teeth, which I had neglected in the past. So far, I have had a root canal and cap (gold ye baby) removal of 2 wisdom tooths had have been totally broken, work on my front teeth that had been chipped and discoloured. And I am in the process of getting braces. Elhamdullah so far, I have only spent $130 for all this work with the same technology I would find in Europe or US... with pain killers (unlike the pic you posted) LOL....But it is true, from what I have seen most NA do not take care of their teeth. Such a shame, since the care is much more affordable then in the US.

I have also gotten glasses (designer frames with ultra thin lenses) for about 1/8 of what I ever paid in the US. And contact lenses years supply worth for what I paid in the Us for only 2 boxes. We are also looking into Lasik surgery too... for about half the price! Living in a third world country isn't looking so bad after all!

So you think that maybe we can justify a trip to Morocco to get Simo's dental work done?

Hmm...maybe Springtime?

Well, I donnow your current holiday (time off) and finanical situation... but in my opinion you could pay for a plane ticket for what you would spent in the US for hus dental work. I know for myself, just the tooth removal, root canal, cap and fixing my teeth (plus X-rays, etc) in the front they had quoted me almost $3000. And here I got it fixed for $130. And in the end, with braces, I will still be paying less then in the US. In fact, my daughter is getting work done too... basic thou. I end up paying less....Soooo ye, I am very very pleased. And I would definately come back to Algeria (even moooooore cheaper then in Europe) As I know in the past, I came back to Europe for dental work. But here it is even more cheaper and worth it ....
If I were you... I would save the money (unless it is an emergency) and go around late winter, early spring ...Btwn Jan - March... when the tickets are cheap! Bonne chance!

Thankfully, we have great dental insurance. Doesn't matter though, because he still won't go. Chicken.

Even great dental insurance is crappy, IMO.

I think we'll wait and see what the estimates are on fixing his teeth, then think about our Magrebi alternatives. I think I would rather support the Moroccan economy than my dentist's pockets.

Jenn--I sympathize with your dentist-averse husband!

I had and still have dental insurance, but it made no difference. Many of the procedures I needed to get done were more expensive with the insurance. Only thing that I would saved on was the X-rays.

And I agree, I rather support a dentist here... then in the US. In the US, mechanics and dentists screw you (always)!!!!

LoooooooL you crack me up i wonder what that man use to take the teeth out, i bet u he using a pincers ) )

i'm sure these vise-grips work great

So are you recommending the dollar a tooth guy?
Hehehehe seriously - be wary. My mother in law is here right now and had a bridge fall out. We had it replaced while she was here (my husband managed to do a favor for our dentist neighbor thank goodness or it wouldve been really expensive). But apparently the dental work was REALLY poor that she had. Many people have poor dental work in israel although im sure if you went to tel aviv you could find a good dentist. Not sure if its the same all over the ME but I would be nervous about using a dentist there.

Ill tell you what is a good thing to do there - boob jobs LOL!!!! I think they are like $8000-$10000 here but they are $2000-$4000 there. And EVERYONE has them!! LOL!!!

I have to go to the dentist today - yikes!

Wow

I was just discussing dental issues with Moh yesterday. I told him it would prolly be cheaper to buy him a ticket to Egypt to get his teeth fixed (if and when he needs dental work) than to get work done here. He had a check up and cleaning before coming here but due to smoking his gums look kinda bad. I worry he'll have some issues in the future.

I was trying to reply in this thread earlier today but I lost my connection.

I have had all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted here in Egypt (1 had to be cut out because he broke it in half). Also, I have had a bridge, cleanings, and my braces removed.

I will just say that the facilities here are not as good as my dentist's back home. I felt really nervous about the equipment that looked like it was from the 70's. But, I really didn't have a choice. The dental work was very cheap. I think overall it was 500LE (which is less than $100). But, the quality of work is not what I was used to. My husband and his family assured me that the dentist was one of the best around. I would really hate to see the worst, you know.

I think I have a pic of my husband getting his teeth cleaned. You might be able to see the old timey arm that the drill is on. There are no gloves....no bibs.....no white shiny sparkling new machinery....... I think that for an extraction or a cleaning, this country is OK, but for any type of cosmetic dental work, the better the technology the better your results.

This is not a picture of a real dentist's office, it is just a picture I found that reminded me of the dental equipment here. Scary, huh? hehehee

no gloves and no mask!!!!

you get what you pay for!

Exactly! I do think that some things are overpriced in USA, but if you pay less, you can't blame the person who did your work. IMO

Overall, I am happy, but I will finish my dental work in the states, thankyouverymuch.

invest in a Sonicare !!!



excellent in gum issues

Your pictures today are absolutely killing me. Too funny.

Andre had never been to a dentist in Jamaica. And, regardless of the cost, I wouldn't have trusted any dentist he could've seen. Once he was covered under my dental, he had 3 wisdom teeth pulled, 2 cavities filled, and a good cleaning.

He goes back for another cleaning at the end of this month and he says if they suggest anything else, he will "chop up the dentist with his machette."

This is a picture I took of my brother in law, Foudil. He pulled this women's tooth while I was there. Notice he has no gloves or mask. I did lecture him about this. He charged her what is equivalent to about 30 dollars to pull her tooth. His equipment is pretty new. And I did see him get the instruments out of an autoclave, so I know they where sterile. But the glove thing did get me fired up.

Meriem

LOL and I just soooo loved that they "sterilize" their instruments in bleach. LOL Just loved that taste in my mouth!

My dad gave me a sonicare and I gave it to a friend of mine. I couldn't stand the feeling it gave me...almost like electrical shocks in my mouth and head!


I worry about my husband's mouth but I think it's just from growing up in a dentist house. My father always judged people by their teeth and I think he'd blow a gasket if he knew that my husband only used a miswak his whole life until he met me! His gums are a curious color too and I can't decide whether it's just his coloring in general or if he has gingivitis. They're very dark...kind of bluish black but they're not swollen or anything like that. Just looks like that's the way they've always looked.

I've never had to pay for any dental treatments in my life, and now I find myself looking for a dentist so I'm a little scared of what everything is going to cost. I do have dental insurance so I think I'm covered for two cleanings a year or something.

OK--I've got a dental story to share. We decided that we would get Hamid's first teeth cleaning, so we just go into a dentist down on the main drag in Marrakech. She was a young woman, very stylish, etc. Her assistant was also the front-desk woman and very very nice. I figured at least she was young and didn't display a pair of pliars, which Hamid says is the way they do it in Medine and at his hometown.

Anyway, so she cleans Hamid's teeth for $50.00. I have to admit he was brave, hardly ever flinched when she ran the sonic thing. So then she polished them, but never did the dental floss thing. So then (being a teacher) I had to show all of his sisters and him how to use dental floss when we were at his house. It occurred to me why in the hell doesn't a teacher or dentist there show them how to do this stuff???? Like they do in the USA when you are little, right? It is sooo sad that they are not told how to take care of their teeth. Hamid does have the gum issues too.

So, then we decide, ok we will let her fill a FEW fillings (for $25.00 each, mind you). So we end up going 3 times for 14 fillings. And, guess what, she did three or 4 fillings at a time in 15-20 minutes--and that included giving the shot!!! I was waiting for him to scream and jump out of the chair, but again, he was brave. He was sooo proud that his teeth looked so much better. However, his only dental experience had been having two teeth pulled in the lower back at two different times, I am sure he thought this was mild. This dentist, though, said she could not work on the two lower back ones. I am assuming they needed root canals or crowns. So I am trying to get him to ask her dental questions in Arabic when he doesn't know the vocabulary in English and he is getting mad at me for "embarrassing him" when all I am doing is trying to get into. I did manage to figure out a chart she was showing us--I think she was trying to tell us the cavaties were not down to the third level or something.

I'm in the chair over there watching, amazed at how fast she can fill those dang teeth. Then I wondered if his gums were really numb that fast. But I figure if not, I will know soon. So after the 4th visit, we are finished. They really were so nice to us. And of course, Hamid was thrilled with the results.

When I got back to the USA, I had a dental appointment for my cleaning. I told my dentist and his wife and assistant who work there how fast she filled them. Of course, they were horrified. "Did she clean them, did she dry them, did she mix this and that??" Of course, I have no idea how they will hold up. But I look at it as a stop-gap measure until he gets here. And with my dentist's prices (you could eat off their floor they are sooo picky) I just saw dollar signs adding up. I think we will be paying them 100-200 a month for life!! :

Anyway, I agree that it is better to have them done there--at least what they are capable of doing. Looking back, I think I would check my Blue Cross/World Access for names of dentists they recommend. But I didn't think of it at that time. I feel so sorry for the people there for their lack of access to doctors and dentists. I think in Hamid's case, he was just used to the pain. The same goes for his ruptured eardrum--they have to live with it and just treat it stopgap the best they can. It is just heartbreaking what some of the people have to go through.....oh well, I will now get off my soapbox...