Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

The Tooth Implant

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

No matter how healthy one is, it seems we all require dental care. It's quite a relief to know that one can obtain quality oral care overseas and at affordable pricing.

Below is Billy's story of his tooth implant.

Dr. Jacobs holds a Masters degree in Endodontics

The continuing saga of my tooth

Those of you who have been following us regularly know that I had a dental problem some months back in Chapala, Mexico. It was this, then it was that, then a crown replacement, then an infection and then minor oral surgery. I believe I have put more money into saving this one tooth than for the rest of my mouth overall.

That in itself can be discouraging, but read on.

Back in Guatemala while eating the wonderful macadamia nuts, I pushed my repair job to the max. This time, the root cracked causing a lot of pain and the tooth needed to be pulled.

I hired a private driver in Panajachel for 600 Quetzales ($85.00 USD), to take me to Quetzaltenango, also known as, Xela, the second largest city of Guatemala. The ride is a couple of hours from Panajachel, and my driver will wait for me while I have the procedure done, then bring me back to Pana. This makes it so easy, and I'm not jostled around on the Chicken Bus, nor do I need to hire a taxi to get me from the bus station to the dental office, and then do it all in reverse after my procedure.

I have used Dr. Jacobs before and he had my confidence. I respect both his opinion and his skills. As an added bonus, he speaks perfect English.

200 Q later ($28.00 USD) and I was toothless. Well, I mean THAT tooth was gone. It was fast, easy, and painless. Then he explained my options. Would I like a bridge or an implant? These are the differences, and these are the costs.

After hearing the full explanation, I decided then and there that I wanted an implant. My wife, Akaisha, had put in her opinion previously since she has had so much dental work work done through the years, and had recommended the implant. My cost would be $1,000 USD for everything included.

What a deal!

But first I had to wait 3 to 4 months for the bone in my jaw to heal from the extraction.

X-ray of post screwed into my jaw

Three months later

Three months later I scheduled an appointment with Carlos the dentist in Xela on a Saturday morning at 9:00 AM. While chatting with him on the phone about the appointment, I mentioned that I would be leaving for Mexico a week after this initial placing of the post into my jaw bone. He remarked that he would give me the remaining parts for the procedure and I can easily get another dentist in Mexico to finish the job. Therefore the cost to me will be half, or $500 USD. 

Perfect.

I arrived early and after a couple of other patients, his assistants brought me in. He was ready to get started and took an x-ray, commenting that the bone had healed nicely. First the Novocain injections and then the heavy equipment.

The post with a fancy top ready for the next stage

What I mean about heavy equipment, was that Dr. Jacobs manually used a ratchet and screwed the implant post into my jawbone. From time to time, he took x-rays measuring and checking to see what the status of the post was in relationship to where it needed to be. Then he'd go back to ratcheting once again, until it was just right.

I was finished well within an hour with no pain, no stitches. He gave me an antibiotic and pain meds along with instructions on how to use each. In a small plastic envelope he gave me the other parts I would need for the remainder of this process. And all of this was included in the $500 USD price.

Now I must wait six months for the post to securely embed into my jaw. At this time I will have the rest of the post installed as well as a crown, all done in Chapala, Mexico.

Continue below for the rest of the story

Dr. Jose C. Jacobs, Dental Surgeon, Specialty in Endodontics, Avenida Las Americas 7-12, Zona 3

Office 408, Torre Pradera

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, C.A.

jacobsarriola@hotmail.com

Cellular: 502. 4016. 3918

Tele: 502. 7930. 4362

Highly recommended

Six months later Chapala, Mexico

Fernando Ochoa DDS

My tooth location with a higher post put in

With the other hardware now installed all I needed was my zirconia tooth. Dr. Fernando complemented the work that Dr. Jacobs did, and recognized the manufacturers and the pieces used. He was impressed, which was great. It felt super to have such good dentists available to me, and in two separate countries!

Dr. Fernando Ochoa took some impressions in order to send to the lab for them to make my zirconia tooth.

Now everything is ready for the crown and I just had to wait for its delivery.

VOILA! The tooth is installed

Dr. Ochoa made a few adjustments and then I was ready to go home.

I was charged 4000 Pesos for Fernando to complete the installation.

Total cost in USDollars for the whole implant, both Guatemala and Mexico = $500 + $220 = $720 Dollars

Dentista, Fernando Ochoa

General Dentistry, Implants, Oral Surgery

 Avenida Francisco I. Madero 560-A

Chapala, Jalisco

Tele: 01. 376. 7655. 295

Cell: 01. 333. 1059. 601

Email: fernand8a0279@hotmail.com

Highly recommended

For more stories, photos and information about Antigua, click here

For more stories and photos of Guatemala, click here

About the Authors

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

Trending on Retire Early Lifestyle

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

HOME   Book Store

Retire Early Lifestyle Blog      About Billy & Akaisha Kaderli      Press     Contact     20 Questions     Preferred Links    

Retirement     Country Info     Retiree Interviews      Commentary     REL Videos