On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 20:51:55 -0500, John H
wrote:

I really think NOYB could make a two-week old, road-killed 'possum
sound appetizing!

He's been trying that with Bush for three years now and it's not
working.

bb

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:

"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
news:Cwp1c.19784
I very much doubt the fee's are 10%. Looked at the prices in
Costa
Rica?

Again, I know fact doesn't mean anything to you but:

http://www.cocori.com/library/life/med1.htm

According to your link, implants in Costa Rica cost $750-800. In the
states, they cost $1200-1800. (We're talking about the implant...not
the
abutment, and not the crown). That means they're about 50-65%...not
10%
as
you claimed.



My dentist and friend showed me a catalog of implant posts from some
company with the word "Gold" in its name...or something like that.

Sterngold.

I don't know anybody that uses them, however.


The
posts were something like $125 each...titanium.

They're actually even cheaper than that. About $80-90.

Add another $20 for the impression post, $16 for the analog, $75 for
the
UCLA coping, $25 for the healing abutment, $75 for the lab-fabricated
temporary, $50 for the cost of the gold (used with the UCLA coping), and
a
lab bill of about $250 for the crown and custom abutment.

That's about $600...and Sterngold is the flat-out cheapest on the
market.
The implants my surgeons use are about 3 or 4 times as expensive...the
surfaces aren't machined, but acid-etched...which gives better
osseointegration.


This was six or seven
years ago. I wasn't shopping, but I was curious about the procedure.




Well, I've never claimed expertise in the black magic of dentistry.


Harry,
Did you go to Bal Harbor yet?
How was the fishing. The weather was pretty poor (windy) the last week.

On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 01:23:47 GMT, "NOYB" wrote:

I doubt it. Comprehensive treatment (ie--the expensive stuff like full
mouth rehabilitation and dental implants) can't be completed in a day. It
requires dozens of trips to the dentist...in a period sometimes spanning
anywhere from 6 months to a year or more. The cost of travel and lodging,
and the inconvenience of multiple trips, takes away any comparative
advantage the foreign countries might offer.

Maybe you underestimate the resourcefulness of the competition.
What's to stop other's from stationing cruise ship type vessels
offshore to provide medical services?

Plus, who are you going to see for emergency care when the 14-unitb
roundhouse bridge you just had placed in Costa Rica fractures the weekend
before your daughter's wedding?

If a large part of the bread and butter dental procedures are taken
away by foreign competitors, there would be plenty of starving
(ex-right wing) dentists willing to take what ever work they could
get.

The non-comprehesive stuff (fillings and single crowns) can be completed in
a day or week...but who's going to travel to Costa Rica for treatment just
to save $500-600 dollars?

I just had a gold crown done. If I could have combined that with a
couple of weekend trips to Costa Rica and ended up breaking even, I'd
have though about it.

You may completely discount the possibility, but it could happen.
When people in less developed countries are trying to provide just the
basics for their families, the excess surrounding US medical and
dental providers have to look like a very tempting target.

bb

NOYB wrote:



Harry,
Did you go to Bal Harbor yet?
How was the fishing. The weather was pretty poor (windy) the last week.


I leave Saturday, mid-day, from National Airport. At this point, I hope
to get out fishing *once* during the week. My list of assignments down
there is growing exponentially. I was hoping to low-profile it during
the week. Now I have to pack some suits...and not bathing suits. I do
get to attend a meeting at which Kerry is scheduled to appear and speak,
and that should be fun. I saw him a couple of weeks ago in DC, but it
was outdoors.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
NOYB wrote:



Harry,
Did you go to Bal Harbor yet?
How was the fishing. The weather was pretty poor (windy) the last week.


I leave Saturday, mid-day, from National Airport. At this point, I hope
to get out fishing *once* during the week. My list of assignments down
there is growing exponentially. I was hoping to low-profile it during
the week. Now I have to pack some suits...and not bathing suits. I do
get to attend a meeting at which Kerry is scheduled to appear and speak,
and that should be fun. I saw him a couple of weeks ago in DC, but it
was outdoors.


I'll be going to the SKA Div. 11 weigh-in at Bayfront in Naples this
weekend. Weather is supposed to be superb. Good luck fishing.

BTW--Watching Kerry speak is anything but "fun".
Watching Bush speak is a lot more fun...even if it's because you're giggling
at his gaffe's.

"bb" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 01:23:47 GMT, "NOYB" wrote:

I doubt it. Comprehensive treatment (ie--the expensive stuff like full
mouth rehabilitation and dental implants) can't be completed in a day.
It
requires dozens of trips to the dentist...in a period sometimes spanning
anywhere from 6 months to a year or more. The cost of travel and lodging,
and the inconvenience of multiple trips, takes away any comparative
advantage the foreign countries might offer.

Maybe you underestimate the resourcefulness of the competition.
What's to stop other's from stationing cruise ship type vessels
offshore to provide medical services?


That's a great concept...if you live in a city with a ship port...and you
don't mind going through customs every time you have a dental appointment.


Plus, who are you going to see for emergency care when the 14-unitb
roundhouse bridge you just had placed in Costa Rica fractures the weekend
before your daughter's wedding?

If a large part of the bread and butter dental procedures are taken
away by foreign competitors, there would be plenty of starving
(ex-right wing) dentists willing to take what ever work they could
get.

Poor people can't afford to fly to Costa Rica...and rich people aren't going
to go through the hassle to save a few bucks. The middle class have jobs
and responsibilites and can't pick up and leave. Your idea is a pipe dream.


The non-comprehesive stuff (fillings and single crowns) can be completed
in
a day or week...but who's going to travel to Costa Rica for treatment
just
to save $500-600 dollars?

I just had a gold crown done. If I could have combined that with a
couple of weekend trips to Costa Rica and ended up breaking even, I'd
have though about it.


And think about it is all you'd do.

You may completely discount the possibility, but it could happen.

And pigs could fly. Really, they could.

When people in less developed countries are trying to provide just the
basics for their families, the excess surrounding US medical and
dental providers have to look like a very tempting target.

John H wrote in message
bb, this is all true. I had eleven teeth pulled and replaced with
implants. I went to the dentist about every 3-4 weeks for over a year.
No way could I have afforded to fly to Costa Rico for all those trips.

And yes, in between the scheduled visits I made several trips to get
the temporary dentures repaired, reglued, or replaced because I bit
down on something the wrong way. (Or because I chewed Nicorette's and
they stuck to the plastic stuff the temporaries were made of!)


They have this instrument that would have eliminated the need to pull
eleven teeth. It's called a toothbrush.

"NOYB" wrote in message .com...
"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
news:Cwp1c.19784
I very much doubt the fee's are 10%. Looked at the prices in Costa
Rica?

Again, I know fact doesn't mean anything to you but:

http://www.cocori.com/library/life/med1.htm

According to your link, implants in Costa Rica cost $750-800. In the
states, they cost $1200-1800. (We're talking about the implant...not the
abutment, and not the crown). That means they're about 50-65%...not 10% as
you claimed.

You've picked one procedure, from one web site. What a way to research.

On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 05:13:07 GMT, "NOYB" wrote:

That's a great concept...if you live in a city with a ship port...and you
don't mind going through customs every time you have a dental appointment.

You wouldn't have to have a port or pass through customs. Station a
vessel in international waters and shuttle people out. You can
discount any possibility that foreign competition will affect your
trade, but that doesn't mean someone won't come up with a concept that
will put a hurtin on the medical field much like it has many other
industries.

bb

On 5 Mar 2004 04:03:59 -0800, (basskisser) wrote:

John H wrote in message
bb, this is all true. I had eleven teeth pulled and replaced with
implants. I went to the dentist about every 3-4 weeks for over a year.
No way could I have afforded to fly to Costa Rico for all those trips.

And yes, in between the scheduled visits I made several trips to get
the temporary dentures repaired, reglued, or replaced because I bit
down on something the wrong way. (Or because I chewed Nicorette's and
they stuck to the plastic stuff the temporaries were made of!)


They have this instrument that would have eliminated the need to pull
eleven teeth. It's called a toothbrush.

Try some crushed ice cubes in a zip-lock back placed on the back of
your neck.

John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!