Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
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Let me apologize for the rant but I have to say the part I hate most about living on the road is getting decent dental care. Lee even says if we could figure out how we would swing by New Hampshire every year just for that but with our travel plans that's really not possible. The last time I talked about this I was using the Aspen Dental network with mixed results. The initial appointment was terrible, but the second went very well and I thought maybe it was just the first time they made you jump through hoops. Not so. We just drove 2 hours to an Aspen in Phoenix only to be told we couldn't be cleaned because their exam called for a "deep cleaning" and we didn't have enough time scheduled. Keep in mind I told them in advance we were driving two hours and asked for a longer cleaning to be scheduled but was told we couldn't do that until the dentist saw us. Plus all of a sudden I have developed "serious gum issues" that didn't exist 6 months ago. Give me a break.
i am am so frustrated by the whole thing. We don't have a regular home base that we go back to every year and finding dental care in small towns and more remote areas we prefer has been next to impossible. Either they don't take new patients or we won't be there long enough to get an appointment. Now add to that Lee really need Some gum scraping done (which will be multiple appts ) and arrgh.
That being said I'll be damned if dental care of all things drives us off the road. We are going to get cleanings in Mexico tomorrow. Will tell you how that goes. Also we are looking ahead to Alaska to get the procedure done since we will be there for 5 months. After that we will have to think ahead on our route and call ahead. Because we work on the road we have some idea where we will be in advance.
Anyways,thanks for letting me blow off steam.
Trace
-- Edited by Lee and Trace on Thursday 25th of February 2016 01:57:59 PM
My dental was Ok for the first 8+ years on the road but, like you found, everything changed this year. I cannot find ay place that will give you a regular cleaning. Every place I go its $1500 for deep cleaning or nothing. Tried the Mexico thing a few years back. Went to one highly recommended by other rvers. Was cheap but I was very concerned about the sanitation. Tools were in plastic but looked very old/stained etc. I would not go back.
We try to stop by northern VA where we used to live once a year and do the other one at our winter parking place in southern FL. Have done several appointments on the road and it's a matter of asking when you call them…we try to go to smaller single dentist practices instead of the large production line ones.
The first one we tried down here in Fort Myers 4 years ago we scheduled a cleaning and when we got there it was…nope, no cleaning today…we're just going to give you an exam for a fee and then an estimate for the work you need…despite us telling them when we called that we wanted only a cleaning/exam. We walked out and they tried to tell us we had to pay because we "scheduled the time" with them. Told them to stick it and left…and filed a notice with our insurance that we had walked out and they should not pay any claim for the thieves.
Places like that are just money mills…not interested in doing what you need only. After we walked out we called another place down here…explained the problem and they said "yeah, that practice is like that as are many others down here…but we don't work that way." Went in and were completely satisfied by their work and we now use them once a year when we're down here. Since our early spring travels always include a trip to Richmond VA for grand baby fix for grandma…popping up to the DC 'burbs is pretty easy…we usually go up there for most of a week to see dentist and the financial guy as well.
Yeah…it's harder than it needs to be. The places we found in Colorado Springs and up in Minnesota were small town dentists who were easy to get appointments with and work with.
Quick update. We went to Mexico today and had a great experience. Very clean, the dentist was very gentle, and Lee said she was "smoking hot" which certainly made the experience better for him 😄. $25 for a cleaning and she does fillings for $40 and implants for $1,000. We have spoken to several people here in Quartzsite who have had crowns, etc done and no one has had a complaint.
Anyways it's nice to know this is an option. We are also starting to look for Alaska this summer and started by reaching out to the owners of the campground we will be working at.
Tracey, I know a great dentist in the Seattle area if you're passing through on your way to or from Alaska☺☺ my best luck has come from asking the locals we meet along the way, we now have a dentist in Tucson, recommended by someone who is a snowbird and spends 6 months a year here. Since we're in this area for art shows each winter we know to schedule ahead of time and they exchange info with our Seattle dentist so Xrays etc are shared.
> Quick update. We went to Mexico today and had a great experience. Very clean, the dentist
>was very gentle, and Lee said she was "smoking hot" which certainly made the experience
>better for him 😄. $25 for a cleaning and she does fillings for $40 and implants for $1,000.
This is an old post, but I just had to reply. When I read that the dentist was "smoking hot," I thought, "Wow, there too?" But then I realized Lee is a man and the smoking hot dentist was a woman.
I had some dental work done in Nuevo Progreso (across the border from Texas) a few years ago, and couldn't get over how handsome the entire team was--dentists, assistants, even the guy at the front desk. It was like I was at Chippendale's instead of the dentist. Only I got to talk to them, too, with their really smooth Spanish. All in all, a delightful experience.
