How's the dental care in Nicaragua?

Dental Care for Most Nicaraguans

Dental Care for Most Nicaraguans

Dental Care for Expats

In the last few years, Nicaragua has greatly improved the healthcare it provides. If you live in or near Managua, Granada or León you will have excellent local dentist practitioners and find personalized care as well as highly-trained, English-speaking dentists. Many people are surprised at the diversity and level of quality healthcare and dental care you can find if you know where to look.

The dental care is excellent, and the prices are very reasonable.  As a...

In the last few years, Nicaragua has greatly improved the healthcare it provides. If you live in or near Managua, Granada or León you will have excellent local dentist practitioners and find personalized care as well as highly-trained, English-speaking dentists. Many people are surprised at the diversity and level of quality healthcare and dental care you can find if you know where to look.

The dental care is excellent, and the prices are very reasonable.  As a result, Nicaragua has become a prime destination for people coming from other countries to get their quality dental care done here at dramatically lower cost.  The savings from having your dental work done in Nicaragua as opposed to in another country can cover the cost of the trip as well.

 

I speak from personal experience.  My family that lives in the US comes to Nicaragua for dental care.

The teeth whitening in Nicaragua cost me around $99.  Surely, the cleaning would be much cheaper in Nicaragua than in Canada.

In general, the dental care here in Nicaragua is on par with the US. I have family members who are dentists and they are very good.

 

Almost all of the dentists here in Nicaragua are locals who graduated from one of the several dentistry schools inside the country.  Most dentists usually start their studies at a local dentistry school here in Nicaragua and then they eventually go to the US, Argentina or Spain to continue their specialty.
 
Just like in...

In general, the dental care here in Nicaragua is on par with the US. I have family members who are dentists and they are very good.

 

Almost all of the dentists here in Nicaragua are locals who graduated from one of the several dentistry schools inside the country.  Most dentists usually start their studies at a local dentistry school here in Nicaragua and then they eventually go to the US, Argentina or Spain to continue their specialty.
 
Just like in any country, the quality of dental care all depends where you go. For example, in the US, you may go to a dentist who is not so good. It’s the same here. You’ll just have to do a professional background check before deciding which dentist to choose.

 

Here in Nicaragua, you can expect to pay about a quarter of the price for dental procedures that you would pay in the US, with equal quality care.

 

I am familiar with the cost and quality of dental care in Miami, because i used to live there.  If we go to a dentist in Miami for a simple cleaning, it would cost you about US $80 to $100, but here in Nicaragua, you can expect to pay only $20 to $30 for a cleaning.  Dental braces that in...

Here in Nicaragua, you can expect to pay about a quarter of the price for dental procedures that you would pay in the US, with equal quality care.

 

I am familiar with the cost and quality of dental care in Miami, because i used to live there.  If we go to a dentist in Miami for a simple cleaning, it would cost you about US $80 to $100, but here in Nicaragua, you can expect to pay only $20 to $30 for a cleaning.  Dental braces that in Nicaragua would cost only about $1,000 cost $4,000 to $5,000 in Miami.

 

 

Dental care in Nicaragua has improved but it is not up to par with the dental care in the US just yet. If you are going to have a root canal or extensive dental procedures, I wouldn’t recommend that you go outside of Managua to get that type of dental care because the doctors outside of Managua are not up to speed with technology compared to dentists from Costa Rica, who are more highly-trained.

 

Dentistry is not at a high-tech level in Nicaragua just yet, but...

Dental care in Nicaragua has improved but it is not up to par with the dental care in the US just yet. If you are going to have a root canal or extensive dental procedures, I wouldn’t recommend that you go outside of Managua to get that type of dental care because the doctors outside of Managua are not up to speed with technology compared to dentists from Costa Rica, who are more highly-trained.

 

Dentistry is not at a high-tech level in Nicaragua just yet, but in general, I would be more comfortable going to a dentist in Managua for more complicated procedures than to a dentist in other parts of the country. Depending on the complexity of the procedure that needs to be done, I would recommend going to Costa Rica, where the dentists are more highly-trained.

 

 

The dental care in Nicaragua is sometimes lacking and sometimes, it is really good. There are dentists who have studied here who have graduated here from smaller schools that do not have the means to teach amazing new concepts or vanguard theories or just being up to date on normal dental practices and techniques. These dentists were sort of left behind. You have to think that most of these dentists who are kind of left behind went to public schools during the time that Nicaragua was in...

The dental care in Nicaragua is sometimes lacking and sometimes, it is really good. There are dentists who have studied here who have graduated here from smaller schools that do not have the means to teach amazing new concepts or vanguard theories or just being up to date on normal dental practices and techniques. These dentists were sort of left behind. You have to think that most of these dentists who are kind of left behind went to public schools during the time that Nicaragua was in really bad shape where there wasn’t food and there wasn’t a lot of information coming in and when they were really communist. They still work but they are not the dentist that you would think you would go to because they are not really up to date with the bio security and making sure that everything is nice and clean, which is something that anybody could determine from the moment you walk into a clinic.
 
Then there are other dental offices that are amazing. They are complete state-of-the-art and are completely up to date. These dentists would be those who have graduated from NYU, USC, or from Miami and just decided to come back to Nicaragua because they don’t want to live in the States. They have really great dental offices and they will charge you accordingly to their offices and according to their knowledge but it will always be much cheaper than the States.
 
From my experience of being a dentist here, I would say that the dentists here are more about quality than quantity. The reason why I say that is because, in the States, I know that it is more about production, in which dental practices are more concerned about producing patients, getting them out there, crunching out numbers, and making money. In Nicaragua, it is more about the quality of health care. It is more about how we can help our patients be nice and calm and happy and have that great experience. We know all about our patients. We know about their families. We know why they moved here or why they didn’t move here. We know where they live, their birthdays, and everything about them. It’s more like a mom and pop feel. It all really depends on what you are looking for as a person, too, so you have to find a dental clinic that is a fit for you.
 
In my dental office, we have tried our best for you to get that feeling of being in a dental chair in South Pasadena, where I come from, with that amazing customer care, and where people are attentive to you and checking how you feel and if you’re okay. We are focused on pain management so our patients never feel pain. We comply with the standards of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) for the biosecurity. We take extreme care to make sure that everything is immaculate.
 
I have seen other dental offices here in Nicaragua that are from my friends and from people that I have graduated with or other people that I have just met and everyone is different but that is because they were not exposed to what it is like to be in an office in South Pasadena for so many years. They have probably seen or visited another friend so they have this concept and what we have been taught but it is not the same. As far as my dental office is concerned, we try to keep it as US friendly as we can because that is how we are comfortable and that is what we are used to, so it is easier for us to do that. You could expect the same quality of care and practice in my dental office here in Nicaragua as you would experience in a dental office in South Pasadena. That’s a fact.
 
Relative to costs, an endodontist in the US would charge you anywhere from US $2,000 to $3,000 for a root canal for a premolar, which is a normal bicuspid tooth. You can get the same done here in Nicaragua for $250 to $300. A cleaning in my office is priced at $25 if you are a good patient who only has minor gingivitis and you have been on point with taking care of your cleanings every three to six months. If you have awesome brushing skills or maybe even mediocre brushing skills and you floss, I’ll charge you $25 for a cleaning. In the States, you would pay about $88 for a cleaning done by a dental hygienist. In my office, I am the one doing the cleaning. I am a dentist, and the charge is only $25.
 
The cost for a crown in my office in Nicaragua ranges from $400 all the way down to $250 depending on whether you are getting a full zirconium crown, free of metal, or if it is porcelain metal. $400 would be the maximum and the cost range that I just mentioned includes the labor.
 
I know my office is not considered a very pricey office and I know a lot of other dentists here that are amazing, but they are expensive. They charge accordingly because they are really good. It is hard to tell somebody when they are really good at something that they shouldn’t charge what they charge because they put a lot of work into being that good. We, in my office, do not want to do that. We want to keep ourselves at an intermediate price so that people who do not have the opportunity that the extremely rich here have, can have really good quality dental care at a more obtainable price for them. It is very important for me to do that. It is also important for me that other people that come from other places feel like they can save a couple of bucks as well. It is fine by me and it doesn’t bother me. 
 
We also have this great sense of social responsibility where we donate some of our time on Saturdays and we work pro bono with people who obviously have no means of affording dental healthcare. This is something that is very important for us in my office. It is a big part of our philosophy. We are more in it because we want to serve the community and not because we want to be insanely lucrative. We are lucrative in spirit.

 

(Dr. Marissa Gabriel Lolk in her dental office, Managua, Nicaragua, pictured.)

My wife, who is from Nicaragua, and I spend half the year here.  She has all of her dental work done here and has had no complaints. Of course, we live near Managua and the dentist office is in Managua  He trained in Mexico, and is fairly fluent in English. He did fix a broken tooth for me, and my dentist in the US said she would have done it exactly as he did.  My wife needed extensive work last year, (we were going to see him at least every other week for months) and it...

My wife, who is from Nicaragua, and I spend half the year here.  She has all of her dental work done here and has had no complaints. Of course, we live near Managua and the dentist office is in Managua  He trained in Mexico, and is fairly fluent in English. He did fix a broken tooth for me, and my dentist in the US said she would have done it exactly as he did.  My wife needed extensive work last year, (we were going to see him at least every other week for months) and it cost about 1,500 USD.

 

(Xiomara Blandino, Miss Nicaragua 2007, pictured.)

I flew from Naples Florida to Managua, Nicaragua for dental work.  I was recommended by my daughter to  the dentist Dr Carlos Aleman of Centro de Disenno Dental. He did a dental implant, a root canal, and a filling. He Is now my dentist of choice. He specializes in implants and teaches in English at Universidad Americana, Managua. Teaches other dentists how to do implants. My dentist in Naples wanted to pull two teeth and do three implants. Dr....

I flew from Naples Florida to Managua, Nicaragua for dental work.  I was recommended by my daughter to  the dentist Dr Carlos Aleman of Centro de Disenno Dental. He did a dental implant, a root canal, and a filling. He Is now my dentist of choice. He specializes in implants and teaches in English at Universidad Americana, Managua. Teaches other dentists how to do implants. My dentist in Naples wanted to pull two teeth and do three implants. Dr. Carlos was terrific. I saved thousands of dollars and I had a vacation. He has a staff with all the specialists you would need. His clinic is near the Canadian Embassy. I stayed at the world class Holiday Inn nearby.
He speaks English fluently.