DSD - Digital Smile Design Costa Rica

I can’t overstate how much both the experience and the end results with Gabriel & Clear Choice Dental with the doctors and staff of Pinares Dental Solutions exceeded my expectations. The way that the two work together from the moment I arrived until Gabriel took us back to the airport is a marvel of service and ease. I came to get affordable dental care, but I had no idea just how much more was included. Gabriel and the clinic staff are consummate professionals. Patients’ needs and comforts are their highest priority. From the compassionate and gentle excellence of the dental work itself to Gabriel’s anticipation and fulfilment of even the smallest personal needs, everything about the process was phenomonal. And I am uniquely over-qualified to judge, due to the sheer number of dental providers I have had to see in my lifetime! My needs coming into this visit were extensive, whole mouth renewal essentially. I required 8 teeth extracted, multiple root canals, 8 implants and several crowns and temporary appliances. The large amount of work meant many appointments during two separate trips 6+ months apart. The care provided by the doctors and staff was the best I've ever experienced anywhere, bar none. But it was the services above and beyond dental work that were the wonderful surprise! Gabriel’s mission was to ensure that visitors have the same excellent experience outside the dental office as in. Gabriel in his actions and words connected us to the flow and pace of Costa Rica and what makes the country and life there truly special. With his help, what has always been a stressful ordeal at home became two genuinely happy experiences. He took care of logistics and details seamlessly, but seeing Costa Rica through his eyes was a true extra gift. He is the very personification of Costa Rica’s national motto “¡Pura Vida!” —Jodi My name is Eric. I’m Jodi’s husband and I accompanied her as caregiver on her second trip. I have worked and traveled in many parts of Latin America, and I would agree with her assessment. Costa Rica is a special place and Gabriel makes it more so! I also really want to honor Drs. Saenz and Gutierrez. They practice care to the highest technical and safety standards and their results are self-evident, but beyond that their doctor-patient manner was what impressed me. Needing as much extensive invasive work as she did, Jodi faced real physical and emotional challenges. Everyone at the clinic was incredibly kind, patient, flexible, and supportive. Seeing my wife able to truly relax and smile without a care for the first time in years is happiness beyond words. Gabriel put us all together and made this all happen. It’s almost as an afterthought that I think of what it cost. But I want to highlight that both trips with a caregiver along (my son once and myself once) plus a few tourist attractions and day trips PLUS the cost of treatment still added up to well under half of what we were told the dental work alone would have cost in our country, even with what passes for ‘good’ dental insurance here. We are beyond satisfied with the entire experience!

Nice service, clean and pretty office. Well-informed dentist; fluent in English.

Accompanied by my wife I first attended the Dr. Marco Muñoz Cavallini International Dental Clinic in January 2013. Because my teeth were in terrible shape I wanted to have a full restoration that would provide me with two arches of new implant-supported teeth. It was agreed before I arrived that I should allow for one week per arch so I made arrangements to stay for two weeks. A treatment plan was agreed on day one but when I was being prepared for my first surgery session Dr. Marco became concerned that my heart was beating irregularly. He was so concerned that he sent for para-medics and I ended up being taken to the hospital emergency room where I was seen by a cardiologist. Although I was discharged later the same day Dr. Marco explained to me that it would not be possible for me to undergo any oral surgery until my heart condition had been treated. During this whole episode, I was accompanied by Anna, a bilingual member of the dental clinic’s staff, who took care of all of the arrangements. She did a wonderful job. We (my wife and I) returned to the USA the next day. My heart condition was subsequently diagnosed and I was required to have a heart pacemaker which was fitted in July 2013. In September my doctor cleared me for oral surgery and we returned to the dental clinic at the end of November. We stayed for two weeks and I received complete new upper and lower teeth consisting of 27 crowns supported by 10 implants. Some of my natural teeth were extracted and others ground down. My permanent new teeth were fitted on the last Friday of my stay and we returned to the USA the next day. All the surgery was performed under local anaesthetic and was virtually pain-free. The most uncomfortable part of the treatment was the taking of the impressions for the temporary dentures and the permanent teeth and the pressing into a place of the new teeth this being due to the pressure that had to be exerted to ensure a good fit and a strong bonding of the cement. My new teeth felt quite comfortable straight away and have been completely problem-free for the 7 years since I received them. The only money that I have spent at the dentist has been for routine check-ups. I cannot be categorical but it is my belief that I would have spent more money repairing and maintaining my “old” teeth than I spent on acquiring my new teeth. With regard to the way the clinic operates, as other patients have noted, appointment times are virtually meaningless but nevertheless in my case whatever was scheduled to take place on any given day always did indeed take place on that day but much time was inevitably spent waiting. We stayed in the “on-site’ accommodation which is relatively austere but totally adequate and of course very convenient. The clinic is located within walking distance of the centre of San Jose. Although it is impossible to project the future, based on my experience to date, I count my decision to become a patient of the Dr. Marco Clinic one of the best I have made and I recommend this clinic without reservation.