Isabel Flores used to have nightmares about her teeth falling out when she was young. To this day, the 56-year-old Arizonian does her best to take care of her teeth to prevent that from happening. But her teeth are very sensitive, and her past struggles with substance use weakened them. Around 10 years ago, a dentist told her that she was losing bone in her teeth, and that she needed an emergency deep cleaning to scale plaque from below her gum line. But Isabel was on Medicaid at the time, and Arizona does not offer adult dental benefits to its program recipients.
Isabel drove 15 minutes to the U.S.-Mexico border, and crossed into Los Algodones, sometimes called “Molar City” for its booming dentistry scene. She found a dentist working out of a room in an alley.
Isabel has returned to Los Algodones for dental concerns several times. Since then, her teeth have become increasingly sensitive to the point that chewing food is often painful; her bridge and her fillings need to be replaced. She questions the quality of the care she received, but isn’t sure how she will continue to care for her teeth. She stresses about missing work if she gets a toothache, which for her “is one of the worst pains that you can have,” she says. “It’s not like I could make an appointment here [in the U.S.].”
Source: Dental Tourism Is Booming Amid Trump Admin Medicaid Cuts / TPM