Arrested Development - Ex-Pats Mexico

Two people, one being Rick have been treated by the dentist by using a compound that is applied directly to the cavity no drilling required....as far as I know Mexico is the only place I have heard of so far that does this.

Total cost for cleaning, xrays and fix cavity 700 pesos for Rick, Ajijic

My cost for dental work 6 small cavities, deep clean, and crown 5000 pesos, I had my work done in La Penita








Can anybody expound on this procedure?

Here is what I found out, the procedure is called air abrasion.There are many articles on dental air abrasion pro and con. If you don't know the dentist well or know people who have tried this procedure.Do your homework!!

Air Abrasion is a new technology intended to replace the dentist's drill and the need for anesthesia in many dental procedures. Air abrasion is a bit like microscopic sand blasting using a stream of air combined with a super fine abrasive powder to remove tooth decay. Because a drill is not being used, there's usually no need for anesthetic. The use of the air abrasion technique enables the dentist to practice minimally - invasive dentistry or "MID". Air abrasion allows you to be more precise by removing the bare minimum of healthy tooth structure.

http://www.findadentist.net/info.htm

When used with improved composite resins (white plastic fillings), the technique of air abrasion can provide early treatment of simple tooth decay with small, conservative restorations. In the wrong hands, the technique can be extremely dangerous.

The technology is similar to a sandblaster with a fine tip. These machines blast aluminum oxide particles through a very small opening (0.375 -0.5 mm) with high-pressure air (up to about 160 pounds per square inch) on a surface area of 0.11 square millimeters. This can rapidly abrade tooth enamel or dentin. Proponents say that these machines are a major advance in dentistry because "micro-dentistry" is now possible. Tiny holes can be cut to shallow depths without rotary cutting tools (drills or burrs). Actually, however, the smallest drills can equal the smallest hole cut by these machines and provide more precision.

Since air abrasion machines are expensive to purchase and maintain, the dentist has an added incentive to use them excessively.

http://www.dentalwatch.org/questionable/air.html

FYI:
Air abrasion should not be used to remove amalgam fillings.

See link for other important info !!

I have found that taping your good teeth with a good quality duct tape and standing next to a busy Mexican highway while smiling will produce similar results.

With 6 filings and a crown ... that would require some fancy duct-tape work

An exacto knife should work great.