Everyone knows that breakfast is important: it gives you energy, helps you maintain a regular eating and weight schedule, and is just a good way to start the day. Unfortunately, so many people let the meal go by so often that when they do remember to eat it, they make some pretty terrible choices. There are loads of popular breakfast foods out there that should never pass your lips, regardless of how hungry or rushed you might be. The hectic schedule of college life isn’t a good excuse, either: like it or not, there are some breakfast items it’s time to avoid. Continue reading “10 Unhealthy Breakfast Foods You Should Avoid”
Can Dental Tourism Cut the Cost of Treatment?
Patients Beyond Borders, a consumer information organization that focuses on medical travel, estimated that more than 1.2 million Americans travel abroad for medical tourism each year. Other estimates, including this one cited by Fox News, noted that some 480,000 Americans also go overseas for dental care each year.
Whenever terms like “medical tourism” and “dental tourism” are mentioned, they usually conjure images of hordes of people from developed countries traveling abroad with one thing in mind: to save money on cosmetic surgery and dentistry procedures.
There is a certain charm to the idea. Aside from the potential savings, many of those who go abroad for dental vacations are attracted to the thought that they can also go on a “free” leisure trip on the side. For these people, dental tourism means getting the desired treatment while also taking a dream vacation at the same time.
It all looks very promising, but did you know that medical and dental tourism is also happening the other way around? Today, there’s a burgeoning niche industry that is attracting thousands of medical and dental tourists from all over the world into the United States.
This market comprises wealthy individuals from Western Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Far East Asia, who all come to the country to obtain the cosmetic and dental procedures they need from renowned medical professionals while also taking advantage of the country’s first-rate medical facilities.
Unable to afford dental treatment
If a patient cannot afford the price of dental treatment in their own country, then they can travel abroad to save on average 50-70% on their dental treatments. A Dental Implant in the United States Costs around $3000 USD Vs A Dental Implant in Mexico, which costs $800 USD. This is on average around $2,200 USD savings. By traveling abroad, a patient can receive the same or higher quality dental care than at home. With 50-70% savings on dental care, a patient without insurance can afford high-quality dental treatment in countries such as Mexico and Thailand.
Save money for more fun activities – Explore the globe
Why spend money on your teeth when you can take the savings and use it for something you truly enjoy such as a vacation. You can receive quality dental care all over the globe with great savings in Central and South America, Eastern Europe and South East Asia. This is a great way to pay for your travel with the savings on your dental care!
Dental Departures insights
Last year, Dental Departures helped around 520,00 Americans cross international borders into Mexico for dental care. Dental Departures projects a growth rate of approximately 30%, says Paul McTaggart, CEO of Dental Departures. The numbers don’t lie. Dental Departures has booked tens of thousands of appointments for dental care in Mexico over the past 2.5 years.
Patients experience a 50-70% saving on their dental care in Mexico vs. dentistry in the USA. These savings vary by clinic/dental procedure and does not include the cost of travel. In the majority of cases, US dental insurance (*varies by provider) will reimburse dental care in Mexico. The clinics in Mexico will complete the paperwork from the dental insurance provider and the patient will be reimbursed after submitting the receipts & paperwork from the dentist.
The most popular dental procedures for Americans patients visiting a dentist in Mexico are Dental Implants, Crowns, Veneers, Fillings and Extractions; and the top destinations for Americans to get dental care in Mexico are Tijuana, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen, Cabo San Lucas, and Los Algodones.
Getting dental care in Mexico is safe. You will find highly trained dentists, state-of-the-art facilities and excellent customer care service. Dental Departure’s partner clinics in Mexico have been pre-screened using a 4-step process: a site visit, a quality survey, online reputation & dental license verification.
The chance of something going wrong is a rare occurrence based on their experience: Dental Departures sees an error rate of 0.5%. In these extreme cases, Dental Departures acts as the advocate for the patient and will make sure the Mexico dentist fixes the problem & reimburse the patient.
Mexico: the Perfect Dental Tourism Destination
People are choosing dental tourism instead of local dentistry services, simply because the prices for these services have got out of control at home. The dental insurances are extremely expensive and they offer little coverage, while people who need cosmetic dentistry procedures are not offered coverage at all by insurance policies. Therefore, the next best choice of many people is dental tourism in Mexico.
Mexico is a wonderful country, a superb tourist destination, but also a place where you will find extremely skilled specialists in the medical field. Even more so, several dentists working in Mexico have got their diplomas from universities in the US. Canada and U.S residents find it extremely accessible and convenient to travel to Mexico when they are in need of such dental treatments. Getting to Mexico from either Canada or the US is a relatively short trip which is also inexpensive.
Then, Mexico is the land of well over 100 world class teaching institutions. Here are trained thousands of specialists coming from foreign countries, and the Mexican educational system puts very high stress on well skilled and highly trained professionals in the dental field.
One huge mistake that many Americans or Canadians do is to visit for dental tourism only the dental offices that are located at the so-called cross border shopping areas — these are offices that can be found in cities in the immediate vicinity of the border.
However, some even more specialized and high-quality dental offices can be found in the true heart of Mexico where the world-renowned dental tourist destinations can be found. These include Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta or Cancun. Matching a beautiful holiday with having your dental issues treated in these places is the best thing you can do. After the dental treatment, you can visit all the wonderful beaches, museums and tourist villages that are a major attraction in Mexico. Before embarking on your journey make sure to run a thorough research dental tourism online, regarding the destination that you have chosen.
There are also several helpful dentist directories and dentist websites that can offer you high quality and reliable information.
For Teeth Sake – Foods Everyone Should Avoid
Taffy
Whether it’s store-bought tootsie rolls or grandmas homemade rolled taffy, this sticky substance is no good for your teeth. With its sticky texture and ability to stick to your teeth quickly, it is more likely to leave a sugary substance on your teeth longer causing cavities. Taffy can also be detrimental to your oral health because it can adhere to fillings and pull your entire filling out.
Citrus
Taken in strides, citrus can be good for you. However, if eaten too frequently, citrus can erode away your enamel leaving your teeth a little softer and a lot easier to break. If you do eat a lot of citrus foods, brush immediately afterward so that the citrus itself isn’t left on your teeth for longer than necessary. If you drink citrus juices, try to avoid citrus juices that contain a lot of citric acid such as grapefruit juice or juices with lemon and lime additives.
Soda
Sugary filled drinks such as soda are one of the leading causes of cavities in children and adults. How is Soda so bad for your teeth? Because it’s typically consumed during daytime hours where people are away from their bathrooms or places where they can brush their teeth, the sugar and syrups from the soda have more time to sit on your teeth and cause cavities. To prevent having cavities caused by soda, try either avoiding sugary drinks altogether or try diet sodas.
Energy Drinks
Energy drinks are misconceiving in many aspects for both your physical and oral health. Although energy drinks contain electrolytes to help your body recuperate from physical activity, they also contain a large amount of sugar which in turn can cause cavities and enamel erosion. People typically think that because these energy drinks are good for them that it isn’t necessary to brush their teeth afterward, but in fact, it is quite the opposite. Either brush your teeth after you consume an energy drink or simply drink water.
Coffee
Coffee is one of those things that many people can’t seem to give up; it has a taste that people crave and is packed full of the caffeine most people need to survive in the mornings. If you’re one of those people who can’t kick your coffee habit to the curb, try rinsing your mouth with water after you drink a cup because water reduces acid erosion and stains by a significant amount.
Top 4 Foods You Didn’t Know Were Bad Your Teeth
We all know that chomping on candy and drinking sugary sodas is bad for our teeth. But did you know that, while you’re diligently avoiding those things, your teeth are being quietly attacked by other foods you might not have thought of? Here are the top 4 foods that you probably didn’t realize were bad for your teeth.
Diet Sodas
If you’re a fan of a nice cold soda, then you might think that switching to a sugar-free variety is doing your teeth a favor. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong; diet sodas can be just as bad, or even worse for your teeth than regular soda.
Did you know that diet sodas are strongly acidic, with a pH level of around 3.2? To put that into perspective, battery acid has a pH of 1, and water has a pH of 7.
OK, diet soda isn’t like drinking battery acid, but it does have a corrosive effect on the protective enamel layer that surrounds your teeth. Once your enamel has been worn down, it’s never coming back, and plaque bacteria are free to attack the fragile tooth underneath.
Fruit Juices and Smoothies
In an effort to ween children off sodas that are bad for their health, the latest trend is to substitute them for “healthy” fruit juices and smoothies.
These drinks might provide your body with nutrients and vitamins that are great for overall health, but they play havoc with your teeth. Smoothies can be worse than diet sodas; not only are they very acidic, but they also contain a lot of sugar.
If you do enjoy the occasional soda or smoothie, rinse your mouth out with clean water afterward, and brush your teeth 30 to 40 minutes later.
Bread
People often forget that most bread recipes contain sugar. A spoonful of sugar in a homemade loaf of bread isn’t going to cause any problems, but when was the last time you looked at the nutritional content of a shop bought loaf?
Now, this depends on where in the world you live, but in some countries (such as the United States), shop-bought bread can contain a whole spoon of sugar in every single slice!
If you enjoy toast and jam for breakfast, this can be mean that you’ve eaten 10 spoons of sugar before you’ve barely started the day. Add a few spoons into your coffee, and your total is 12 spoons of sugar for breakfast!
Get into the habit of checking the nutritional information on the back of shop-bought bread. Four grams and over means that there’s a spoon of sugar in every single slice.
Deli Meat
This is another one that surprises people, but sugar is indeed added to deli meat both as a preservative and for flavor.
Compared with the other foods on our list, deli meat contains a relatively low amount of sugar. But the problem is that it does tend to get stuck in-between the teeth; providing a fertile breeding ground for plaque.
If you look forward to a sandwich loaded with deli meat every lunchtime, then you really need to make sure that you’re flossing your teeth every day. Brushing simply can’t reach in-between your teeth, and you don’t want to leave fragments of meat in your mouth for plaque bacteria to munch on!
12 Proven Strategies for Preventing and Curing Hangovers
From the pounding headache to the queasy stomach and dry mouth – hangovers aren’t pretty. Being punished for having too much fun is most certainly unfair, but it comes with the territory if you’re going to drink. Hangovers can strike anyone for any number of reasons. Most people experience hangovers after drinking to excess, while others can get one after only a couple drinks. Knowing how to prevent hangovers and heal them is key to having a good night and pain-free morning. Here are 12 proven strategies for preventing and curing hangovers: Continue reading “12 Proven Strategies for Preventing and Curing Hangovers”
Under Eye Circles: What Could be the Cause?
If you suffer from dark circles under your eyes and topical treatment has failed, poor nutrition may be the culprit. There are nutritional factors such as vitamin deficiencies, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and even food allergies that may result in the formation of these dark circles. When determining what might be causing your under-eye coloring, initially alter only one aspect of your diet. Allow your body a few days to adjust to the dietary change before making any conclusions or attempting another nutritional alteration. Continue reading “Under Eye Circles: What Could be the Cause?”