I was there three days and had three root canals, three crowns for those teeth, six fillings (Dr. Gastelum actually fixed some small ridges and pits also, free of charge), and a cleaning. She actually cleaned my teeth twice, once the first day I got there so that she could evaluate my mouth, I had a lot of stains on my teeth and it was hard to tell cavities from stains. She then cleaned my mouth again, very thoroughly, on the last day after I was done with all the other work. She only charged me for one. For the root canals, they have a specialist (the name of which I can't remember unfortunately), who they called and who came with all his equipment and did the work. The three root canals took about three hours, with very little pain. If I felt anything, he would make sure to give me more anesthetic because he told me very specifically "I don't do work if you have pain." He did the root canals, post and core, and then Dr. Gastelum did the build-up and crowns. The work ended up costing me around $1,700 - in the US, with insurance, it would have cost me something like $4,000. Without insurance it would have cost me close to $6,000 or more, so it was obviously a great deal. I feel like the treatment I got was the same quality as in the US - it's been two weeks, so we'll have to see how it does long term, but right now I'm very happy. I have some implants done by another dentist that I am planning on getting restored through Happy Mouth, and also am looking at bringing my Mom for some work she needs done.
I contacted literally 10+ clinics before I chose Happy Mouth. There were others with more reviews, others with more information online, but none of them responded to my questions consistently and went back and forth with me about what I wanted done and how they would do it like Dr. Gastelum and the staff at Happy Mouth. I probably sent and received upwards of 20 emails back and forth. I also was actually communicating with Dr. Gastelum much of the time, not some assistant or a "patient representative," meaning she could answer questions that I had about her techniques and her experience, etc. I'm a difficult patient - this was my first time in Algodones, and I was nervous, wanting every ounce of information I could get. They provided that, and that level of customer service was what convinced me to give them a try.
As far as the actual clinic, it's very small, with four chairs in the front and a receptionist table, a small hallway with a restroom at the end and then a off to the right two dental chairs. Some of the equipment in the clinic is older and not new and shiny, which scared me a little bit, but everything was sterilized and Dr. Gastelum and her assistant Dina were professional, and that's what ended up counting to me.
The owner of the clinic is named Yadira, and her family owns a lot of property in the town including restaurants. She made sure I had all the food and beverages I wanted, on them, because there was some time waiting. Overall, I recommend the clinic. Dr. Gastelum is a great, kind dentist, and as I said, the level of service was what really made it a good experience for me. I wasn't rushed, and I felt valued as a customer.
