People Travel from Across the Country for This. Here's Why.

So we both got dental implants, but you actually traveled over twelve hundred miles to get yours done. I think that, today, we're gonna talk about the differences between traveling within the continental United States versus overseas. And then really important, we're gonna talk about three mistakes to avoid when traveling to get your dental implant procedure done. Did you look outside the United States at all? I inquired. I had a couple friends where I live, that are pretty well off and they traveled outside of the United States. They had cash to pay out front. Not everybody has that. Most people that have the issues that I have and many people that I know don't have that kind of cash. Otherwise, we wouldn't be suffering the way we are. And so this person went and came back. There was some problems. She had to go back Yeah. Fly over you know, overseas again, spill this money in a hotel, and had to go a third time. So with a place like that, you might not ever really know what the cost is gonna be. Yeah. Because whenever you go, you think it's gonna be cheaper at first. And, oh my gosh, that's all you're seeing is those dollar signs. But if something goes wrong, what do you do? Exactly. So I researched other other companies, went and personally saw other places. They couldn't guarantee the same cost. Local. That were local. I could have gone eighty miles out, but, again, they wanna do piece work. And having experienced that for the last fifteen, seventeen years of piece work, you're just chasing the tire sale. You know, you're putting one fire up to another. Right. They tell you to wait six weeks, six months, whatever. Just not gonna happen. It's not gonna solve your problem. And where I was with my most of my teeth gone, I needed to to take care of it. My mental health was suffering. Oh, yeah. I was just and it wasn't it's not a vanity thing. People it's so confused. It's not a vanity thing. It's it affects so many aspects of your life. When I cut this other called this other big company, they had made an appointment. And they're like, well, this is our price. And it was it was substantially higher than what I end up paying for my my beautiful teeth. Even counting the travel. Even counting the travel. So, I mean That's awesome to hear. Because there's a lot of people. They wanna know. Yeah. And when I asked them, I go, so what if I have to get a sinus lift? Well, it's twenty four hundred dollars per right or left. So that's another five thousand dollars right there. Mhmm. I go, what if I need bone graft? Well, we have to make that conclusion when we get here. I go, well, you can't give me a price, an all inclusive price. Well, if we don't have to do any of those things, we'll start the process, then you'll go away for two weeks, and we'll come back because we don't wanna do it all in one day. And I'm like, well, you kinda advertise that. You know. They couldn't really back it up with information. It made me feel comfortable. So I canceled the appointment. Mhmm. Called Nubia. Made my Twelve hundred miles away. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I probably could have gone closer, but, like I said, once I made up my mind to change my life, I wanted to make it, something memorable. I wanted to be in the beautiful mountains. And it's what what do they what do they advertise? Teeth in? Twenty four hours. Twenty four hours. Yeah. And it's fast, not in the fast way, but they're trying to get you out the door. Every person has their job. Right. And it's they're they're an expert at what they do. The first thing you get there, they do x rays, make sure everything's good, make sure I don't need, you know, sinus lifts, bone grafts, that kind of stuff, bone density, whatever they're they were talking about. Because with Nubia, it's all included from the anesthesia to to everything. All included. There was no Right. There's no surprises whatsoever. No surprises. None whatsoever. And, you know, I and they reassured me when I got that. Go, hey. Well, before we do this, what if I need this or this? They're like, it's not an issue. Even though you're twelve hundred miles away? Yeah. Fantastic. Day two, when they showed me the teeth of what my options were, the different kinds of styles of teeth, I kinda told them what I wanted, and they matched it perfectly. Did all the measurements. So when I had surgery on Wednesday, they'd already have measurements and everything they needed. So they put me under. I woke up to a room full of experts doing the work, and then went home. Went to the hotel. To the hotel. Recovery on that Thursday Mhmm. And then or that Wednesday, and then came back on Thursday. And get the teeth put in. And put them in, and you're ready to go. Popped them in. No discomfort. You know, it's it's a foreign object in your mouth. You know? I haven't had dentures. I was I was used to it. So if anyone else had never experienced that, it might be kind of odd, but, it's great. It's It's a great experience. So they put them in, and then how much how longer much longer were you there? One more day, and I left. I mean, I just saw them for, you know, post post op visit on my way out. Got in the plane. I was fine. I had some, Advil. I felt good. Slept on the plane, came home, and just stayed and recovered. And after seven days, I looked great. So at the time you're doing this, was the cost guide available that they have now? I didn't have a physical cost guide. We spoke on Zoom. Okay. I end up getting information through the mail for financing, because after that, the in via the the cost guide, we had the discussion. So they sent me information about, rates, what I was looking for, how much my monthly payment would be. And, also, that's based on what my needs were. Correct. You know, I needed a full upper and lower arch. Mhmm. So they evaluated your whole situation and then y'all discussed price, financing All of it. Things like that in the investment. K? Yes. Well, NUVIA provided me with this cost guide. I actually put the link to this cost guide in the description below that will direct you on actually why the cost is what it is. Here are the top three mistakes to avoid while getting this procedure done. Number three is not to choose the first place that just seems nice, that just seems like it's gonna fit your budget, that you've already preconceived that you might need, but it is to do your research. Pick the place that's going to fit you best. And like anything, it's like if you buy a new vehicle, you're gonna invest your money in a home or, a pool or whatever your your your interest is. You have I advise anybody to get research it. Right. You have to do what you're investing your money in. I knew what the costs were gonna be. Right. I knew what, I could afford and what I was willing to expand beyond that because at this point in my life, I decided to invest in myself. Investing. That's a that's a big thing. So number two of the mistakes to avoid is not knowing upfront cost because, you know, we don't wanna go in and just, hey. Here's my checkbook. Just write one in fill in whatever you want. So Yeah. And then also, whenever you're traveling like this, you might not know the timeline. The timeline could be just something crazy. You know? Absolutely. Well, Nubia, with Nubia, there was options to to get a timeline. Uh-huh. I asked them for dates, and then I picked the date that worked for me. And then I was able to schedule my life around that. So I knew I had upcoming events I had to go to, so I picked the date that I picked in July, and that worked really well for me. Whatever your lifestyle is, it was twenty four hours. Yes. Basically, twenty four hour turnaround. And as we all know, time is money. Unlike the company I almost went in with before, like I said, we're talking a six thousand dollar difference or more. Had I chosen them, and I wouldn't have known that till I till I actually had gotten there. Mhmm. And it was gonna cost me a hundred and fifty dollars just for the x rays and stuff. So there was that cost just going to to do that. I didn't get that. K. Because with Nuvi, it's all included. Yeah. I mean, my sister had a friend who went to Mexico and got the work done. And immediately came back and did the wrong things, ate the wrong food, and had to go back. Oh. Although it was her fault, but it it became a a big expensive mess. Even though it was her fault, it doesn't change the fact. Yeah. So with a place like that, you might not ever really know what the cost is gonna be. Yeah. How long has it been since you got them in? Oh, seven months. Seven months. So in those seven months, you're twelve hundred miles away. Yeah. Have you had to go back for any issues? No. You go back after four months. Uh-huh. Sooner, obviously, if you're closer by, but four months because, obviously, there's gonna be the swelling's gonna go down, and there's gonna be some, adjustments tweaking and twerking of the the adjustments. But, yeah, my gums heal great. I went back. You learn to floss. You learn to use a Waterpik and do all that kind of stuff. Number one thing to avoid would probably be going overseas to have this done. I can from what I've learned from people I know that have gone overseas, their experience wasn't that great. They went because they thought they were saving money. Mhmm. And maybe they were paying cash upfront to get a a bit of a discount, and I think we'll know discounts are just that. When you discount something, you're not I don't believe you get the full benefit sometimes. You know? A friend of mine went, had the work done at a good cost, had issues immediately, came home, had to go back, which was costly, stayed at a hotel, to hold, rent a car, all that kind of stuff. And when and when this person came back, there was still issues with their teeth that they dealt with here, but still had to go back with their time. And I'm sure they have amazing doctors, but with my research, I could research exactly what I was getting here, and I don't get that same information when I try to research somebody from another country. Well, you know you know, I was I got mine done not very far, you know, where you actually traveled. Yeah. And you've had great success. I had great success. I had one small issue, and I only had to travel an hour. Yeah. But guess what? They took care of that issue right there on the spot. I couldn't imagine if I would have had it done somewhere else, like overseas. Yeah. And I would have had just for that little bitty issue that I had, I would have had to travel all the way over there and spend all kinds of extra money just to get some little bitty issue handled Yeah. Where you actually travel way further than I did and with inside the United States. Yeah. I couldn't imagine if either one of us would have had to go outside the United States and had any issues. It would have been a financial burden. Plus, it would have been really stressed out. Correct. You know? But it really wouldn't have added to the anxiety I already had prior to making that decision. Like I said, once I made a decision to go, I never looked back. So there was I've zero anxiety around my teeth right now. And this company has state of the art equipment. I don't know what I'm walking into when I go to the other country. You have no clue. Not be laying in bed, you know, in pain or whatever and just like, what's gonna happen next? No. I wanna go and smile at the pool with my brand new teeth I got here in the States. You know? So I agree. Yeah. So yeah. So that's the three things to avoid. And, again, we mentioned cost in that and not really knowing. And now they have the the price guide the price guide right here. So just, you can click the link below and click on it, read up on it, get some answers. So, Christopher, we talked about all these things. And before we end this segment, do you have anything else that you'd like to add concerning travel wise, extra cost, things like that that would help the people watching this video? I think all those things work themselves out once you decide to love yourself and do something for yourself. You love your kids, you love your job, you love your family, your dog. Love who you are enough to to take care of yourself Because if you're not all there, you can't have all those things working for you. You know? You can't be the best person you are. Right. Who you're intended to be. Exactly. And it's like I said, it's not a cosmetic issue. It's it's it covers every aspect of your life. You know?

A lot of people you see, they're either going to to Mexico or they're going to Turkey or somewhere like that to get this done because it seems to be cheaper. Why did you choose to go to the US instead of going out of the country? So, guys, we all got, dental implants, but the difference between mine and y'all's is y'all traveled for them. One of y'all traveled from Northern California, the other from Alaska. What made y'all decide that, y'all needed to travel such a great distance? And you could have chose other things like going out of the country, but y'all came to Utah and other places. Why? I traveled all the way from Alaska because I had looked into it before I moved to Alaska. Of course, it was gonna be traveling back and forth back and forth, and I really didn't like the fact that I couldn't get it done in twenty four hours. So while you're up in remote Alaska, there's probably not very many dentists. Correct? That's correct. I live in a little bitty borough of three hundred people, and we have one grocery store, one gas station, one liquor store. I was in Alaska for a while and had pulled a few of my own teeth in Alaska. We've all been there. So that's why I needed to get it done. It was affecting my health, and I had no confidence. I never smiled. I hadn't smiled since my thirties. You know? My smile was a smirk. And you already said your phone didn't get very good signal. So how did NUVIA come about on your radar? I happened to be in town where I had service on my phone, and I saw an ad on Facebook. It just popped up. Was on Facebook. It popped up. Fantastic. And I was like, wow. Twenty four hour of teeth. That's what sold me. That's what made me start looking into Nuvia. And you're talking about your medical conditions besides your dental issues, which was your heart stents. I heard a survey that said that you're more likely to have heart attacks and things like that due to your dental dental issues. Did that play any bearing on your, decision to not only go at it not not just besides not having a dentist close, but also getting this done as quick as possible. Yes. Yes. Very much so. That was my number one reason for getting this done because gum disease does affect your heart very, very strongly, actually. So once you saw that ad, how long was it before you actually called them? Almost the next day. Because that's the biggest that's the first step right there. Yeah. K? Because I wanted to see if I was a good candidate or not. So you you got got a hold of Nuvia. Right. Didn't charge you a dime for it. Not a dime. K. So then what happened after that? You flew back to United States? Me, Chris, and Casey all flew back to Seattle, then we got hung up in Seattle missing flights, but then ended up in Salt Lake City. And, when I ended up in Salt Lake City, first thing they did was give me a tour of the place. And I was quite impressed with having a lab right underneath the dental office. And then we set up for the next day for my official appointments and stuff, and that's when I started my Smile consultation and all that, picking teeth, and they did the scan, make sure being from Alaska, there was kind of a rush case because they knew I wasn't gonna be coming back right away. You know? It's not like I could go home, come back, go home, come back. So we did everything in two days, two two and a half days, actually. Awesome. So so you got there. You'd visited the thing on your first day. You had your smile design the next day. Then the next day, what they Well, actually, that afternoon That afternoon. They did surgery. Wow. I picked I picked my teeth. I picked the color. They they did the scan and all that, made sure I was a good candidate, went over all the procedures that they were gonna do as far as surgery and everything, and made sure that my health was gonna be alright, and all my counts were good. And then that afternoon, I had surgery. And I think I was out of surgery about four, four thirty, something like that. And Chris and Casey, carried me to not carried me, but helped me get to my hotel room and in safely into the room and down and set so that I'd be ready for the next morning. So you didn't have any family members there or anything. So Nubia, the both Nubia was my family. Acted like your family. Make sure Yeah. They are my family now. That's fantastic. So you got to your hotel room. You got in bed, relaxed, you know, waited. And then what happened the next day? Next day, they wake me up, mhmm, and, pick me up, take me back to the office. At three o'clock that afternoon, my teeth were in. And by, say, six o'clock that evening, I was eating pasta in a trolley car downtown. Fantastic. It was. It was absolutely amazing. That's awesome. But a lot of people you see, they're either going to to Mexico or they're going to, Turkey or somewhere like that to get this done, mostly due to price, which we'll discuss some of that in a little while. But why did you choose to go to Utah instead of going out of the country? Well, I I thought about Mexico. I'm from Texas, and I had thought about Mexico because I knew about Mexico dental work. And the one thing that sold me on NUVIA over Mexico was that if I was gonna go to Mexico to get the work done, I was gonna have to make three, four trips down to Mexico back and forth, back and forth, paying the airfare, lodging, all that kind of stuff while NUVIA took care of me like I was theirs. But but but you just said it was cheaper? Yeah. Well You said that first initial price was cheaper. Not in the long run? Not in the long run. The if you add all that airfare up and hotels and traveling back and forth, you know, missing work Kinda like a little bait. Right. He also was in Northern California, and he traveled to Utah to get his done. Yeah. I had researched many other places, overseas, talked to people that had gone to Mexico and opted, not to go to Mexico because I didn't wanna take a chance on anything going wrong. And we talked before this podcast about you having a local dentist about eighty miles from your house? There was a local dentist. I went there and made another company. I spoke to them. They gave me a quote that was significantly higher than the quote I got with Nuvia. Even being twelve hundred miles away, their quote was more expensive. It was higher, but I was going to get the whole story from everybody. You know, I I wanted to gather as much information as I could to make a really educated choice. Then when I, because I had a knowledge of what the process was, I asked them about, bone grafts, sinus lifts and what they told me that wasn't included, but their costs, like, well, I go, what is the cost? They go, well, it depends if you need one or two. It's two, dollars two thousand five hundred per sinus lift. So that's five thousand dollars right there that they couldn't account for until they saw me. And they were going to charge me for my x rays, dollars one hundred and fifty to go down there. So I put that on the burner, went back online, did some more research, saw the testimonials, watched people. I felt their experience. I I I could tell by the help that was there, the doctors, the nurses, the receptionists that the care they were given was much more than what I witnessed from this other company. I'm I was immediately gotten back to you by phone, by text, with really good reassurance, addressed by my name, very considerate, checking up on me. And, they made every provision to make the experience really simple for me and easy. And both of y'all, y'all travel travel great distances to get this done. Did y'all you said you researched some stuff. You probably did your research also. Right, Butch? Did you I did some Mexican research yet. Awesome. Did y'all notice that, NUVIA had tons of five star reviews? Yes. That that the reviews play any part in big part of picking where I went. Right. And so y'all read most of those reviews? I saw a lot of bad reviews in Mexico. But not on Nubia. Uh-huh. Nubia. Yes. There's not a whole lot to do in Alaska. I'm pretty sure, so you probably had a lot of time to read those reviews. Right. So I'd have to sit at the library because of my phone service. Yes. Was there anything that stuck out to y'all about those reviews? Basically, all the positive reviews at NUVIA. They were all positive. I mean, I was looking at reviews about swelling and bruising and all that kind of stuff, and some said, you know, it's all independent on the person. Some people bruised real bad. Some people minor bruising. Other people swole up like plums, and other people, no swelling at all. I was one of the lucky ones that barely bruised and barely swole. But, yeah, I have seen both. So another big question that we get all the time is cost. And, obviously, that's important to everyone. Whenever you were looking, whether it was out of the country, right up the road from your house, or twelve, fourteen hundred miles away, How did cost play a bearing on y'all? Well, cost for me, was always in the forefront until I did the research and saw the the, the reviews with Nubia and realized that it's much more, I had to take into consideration the, the quality of service I was getting. And so, although the cost was always in the forefront of my mind, it was my experience and having had the worst experience in the last fifteen years. I mean, I, I suffered miserably. I knew my body. I knew my healing process. I wasn't too concerned about the healing and all of that stuff we we touched on because I had all my upper teeth pulled and had minimal swelling and healed relatively quick. So I knew, that probably wouldn't be an issue. But, yeah, it was just a really good experience. I'm glad I made that choice. Did y'all know that we had a cost guide? No. No. Not at all. The cool thing is Nuvia has a cost guide now, and it's downloadable. For those watching the video, they can click the link below this video, then it goes over all kinds of things. Any questions that you might have as far as different types of procedures. Gives them a nice quick estimate so they can get an idea of what it's really gonna cost. So it answers a lot of questions and clears up a lot of things for people so that they can get started on their journey just like you two have. So as far as affordability, do you feel like not everybody can afford it, or do you feel like there's there's a way somehow? I don't know how to say, well, financing. Nubia does supply financing. It's pretty easy, pretty simple. I, actually finance a quarter of my cost because I wanted to help build my credit a little bit more, so I just financed a quarter of it. But I imagine they'll finance the whole thing if you need to. Yeah. They can. Knowing what the the high end was when I looked to research the cost for getting dental implants, new guys I don't think they can be touched, especially with the quality of care you get after you've had the surgery. So having that said, the price that I was quoted for the work that I needed was substantially lower than the the the quote that I got with the other company and way lower than the seventy five thousand dollars that I was quoted by a personal doctor in the town that I lived. And that was gonna take up six months to a year to finish. You know? So I'd be walking around with temporaries or no teeth at all for a long time. So I was really happy that I financed it a hundred percent. I have a really manageable payment every month. And like I said, there were no hidden costs at all. Yeah. There were no hidden costs at all for either one of you. Nope. So where most places, their their cost is all inclusive. It covered your anesthesia. Anything there is no like I said, we're else couldn't guarantee no hidden cost. Look. And because y'all have had this issue where before, I'm sure, where you went to the doctor and you gave him whatever they said you owed. And then a month later, you got a bill in the mail, and it said, oh, you gotta pay this person and this person and this person. Wasn't that way with NUVIA, was it? No. There was nothing at all. They're just this is it, and that was the price. All inclusive. All inclusive. No cost for x rays, anything. No hidden? Nothing? Nothing. So with both of y'all living so far away, you fourteen hundred plus miles and you in the frozen tundra of Alaska, have y'all had any problems with your implants since y'all got them? I've had none. I went back on my four month visit. Everything was great. Everything healed. My gums were in great shape. They adjusted my my implants, and I've been good to go ever since. And you, Butch? No problems at all. Like, Chris said, we have to go back after four months, but mine was a little bit longer because of the distance that I live. But they took impressions, made sure the gum line fit nice and tight, reinstalled them, and I've had no problems since. So another question that we get a lot on the smile page and stuff is about the gap. Would you mind showing us how your teeth fit in there, where they have to at all. Now that they're nice and tight. Awesome. As y'all can see, that's artwork right there. Artwork. So a lot of people talk about the space between the gum and the and the prosthetic. So have you had any issues with that that were just, oh my gosh, kinda issues? No. I I was always one that hated flossing. You know? So Nubia will teach you how to use the floss that goes underneath your prosthetic. It's real simple, and it's an easy process. And they turned me on to a Waterpik, which is the most amazing device I've ever seen. You know? And, Chris, with your experience after everything got to where it needed to be, what was your experience with the space between your prosthetic and your gum line? I was fine with it. It made the initial flossing easier to do. The Waterpik was easier, and I and I knew ahead of time that that was gonna happen. It wasn't visible to anybody, so I was on them when they knew it was there. So when it felt like there was any buildup, I would use the water pick. I could get it out there, not even noticeable at all. And then when I went back after four months, like I said, they adjusted them. It was great. You know? Fantastic. Amazing. I mean, best experience ever at the dentist, honestly. So, guys, we talked about the gap. We talked about a little about cost and and the cost guide, which is in the link at the bottom of this video. We also whenever you have y'all ever been to places? I went to many places myself. One place, it was one person. She was going to be the person who removed my teeth, the person who gave me a cocktail and while I was awake, she was going to do all the work, the anesthesiology, everything. The The whole time I'm wondering, she only has two hands. Somebody's gonna be I'm gonna be holding one of them, especially if I'm awake. So at Nuvia, such as I found, did y'all find a difference in the kind of treatment that they gave and the people that they had on staff to take care of you. It wasn't just one person, was it? It was the text I got up until the time I got off the plane, so I got to the hotels, so I got to the center. The the greeting that I got by name, sitting down immediately called in, the x-ray tech, and taken to the room and having my mouth looked at and told what was gonna happen, coming in and picking the color the next day. Everyone had a specific job and were an expertise at their job. Like you said, it wasn't the same person when you go to a dentist and they sit you in a chair and leave you for twenty minutes and take care of the other three people that are in chairs. It was And then your surgery time, what all I went under surgery. Woke up. It was, like, five minutes. I woke up. There was, like, eight, ten doctors in the room. No way. All working feverishly to make everything perfect. And even after that, the the dentist had designed the teeth was working on my mouth and taking more measurements to make sure everything was accurate, which was amazing. Eight to ten people. Yeah. He said, from what I can say, I was pretty adamant. But you woke up and there was a It's a room full of people. You're right. Yeah. It was great. They were there to celebrate your new journey. Yeah. And they were all talking to me and they were kind and reassuring in a way that I had not experienced. Because they cared about you. Yes. They cared about you. Just happened. That's awesome. It wasn't just one person No. It wasn't just one person. No. It wasn't just one person. No. It wasn't just one person. Everything. Yeah. That made both of y'all feel a lot more comfortable the process. Yeah. Eight months later, I still talked to the people from the office and still correspond with them. What about you, Butch? Was there just one person or was there No. It was a crew of people for sure. And, they kept you relaxed, and you never felt anxious or worried that something was gonna go wrong or anything like that. And each person had their own job. And every person had their own job, and you got to know everybody by name. So they all became family. So you woke up, and was there crowd full of people there waiting for you? Just like Chris. Yeah. There to celebrate Butch, Yep. That's awesome. So y'all should feel extremely happy about that. But one last question I wanna ask y'all. What was one thing that just stood out to y'all above everything else that happened? Well, I always thought I was a confident person even though I was hiding the fact I was missing my teeth. But after having it done and just seeing the feedback from my job and the way I can stand up tall and talk to people, has been amazing. I've had so many people tell me you got a beautiful smile and that just kinda like, you know, when you're dressed nice and someone says you look good, you notice it, you feel better, you stand taller. So I feel like I stand taller. Even my daughters even say that I I look like I feel happier. I carry myself better. So it's been a really positive thing, and and I can talk to it. You know, people ask and I've talked to people that wanted to get work done and they were really excited and interested in where I went and how it was how it was done. Awesome. So your your actual height is? Much height. Much much higher about So you're about six one? Six one. Six one. Six one, but you feel like you're about ten feet tall. Always. Always. Yeah. Awesome. Since your surgery. What about you, Butch? What's that one thing that stands out above anything else since you had your surgery? Probably that I've become more outgoing. I've gained a lot of confidence. I've always been that shy person, the guy in the back of the room watching what's going on, this, that, and the other. So I work for the National Park Service. So now when I have guests around and stuff, I'm more confident. I'll walk up to guests and ask them how they're doing instead of shying back and doing my work and not paying attention to them. You know? So Are you like a park ranger? Yeah. Well, I'm a carpenter for the park. Close enough. Park ranger Everybody that works for the park is a park ranger. Park ranger Butch. Yep. That's me. You ain't shy anymore, are you? Glacier Bay National Park. Y'all come up and see me. So they'll all come up and see Butch. So Yep. And, it's just, of course, my health. And another thing, I I can open my mouth not, now and not be totally embarrassed. You know? Like a big, jolly happy laugh, you know, where their mouth's wide open and everybody sees inside. Yeah. I'm not embarrassed anymore. Awesome. You and Smokey the Bear. So Yep. Guys, I really appreciate this time that y'all joined me here. Remember everybody watching, click the link in the bottom of the page for our price guide.