Getting dental work done in Mexico: what it costs, where to go and what to check

Dental work in Mexico: prices by treatment

Each price is from the clinic's own price list, in US dollars, read on the date shown at the end of the page. Where a clinic lists the implant and the crown separately, we add the two lines.

Everyday dental prices in Mexico

Fillings, crowns and root canals are what many people combine with a bigger job. From Sani Dental Group’s price list, read 1 November 2026, all base or starting prices in US dollars:

One clinic's list, not an average. Ask any clinic for the same items in writing before you compare.

Where Americans go for dental work in Mexico

• Los Algodones. A border town near Yuma, Arizona; Algodones Dental Center says Yuma airport is 9 miles away and its clinic is two blocks from the crossing. It and Sani Dental Group both list prices there.
• Tijuana. Across the border from San Diego. Dental Solutions Tijuana publishes a price list; hospitals there also do hip and knee replacement.
• Cancún and Playa del Carmen. A flight away rather than a drive. Sani Dental Group says you can start treatment at one of its clinics and finish at another.

Sani Dental Group lists two clinics in Los Algodones, one in Cancún and one in Playacar (Sani Dental Group). Its credentials page lists the American Dental Association, the Medical Tourism Association, the Better Business Bureau and others (Sani Dental Group); these are the clinic's own claims and we have not checked them.

Six checks before you pay a dentist in Mexico

1. Check the dentist’s licence. Ask for the dentist’s full name and cédula profesional number. Mexico’s Directorate General of Professions runs a public look-up of professional licences, linked from gob.mx.
2. Get a written treatment plan. Teeth, implant brand, crown material, X-rays or CT scan, bone grafts and sedation, each with a price. Every list we read says its prices are a starting point set after diagnosis.
3. Count the visits. Implants usually need two trips months apart: one to place the implant, one for the final crown. Ask how many visits and how long each takes.
4. Ask what happens if it fails. Who pays for a failed implant or a broken crown, and whether you must travel back to have it fixed.
5. Plan care at home. The CDC says follow-up care for complications can be expensive and might not be covered by your insurance. Find a dentist at home who will see you before you go.
6. Check the equipment. The CDC’s Mexico page says that if you receive medical or dental care, make sure the equipment is disinfected or sanitized.

The licence look-up is on gob.mx; the search page itself did not open for our reader, so we could not test it. Canada's advice for Mexico says to check the provider is authorized by the Mexican health authorities, ask to see credentials and get a written agreement for the treatment (travel.gc.ca). The CDC's general advice is on medical tourism. Our guide is it worth going abroad for dental implants? works through when the savings hold up.

The trip: what to add to the price

Our calculator uses an example return fare of $300 from the US to Mexico and $110 a night for a hotel. For implants it plans 5 nights, about $850 in all; implants usually take two trips, months apart. Clinics near the border are within driving distance for many patients; Algodones Dental Center says a US citizen needs a passport or passport card to cross, and it can give a letter about the need for dental care. Run your own numbers in the cost calculator.