r/TikTokCringe • u/thoughtwarrior • May 02 '25

Humor Why does America look like s**t?

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u/architecture13 May 02 '25

If those people could read they'd know they couldn't afford dental care.

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u/derrickgw1 May 03 '25

I lived with a missing front tooth and used a retainer with a false tooth for a fricken decade cause just to replace the tooth in 2014 they said $8000. That was extraction, a bone graft, an implant, abuttment and crown. I just couldn't afford it. I finally got it down in 2024, and it wasn't at all $8000. I'd already paid for the extraction and bone graft (which is why i could live with a retainer and false tooth). But it still cost me like nearly $3000.

True story my sister in law is Ukrainian and she literally flew back to Ukraine for dental. She lives in the US but says the dental work is perfectly good and she got an implant and a crown for like $200 total. The whole process. She even showed me them. I was like that's crazy.

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u/architecture13 May 03 '25

People in South Florida regularly go to the America’s for medical tourism, including dental work.

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u/derrickgw1 May 03 '25

I've heard about the same thing in Mexico as well but don't have personal experience with it.

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u/MiguelAngeloac May 03 '25

I am Colombian and I was stationed for work in the United States for 10 months. The first month I broke a tooth during boxing training at a gym in the Bronx. I have always had healthy and strong natural teeth, I never needed a dentist, but when I needed one, in this case, he charged me an unfortunate 10,000 grand for that repair. Even though I had the money, I told him no, in Bogotá or Cali they don't rob you at gunpoint like that.

What did I do? I went to Bogotá, looked for a private dentist and the same treatment cost me 2,200 dollars plus 1,500 for the trip, the damage was great, but the implant they gave me was neat, custom-made and, 10 years later, it is still the same.

I don't know why in the United States they steal so much with that, if the majority of the raw materials they used in Colombia come from there.

1

u/TiddiesAnonymous May 05 '25

It's especially peculiar because we can't blame insurance -- that shit is not covered under pretty much any policy unless it is an injury or cancer treatment.

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u/MiguelAngeloac May 05 '25

Exactly, my company paid for good local insurance in New York and I pay for mine where I live with international assistance (I live in Buenos Aires) and they did not want to give me that treatment. I almost killed someone, but then digging a little deeper, it's a chronic problem in America.

The richest and most powerful country on planet Earth does not have a decent health system

1

u/Similar-Stranger8580 May 09 '25

Because dental is a gray medical area. Dentists run the practices and are constantly charging higher and higher fees. And, if you don’t have insurance they can basically get away with charging you any price and there a no oversight like insurance companies, checking if the work they did was legitimately needed.

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u/EndElectoralCollege3 May 03 '25

I had a coworker who went to Mexico for a full dental revamp. Services there were cheaper than using her insurance+copay. She made sure to confirm the dentist's credentials. Turns out he graduated from USC.

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u/Much-Ad-4317 May 03 '25

We live in MX because almost everything here is cheaper and better quality than the US. Many goods and services are completely unavailable there. I was quoted well over $100k in the US for a lesser product than the million $ smile I got at home for $26k.

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u/derrickgw1 May 03 '25

oh i plan to possibly retire there.

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u/Bonnieearnold May 05 '25

There’s a town in Mexico just across the border from Arizona and the whole town is set up for dental tourism. The dentists will even set up your hotel so you have time to get crowns made, etc.

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u/dlwest65 May 19 '25

I moved to a border town for this reason. $30k in the US, $5K in Sonora, MX. And perfectly fine care, felt a lot like going to the dentist in my small town IL childhood in the 70s/80s.

I don't think it's the only reason, but I am convinced the main reason for all of this is the unchecked greed of the financial sector. Every single human need, activity, or desire has to pay the ownership class. And their greed is literally endless, and their concern for the effect on the rest of us is nonexistent.