The morning was less rushed for us as we didn't have to be to the dentist office until 2:00pm. We took our time at breakfast and spent about 2 hours eating and chatting with our fellow dental patients. We met more people this morning, and even someone who grew up in the town next to where I am from, and someone else who had been driving a little too fast thru my hometown and received a ticket! A very small world it is! We also met a wonderful single woman adopting a 10 year old boy. Very admirable for her to be doing it as she is single and will be raising him by herself, although I can see from her blog she has plenty of friends and her parents to help.
After breakfast we went for a walk thru the Italian restaurant, El Oliva, which is connected to the hotel, it wasn't open for business yet, but we took the shortcut through, it looked very neat and clean and had a special charm about it. I understand from people who have dined there that it is very good Italian food. Next, on in to the casino to exchange currency, no gambling though. The machines were way different than what Bakty was used to seeing in the U.S., so he thought it best not to waste any money on them. Like it really matters what machines are played, they still get your money! The casino was the best place for us to exchange our currency. Then on to the Palma Real hotel to check out the workout room. It is on the top floor of the hotel and has a mountain view from the outside patio and you can see all the way to the end of the road and Sabana Park. So when doing your workout you have an enjoyable view, and afterwards you can step out onto the open roof and relax. The workout room consists of treadmills, an elliptical, a bike and some free weights.
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| Work out room at the Palma Real |
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| On the rooftop at the Palma Real |
We still had a couple of hours before we needed to head on over to the dentist office, so I went out by the pool to get some sun and Bakty caught up on his emails and work in the room. At about 1:00 we headed on out to have lunch at the local soda up the street. It is called Soda Keren, and it was very good and inexpensive. They have a daily food bar or you can order from their menu. We took from the bar, chicken and rice with black beans and salad and a fruity drink that was included in the price ($5). The serving size was plenty for both of us to share. We had time to eat in and chose a small table toward the back of the restaurant.
After finishing our meal we took our time walking to the dentist office. Upon arriving we did the usual, sign in and sit and wait for someone to call Bakty's name and of course visit with those we had previously met and meet some new people who had just arrived. Within about 10 minutes they called for Bakty and he was off to the surgery room. This time it was about 45 minutes before he was done. This was the most painful day of his visits. He had the bad tooth removed, a bone graft done and the implant put in all at the same time. He had taken his pain medicine before hand and was glad that he did! They sent him away with a frozen blue surgical glove, very ingenious! We were able to keep it with us frozen & thawed to use during the rest of the time he needed it while we were in Costa Rica.
Before leaving the office, we settled up our total bill for the work that had been done; 3 implants, 1 bone graft, 1 tooth extraction and temporary crowns for 2 teeth, and our "insurance policy"-$2,200! That in and of itself is less than the cost of 1 implant here in the U.S.! They didn't put any temporary crowns on the 2 upper implants, just on the bottom one and the tooth behind it. Diana told us that Bakty would need to come back in 8 days to have the stitches removed from where the bone graft was placed. That was perfect! Since we had planned on being there for 14 days anyway, it allowed us to head to the beach for a week, then come back and have the stitches removed and then head home. We asked if there were any other fees that would be due and she said no, this was all we would pay until we came back for the permanent crowns. We would need to return to Costa Rica anytime after 4 months to have the permanent crowns put on. Before we left home we knew that we would have to make 2 trips, so not a problem for us. We scheduled our return visit with Diana, to have the stitches removed, for the following Thursday afternoon.
Now, about the "insurance policy", for $150, if you have a problem with your dental work, i.e. a failure of your implant, within 3 years, Dr. Cavallini's office will pay for your return airfare (up to $750) and lodging for up to a week (up to $75/night). Of course this is for the patient only. When filling out your initial paperwork don't miss this important piece of paper, it has a heading of "Extended Travel and Lodging Warranty for Our Patients". This is a great deal, considering that prior to this the patient was responsible for their own return expenses, even though the guarantee replacement/repair policy has always been free, you had to get back to Costa Rica at your own expense. Now, consider the U.S. alternative-If it fails, you pay again. I'll take Costa Rica any day!
After saying our goodbyes to fellow patients in the waiting room, we headed back to the hotel as Bakty just wanted to rest. He said he felt a lot more soreness from the bone graft; there was a lot of poking and packing to the procedure. It wasn't that it was extremely painful, it was just discomfort. There wasn't very much swelling, just sore and throbbing. Chicken soup is definitely on the menu for today. He was told to stay away from smaller foods that would get into the gum of the newly placed bone graft, so no seeds, rice etc. So on we walked back to the hotel, Bakty with his blue hand against his face.
We hung out in the room for a while, ate soup and fruit and discussed what we were going to do for the next week while we waited for his mouth to heal. We decided that we would head to the beach.
Now I just had to find a cheap hotel at the last minute.
Next Post:The Total Cost of Our Trip
