International Patients
Patients cross from San Diego County for the cost. They stay with Makeover Dental Studio for a different reason — because the work holds up.
The first question is almost never clinical. It is whether this is safe, who will actually be treating you, and what happens if something needs adjusting after you have driven home.
The practice is in Zona Río, roughly five minutes from the San Ysidro crossing. Treatment plans are written in English, appointments are scheduled around your crossing rather than around the clinic day, and follow-up between visits is handled remotely so that a trip is made only when there is a reason to make one.
Cost is real, and it is why most patients start looking. It is also the wrong thing to lead with, because a cheaper treatment that has to be redone is the most expensive dentistry there is. What should decide it is who is doing the work, what is being used, and whether you can read the plan before you agree to it.
Choosing your crossing
There is more than one way in, and the right one depends on whether you are walking, driving, or flying.
The closest crossing, and the busiest in the world. It is roughly five minutes from the clinic in Zona Rio. Southbound is usually quick; northbound is what needs planning, and we schedule appointments to keep you out of the worst of it.
Many patients park on the U.S. side and cross on foot, which avoids the vehicle line in both directions.
Often faster by vehicle than San Ysidro, particularly northbound in the afternoon. It sits east of the city, so the drive to Zona Rio is longer than from San Ysidro, but the total trip is frequently shorter.
If you are driving down and returning the same day, this is usually the crossing we will suggest.
A pedestrian bridge that connects directly to Tijuana airport. If you are flying in from elsewhere in the United States, you land on the U.S. side, walk across, and are in Tijuana without dealing with the land border at all.
It requires a ticket and a boarding pass for a flight in or out of Tijuana.
We are in Zona Rio, the business and financial district of Tijuana. Most patients walk across and take a short ride; others drive and park at the clinic.
Before your appointment we send you the route, parking options on either side, and a suggested crossing time based on when you are booked.
How a first visit works
Before you drive down
A case can be reviewed by phone, message or the contact form, and recent X-rays often allow a preliminary opinion before you travel.
The crossing itself
Route, parking on either side and a suggested crossing time come with your appointment, planned around traffic rather than against it.
A written plan in English
Diagnosis, sequence and cost in writing before anything begins, so the decision is made with the document in your hands.
Is dental care in Tijuana safe?
The question worth asking is not about the country but about the practice: who treats you, their specialty training, the sterilization protocol and the materials used. Those are answerable specifics, and you are entitled to see them.
How many trips will I have to make?
It depends on the treatment. Some are completed in a single visit, and implant or full-arch work divides into a surgical phase and a restorative phase separated by healing. The number of crossings is written into your plan before you start, rather than discovered along the way.
Plan the whole trip, not just the appointment
Crossing, timing, cost and follow-up are part of the treatment when you live on the other side of the border. These are the three pages most patients read before they call.
Dental Tourism in Tijuana
What treatment here actually involves, and what varies between clinics.
Patients From San Diego
The shortest cross-border trip there is, planned around the line.
Financing & Payment
A written estimate before you commit to anything.
Frequently asked
What patients ask before they book. If yours is not here, the fastest answer is a call.
- Your case planned in 3D before treatment begins
- A treatment plan written in English
- A direct line to the clinic once you are home
Some PPO plans reimburse out-of-network treatment abroad and some do not, and it is decided by your plan rather than by the border. Itemised documentation with procedure codes is what lets you file the claim.
Most post-treatment questions are resolved with photographs and a call. When an adjustment genuinely needs a chair, it is scheduled around your next crossing.
A valid passport or passport card is required to re-enter the United States, and SENTRI or Ready Lanes shorten the return considerably. Appointment times are suggested with the return wait in mind.
Request your consultation
The conversation can start before you drive anywhere. Send your case, with recent X-rays if you have them, and you will get an honest first read on what is involved — including when the answer is that you need less than you were told.
US: +1 (619) 202-0423
MX: +52 (664) 634-2023
makeoverdentalstudio@outlook.com
Frida Kahlo 10410, Torre Quatro, 1st floor, office 106
Zona Urbana Rio, Tijuana, B.C. 22010
Mon-Fri 9:00am – 6:00pm | Sat 9:00am – 4:00pm
