OUR STORY - A CASE STUDY
Finding Quality Across The Border
In 2014 Dean Barnhart's wife went in to the dentist for a deep cleaning. Her dentist explained to her that she had aggressive early onset of periodontal disease and needed to have all of her teeth removed and suggested implants. If this was not enough of a shock, the couple went to the recommended specialist in Bellevue, WA and where told that it would cost $85,000. Dean asked how people usually pay for something like this and the specialist smiled and said, "I am sure you can take out a second mortgage or money out of your 401k". They left and as Dean complained to his co-workers, many suggested he go out of the country. His immediate response was, "What are you kidding? No, way am I going to ask my wife to do something that unsafe!"
As he checked other dentists in the area and money options, he decided to look at going abroad. He spent approximately 6 weeks researching "Medical Tourism" including; what was available, contacting dentists abroad, trying to find reviews or identify the quality of service, comparing costs including travel, understanding their payment options, if their insurance (Delta Dental) would be accepted and if they could get loans. He spent hours each day on the computer and the phone. He evaluated travel companies and referral companies and found them to biased, in complete control of the decision of whom to choose and in the case of travel, high fees for booking.
What Dean found was that there are hotspots around the world for all types of medical treatments from dental and knee surgery to cancer. The clinics and hospitals are some of the best in the world, with the best doctors and the latest advances coming out of them. Their quality, technology, success rates and patient care either rival or in many cases surpass the medicine in the United States. And on top of that, the cost including travel is a fraction of what it is here at home.
In the Barnharts case, they went to Los Algodones, Mexico for the dental implants. The quality of the clinic services, technology and care surpassed what they had experienced in Bellevue, Washington. The clinic treated Dean's wife like a valued customer, not like a patient. They made sure every bit of the procedure was clear before they began. The medications she was given for pain and swelling, drugs not approved in the U.S., took away all the pain during and after the surgery. The material used for the teeth are the latest and highest quality available and are not yet available in the U.S. The total cost was $18,000 including travel and then insurance paid $3000 bringing down the cost to $15,000. That is an 82% cost savings.
After such a great experience with the clinic and such a lousy experience finding them and getting information about all his options, he decided that something needed to be done for all Americans and Travani was born. His goal is to help people quickly and easily find the information they need about an affordable option most people don't know exists. Knowledge and hearing others experiences help most people overcome the fear of traveling abroad. Dean and his team have created a site to research information, find safe and quality providers, the ability to compare and contact clinics with tools for payment and booking travel, all in one place.
ABOUT TRAVANI
