Comments

ECUADORJAN12

I have tried to find a list of competent doctors in Manta Ecuador. I have tried to contact Clinica Manta and find an internist. Help.

guest

While the prices for healthcare in Ecuador do compare very favourably with those in places such as the US, it is worth bearing in mind that those prices are still too high for many of the native population. $10 for a consult could mean the difference between having food or not for a week, and then bear in mind how much medicines cost on top of this. Yes medical services are cheap for foreigners, but don't make the mistake of thinking they are affordable for Ecuadorians.

guest

Hello, I am a dual citizen of Ecuador and the U.S. I appreciate your perspective on medical and dental care in Ecuador. However, I am also a dental hygienist. So I must admit that I do take offense to your comment that since a dentist instead of a dental hygienist cleaned your teeth, "more experienced and better-trained person worked on my mouth. " If you were talking about dentistry, this would be true. You wouldn't want me putting in any fillings for you. However, while dentists have 4 years of learning general dentistry, orthodontics, endodontics, prosthedontics, and believe me there is a lot to learn, so much so that in order to specialize in any one of these, a dentist must go to school for another two years to be considered a specialist. Learning to "clean teeth" is a very small part of a dentist's training -A dental hygienist has two years straight (generally after 2 years of prerequisite classes) of learning to treat and prevent periodontal disease-or "clean teeth"-as most people would say. I realize most people don't know this, but this is true in every state in the U.S. except for Alabama. The dental hygienist does not just walk in off the street and start "cleaning teeth". I know how hard I worked for my profession, I get tired of the demeaning comments I usually here about it. But I'll just assume like most folks, you just didn't know.

RayW

Great article. I would love to know where I can buy that Right now, you can get a brand-new, two-bedroom oceanfront villa for $35,000...or your own piece of land overlooking the sea for $4,000. I'm in!