“A perfect smile can be found less than two hours away”. When we say this, we are referring to El Salvador´s strategic location in the heart of Central America, less than a two hour flight from Miami, less than three from Houston, and less than five hours from Los Angeles. Our closely knit ties with America give us a strategic advantage over other countries to make our visitors from up north comfortable.
El Salvador is called by many “the country of 30 minutes” because everything is approximately 30 minutes away. This is due to the country being the smallest in the region but boasts an excellent road infrastructure. El Salvador has the benefit of a wonderful environment of forests, mountains, volcanoes, beaches, and metropolitan areas all in 21,000 fabulous square miles that 7 million people call home. El Salvador is increasingly becoming a tourist attraction, mainly because of the accessibility of the country’s destinations, which are, you guessed it, about 30 minutes away.
Every year, more and more Salvadorans have begun speaking English, as we should since 2 million of our brothers and sisters live in the United States. In El Salvador, the dollar is the currency, and the government has a desire to attract multinational corporations. We have everything from call centers, like Sykes, to some of the most important financial institutions in the world, including Citi and HSBC multinational banks.
The US Government has lent us a hand several times on our journey towards progress. El Salvador has received about $460 million in grants from the Millennium Challenge, a program from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a bilateral development fund started by the US government in 2004. This grant will allow us to, not only grow in an economic sense, but also improve the country´s overall human development, something generally forgotten in developing nations. All of these facts make one thing clear. For growth to continue we must open our borders and attract foreign direct investment that will create jobs and this is why PROESA was created in 2000. PROESA is El Salvador´s investment promotion agency and in the last ten years it has facilitated the investment of over 195 multinational companies, creating more than 70,000 jobs. Good things are happening!
How does all this relate to medical tourism? Well, let us revert back to beginning of this write-up; we have a very attractive airlift that allows American travelers, especially those desiring to pay less for outpatient procedures, to come to El Salvador with ease. Our legal framework does not discriminate foreigners eliminating the risk of having a government that protects local industry at the cost of foreign competition. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has created incentives for foreigners to invest in hospitals and other critical medical facilities as well as adding another level of security and legal avenues to protect your investment.
The region has many qualified doctors in every medical field including dentistry, cosmetic surgery, orthopedics, ophthalmology and cardiology, attracting attention as a medical and dental tourism destination. Dental treatments are the number one reason for consultations all over the world and El Salvador has chosen to become a dental destination. The laws and government institutions are supporting investments in the health care area and dentistry in particular.
We have state-of-the art facilities for Ophthalmology, second to none, with well-trained specialists, who are already attending patients from other countries, in which they are performing highly sophisticated procedures. Plastic surgery is another area in which we have sophisticated procedures on a daily bases performed by American trained surgeons in modern facilities that offer guaranties for the patients who look abroad for these services. Orthopedic surgery is another sought-after procedure that Americans are seeking from our Orthopedic surgeons, who have facilities equipped and limited to those complex procedures that modern Orthopedics requires.
Dental procedures are the number one reason for medical consultation in the world and in the medical service industry, this medical procedures becoming more expensive. Medical practitioners are being trained at American universities, giving medical tourist the peace of mind that they will be attended by a doctor that understands their language, culture, and, most importantly, trained in their specialty.
All dental services are available from dental implants, porcelain crowns, porcelain veneers, dentures, sinus lift, bone graft placement, and laser tooth whitening, among others. There are also professional dental laboratories that have kept up with the increasing amount of dentist performing sophisticated procedures. Instead of having expensive procedures in your hometown, why not come down to the tropics and catch some sun while we perfect your smile. Your perfect smile is less than two hours away!
State-of-the-art equipment and the highest quality of materials united with the expertise of the providers is incentive for the patients to seek dental care in El Salvador at prices 40% to 60% less than they will pay in their home countries. Now is the time to become a patient or better yet, to invest in Medical Tourism in El Salvador!
About The Author
Dr. Rafael Lorenzana feels Medical Tourism is the cutting edge of the future and is working closely with local identities to help make El Salvador the most sought out destination for high quality medical, cosmetic, and dental procedures. With more than 30 years experience in private practice and teaching in both El Salvador and the United States, he has dual citizenship in both countries, a graduate of Baylor College of Dentistry, and certified in Prosthondontics from the University of South Carolina. Rafael is also the only dentist in Latin America board certified from the American College of Prosthodontics.
An American citizen but born in El Salvador, Dr. Lorenzana was a Health Vice Minister from El Salvador after his studies in the States. This distinctive double-cultural background has allowed Lorenzana to identify the expectations from different cultures. Doctor Lorenzana pioneered Medical Tourism in El Salvador and his experience with Medical Tourism has become an aggressive service that has helped position Lorenzana Dental Center very successfully in Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the United States and parts of Central America.
