New Smile Dental Group / Dr. Mario Bonillo Although former patients are divided on their experiences at the New Smile clinic, you can clearly see the horror when you scroll carefully through this email containing scathing reviews, especially from patients who needed a great deal of work. These mirror my own unfortunate experience with the New Smile Clinic, which follows: San Jose Avenida 2, Calles 36-38, San Jose

Although former patients are divided on their experiences at the New Smile clinic, you can clearly see the horror when you scroll carefully through this email containing scathing reviews, especially from patients who needed a great deal of work. These mirror my own unfortunate experience with the New Smile Clinic, which follows:   I had Dr. Mario Bonilla pull my last four upper teeth. Then, on that very same day, he inserted four implants attached to a bridge! Shortly after, the pain started increasing. When I went and spoke to him about his procedure, he said he would need to take them all out. He cemented them onto a bridge. Check out his other unhappy clients below!   ----------------------------

------------------ Here are the reviews from a host of unhappy patients:  

GC Silva / After thousands of dollars and several trips to Costa Rica...this dentist has my mouth loaded with implants that are falling out and breaking off. Beware of this dentist and his dental assistants. The loaded my mouth with a filler and said that my tongue would smooth it out eventually. Americans (USA) be warned...stay in the USA for implants!!!!! Well, on the first visit and thousands of dollars, I did not know what to expect. I had the dental implants done and shortly after (this was the second time) the Dr. paid to have me come back to do some major repairs. I paid for the hotel, food etc. The repairs were made (shoddy) and then on the THIRD time back, the supposed repairs were done at no expense to me...except the hotel. airfare and food. Suffice it to say I have the most hideous smile ever. I can tell you that as I write this info...my implanted teeth are dropping and from the outside the teeth look sad and on the inside of the teeth...well, I can pack a lunch in the openings.

On the first visit I complained about this huge space and the Dr.’s assistant threw some cement in and did not smooth the dental cement out...the Dr. said my tongue would eventually smooth it out...that was about 7 years ago and it is still not smooth...shoddy work. So, I said all this to say that I had to have a root canal done recently and the dentist here in the USA could only shake his head. He could not believe that I paid someone called a Dentist to do such horrible dental work in my mouth. It will cost me thousands of dollars to correct the many dental problems in my mouth! Actually it will cost me (in total) what it would have cost me if I had all the work done in the USA from the outset! Does this tell you something? They (all of the clinic folks are INITIALLY sweet to speak with.

You are impressed with how nice they all are...but, the dental work that is done less than satisfactory. Oh, and I did go to a conference with this Dr. and basically said he was good...someone shoot me! Beware...you may pay a lot more in the USA but at least you have a recourse...no recourse in Costa Rica! You are 100% screwed. This is what I think about the new smile group!   ------------------------------------------------------

----------------   Phil Christenson / The workmanship is terrible. As GC Silva points out, you end up with twice as much work needed to address what they did to your teeth. I would have saved money had I simply gone to an American dentist. They filed down your good teeth to make a bridge and then put on crowns that are so poorly fitted that the formerly good teeth start to rot --and then they tell you it's YOUR fault. Crowns should last more than two or three years, but New Smile doesn't think so. I regret the day I walked into their clinic.    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

 Robbie Estok / My best friend had this experience at New Smile, Costa Rica and I thought you should be warned.
The doctor was Mario Bonilla and this is his story: I arrived early on the 15th of May 2014 and I went for an evaluation and an estimate from Mario Bonillo at “New Smile” and before I knew it he had me convinced that he could do the best job for me at the least cost. He gave me three options as far as cost and number two seemed to be the most cost effective since I was missing my four front teeth due to an auto accident where my upper jaw impacted the steering wheel and shattered the roots. The number two plan that he offered gave me a full upper restoration. I wasn't told at that time that the eight good teeth that remained in my upper jaw were going to be ground down to make posts. It is true that it was cost effective…but it didn’t work out very well for me at all.

He ground down the good teeth I had left and put a full roundhouse reconstruction in. I still don’t know how he talked me into it, but I’m very disappointed in the work he and his staff did for me. He had a twenty year old girl who I didn't meet until she did two root canals which are both filled short according to my dentist here in the states. I need an Apicoectomy on my #6 and #12 tooth. He also fractured my #4 tooth during the grinding down process which I just had to have extracted from under the bridge through the gum. The tooth was healthy and fine before I went to him so I’m certain he caused the fracture of #4. My DDS performed the extraction and showed me the fractured root . I was in extreme pain from #4 before he cemented the bridge in and I told him that it was a problem. He dismissed my concern and said it will calm down after the bridge is on. It did not calm down, it continued to calm up and when I got back home to the states it was fully infected. The infection was so severe that it spread to my inner ear and then the sinus cavity.

I have just completed 14 days of outpatient intravenous antibiotic treatments at my local medical center where I was given “Invanz” a powerful antibiotic. I am now on an oral antibiotic “Levofloxacin 750mg for the next seven days. If my white count does not get within normal limits my infectious disease doctor thinks I should remove the bridge and all my upper teeth immediately and have my sinus scraped or I could die…. The dizzy spells and fever are beginning to subside a bit now, but the bridge does not fit right and I feel pressure on my jaw all the time. I’m now faced with the reality that I may have to remove the bridge altogether and go to a denture if I wish to remain alive. The reason being if I have the Apico on #6 done the infection which is still present may recur. I am no longer worried about my “lifetime Guaranty” now just worried about staying alive.     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------  

And the Google reviews:     New Smile Dental Implant Center Av 2, San Francisco, San José Province,     3.5 12 reviews   All hotel4 pay3 cost3     DJ Walker 15 reviews 7 months ago I am amazed to see people going to this dentist. I spent thousands of dollars to have implants and I have learned that it was the worst dental work that could be done. They really do not care about Americans and with a smile...they do the worst job that you could imagine! How about having to pay to go back (hotel included with airfare) to correct shotty work three times...HORRIBLE dental work done by this office. The dental assistants just threw some cement in my mouth and the Dr. said, "Your tongue will SMOOTH the cement after time!!!" He should lose his license because he is sub-standard. I have spoken to two other of his patients and they are both having problems with the dental work!!! BEWARE do not go to this clinic!   1 Philip Christenson 3 reviews a year ago It was a big, big mistake to go to New Smile. You see a lot of good reviews for minor procedures and for the patient's recent experience.

My experience is that after only a couple of years, the crowns fail because they were poorly made and allowed cavities and cracking of the underlying teeth. While the purpose of crowns is to stop cracking and cavities, New Smile dentists insist when this happens it is the patient's fault. I started at New Smile with a limited number of teeth that needed an implant or other dental work, and four or five years later I am being told I need to yank out all my upper teeth and go with implants and a full upper bridge!!! I tried to save money but all the money I paid New Smile and the two trips from the US and more than two weeks of hotel and other expenses have been wasted -- probably a total of $12-13k GC Silva 3 reviews 2 years ago BEWARE of New Smile and Dr. Bonilla. They lure patients with low prices and then provide shoddy work with substandard materials.

I should have known that their prices were too good to be true. But I needed to save money, so I chose New Smile. I have regretted it every day since. I have returned back three times and my whole mouth of teeth are simply eroding and I cannot do anything about it. I feel so stupid, especially since there are so many other good clinics in Costa Rica.   3 Royal Allen Wenzel Local Guide · 112 reviews · 22 photos 5 years ago I was in Costa Rica a couple of months ago, and went to New Smile to inquire about getting my two bottom wisdom teeth removed, as they had some slight decay along the gum line, and I wanted them removed before it got worse. Well, Dr. Mario convinced me to get them fixed instead of having them removed, so I can save the teeth, as they were still healthy.

Well, two months later and I am back home in the states, eating a plate of nachos, when one of the fillings comes out, and breaks off 1/4 of my tooth with it. The break was so bad, down past the gum line, that I had to go and get it removed, which cost me not only $700, but the time and energy of going back and forth to get referrals and x rayed, and then having a dentist here drilling into my jawbone to make a trench just so he could get under the tooth to pull it out, then stitch it up and buy expensive drugs to help with the healing process.

I called and spoke with Milena, and she informed me that there is nothing they can do, other than offer to repair the tooth again or extract it, but that would have been another $900 plane ticket, and she said that they are not offering to pay for even the cost of the shoddy filling that was put in.

If you're from the states, then I advise against going here, because sure it might be cheaper dental work than here in the states, but in the long run you will end up paying much more.