Lakeland resident Justin Fennell is part of a major trend in health care: he has traveled to another country to get cheaper care. The CDC says several million Americans do that every year. But Fennell was so pleased with his dental care in the Dominican Republic he has started a company to help other people do the same thing.
It’s called VIP Dental Trips.
Fennell has spent decades as a Christian speaker and comedian. But he said that in his 20s, he developed type 2 diabetes. One complication was a dry mouth that caused major dental problems. He lost teeth and others were in such poor shape he was reluctant to smile. He was so concerned about how his teeth looked he started to turn down public appearances.
“My dental plan was chew on the left side,” said Fennell as he prepared to do a comedy routine at Beit Tehila Church in Brandon as part of a fundraiser for a homeless ministry. “The right side was gone.”
But then, Fennell went on one of his many relief trips to the Dominican Republic with fellow Christian comedian, Mike Williams. On that trip, Fennell met dentists Dr. Julio Cesar Lazala and Dr. Helkin Castillo. He found out they could provide is dental care for a fraction of the cost of care in the United States.
Over the course of three-and-a-half years, Fennell had a series of treatments including implants, crowns and veneers.
“These are all fakes. They’ve all been replaced,” said Fennell as he pointed to his teeth.
Fennell has now arranged two trips to the Dominican Republic with United States residents seeking dental care as part of VIP Dental Trips. One of the patients was Brad Fussell. He had preparation work done for an implant and other procedures.
“With the preparation for $350, when I come back, the total will barely be $2,400 for what it would have cost $7,000 dollars in the United States,” said Fussell.
Patients stay in a resort while they are getting their dental work done.
Fennell has also set up a foundation in the Dominican Republic to help underprivileged children get free dental care with profits from VIP Dental Trips. It’s called the VIP Smiles Foundation.
Mike Williams is excited about that. “They say that necessity is the mother of invention,” he said. “And in this case, necessity has become the mother of hope for other people, because kids from my mission in the Dominican Republic are getting teeth replaced.”
Back in Lakeland after his second trip with patients, Fennell is taking lots of calls from people interested in dental care.
He’s thinking back about his original inspiration. “I thought while I was in the chair, there’s a lot of people just like me who need help. And the phone keeps ringing on the time.”