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Interview with Dr. Mariano Kriebel of Kriebel Dental 

Here's an interview--conducted via the magic of email--with an excellent Costa Rican specialist dentist, Dr. Mariano Kriebel, about his great specialist clinic, Kriebel Dental.  Readers of this blog know how much I like specialists, especially those trained in the U.S., such as Dr. Mariano Kriebel and his father, Dr. Ricardo Kriebel, and their associates.

Here's how this interview happened.  A few weeks ago, I posted a favorable review by a patient of this clinic. (To find that post, click on the "DrKriebel" label.)  Dr. Kriebel saw it and sent me a thank you note, suggesting that I put up some testimonials from his web site.  This I couldn't do, though I'm happy to put up testimonials that I receive directly from patients.  Instead, I suggested that we conduct a little interview.

Disclaimer:  I have no business or financial interest in this clinic (or indeed any of the other clinics mentioned on this blog).  Even though I have not met any of the dentists at Kriebel Dental, I feel confident in recommending this clinic because of the previous patient's excellent report and the specialty training of the principal clinic dentists.

I have not edited Dr. Kriebel's responses except to improve on spelling in a couple of places. 

Question 1: You are a father-and-son team of prosthodontists, trained in the US.  Does dentistry run in your family?  

Answer: Kriebel Dental means four generations of dentists serving national and
international patients for over 100 years. The clinic was founded by Dr. Ricardo
Kriebel Staats, who arrived from Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1894. My grandfather,
Dr. Kriebel Rodriguez, an Honorary Member of the American Dental Association
among many distinctions, retired from the practice of dentistry in 2008, after 66
continuous years of treating patients.

My father Dr. Ricardo Kriebel Coronado, trained as a specialist in Prosthodontics
from Indiana University, joined the practice in 1981 and is currently working
with me. I joined the practice in 2012 after graduating as a Prosthodontist from
The Ohio State University. I also served as a clinical instructor in The Ohio State
College of Dentistry for 4 years.

Question 2:  You have an interesting CV, Dr. Kriebel.  You are the first prosthodontist I know of who can boast of specialty training in implantology too.  What is your role in the clinic, which also has another implantologist, and an endodontist, and your father, the prosthodontist?

Answer: I have a specialty in Prosthodontics and also have advanced training in
implant dentistry in both the surgical and restorative aspects. I spent one extra
year at The Ohio State University only working with implant patients. We
managed to restore over 1000 implants between the 3 resident doctors. In the
clinic I work as a full time prosthodontist as well as my dad. I do implant
placement surgery and we have an oral surgeon who supports the clinic in
specific cases, example: third molar extractions, block grafts and pathology. We
have an endodontist, Dra. Perez, she graduated from Baylor College in Texas. She
is a great professional and her expertise are very hard to beat.

Question 3:  There's always discussion about which dental implants are the best.  I imagine that questions like this are best decided with the patient in front of you, but could you give us some general advice about implant brands that might be useful to many US patients thinking of getting implants?

Answer: Currently here in Costa Rica we have a wide variety of options regarding
dental implant selection. The majority of implant brands are very good and I
personally feel they all work very well. It all comes down to the personal choice
of the dentist, the most important aspect is to find a dentist with the right
training and knowledge in order to use them correctly. Some of the implants I
like to use are: Zimmer and Bio-Horizons. Both of them very popular in the USA.

Question 4:  Along these same lines, what types of crown materials does your clinic tend to use in  which particular situations (e.g., front teeth, molars, etc)?

Answer: Regarding crown material selection, this is very specific for every case. When
selecting the material we need to take multiple aspects into consideration and
select the material accordingly. I like to use a lot e-max crowns from Ivoclaar.

They offer great strength and aesthetics. In cases where we have very limited
space and we require a stronger material, we might consider Zirconia or
porcelain fused to metal. I sometimes combine, using a more aesthetic material in
the front teeth like e-max and a stronger material for the back teeth like
porcelain fused to metal. It depends in the clinical situation, the important thing
here, is to have adequate knowledge of how to pick your material correctly in
order to have good longevity with your crowns. The biggest mistake I see, is
some dentists don’t know their materials and rely on their lab-technicians for
advice, trust me, understanding what materials to use is a critical component of
success.

Question 5:  Your clinic web site is in English to attract patients from the US, in addition to all your local clientele.  What are the most common concerns of your US patients, and how does your clinic try to address them?

Answer: In relation with international patients, we have been blessed to have great
patients and make a special friendship with lots of great people. Our website
provides some information and we are putting up a new one this week.

International patients always have concerns and are sometimes a little scared to
travel to a different country to get dental care.

When a patient contacts our office, I always take the first phone call, I spend as
much time as the patient needs to answer questions and make them feel secure.

We provide our patients all the necessary information and follow up before,
during and after their treatment. We explain every single detail, procedures,
pricing, lodging and all aspects before they come to Costa Rica. Once the patient
feels comfortable, everything becomes smooth.

We provide our patients a boutique type service, I usually only see one patient a
day when there is a big case. I talk with my patient and provide them special
individual care. We don’t do assembly line type dentistry (this happens a lot) we
serve each patient with quality. This helps them a lot and calms them down, after
all they are looking for a positive experience and good results.

We have a lot of pride in our dental work, we don’t compromise our quality and
patients can feel that. They like to see we have our own dental lab and do
everything custom for them, all these details add up to eliminate the fears and
concerns.

Thanks a lot David!!!!

Dr. Mariano Kriebel D.D.S,Ms

And thank you, Dr. Kriebel!







Interview with Dr. Mariano Kriebel of Kriebel Dental

By CometGlare → Sunday, May 8, 2016