The Special Teeth
According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 85.6/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.
Overall rank: #4 of 13 ranked clinics · Last checked: 20 October 2026
85.6/100
Positions by Rating Profile
- Overall Transparency & Trust#485.6/100
- Best for Expats#484.8/100
- Best for Dental Implants#385/100
- Best for Emergency Dental Care#385.8/100
- Best Price Transparency#492.2/100
- Best English-speaking Clinics#484.7/100
- Best for Families / Children#286.3/100
- Sleep Dentistry (GA / deep sedation)not ranked
General Anaesthesia & Deep Sedation
Whether the clinic documents treatment under general anaesthesia or deep / twilight sedation — "sleep dentistry", where the patient is asleep and unaware (does not feel, see, or hear the procedure). Ordinary conscious sedation, where the patient stays awake and responsive, does not count here. This is informational and does not affect the transparency score.
- ✗ General anaesthesia / deep sedation (sleep dentistry) — No general anaesthesia or deep sedation documented No sedation, general anaesthesia or nitrous oxide anywhere on the thirteen pages read or in the AI file, including the surgical and implant pages [st-prices] [st-llms]
Summary
Bilingual clinic on Ave. Negrete in Zona Centro, about ten minutes by car from the San Ysidro crossing, built around patients travelling from San Diego and the rest of the United States: seven dentists are named with their specialities and professional licence numbers, a standing price list in U.S. dollars covers seven areas of treatment, and Aetna and MetLife PPO plans are billed directly after an evaluation. The clinic also publishes a file written for AI assistants, whose price lines differ from its own price page in four places.
Both language versions of the copy ship inside every page and one is hidden with CSS, so the English home page carries 38 Spanish blocks next to 38 English ones (stylesheet read 2026-10-20). The file written for AI assistants prices a deep cleaning at $100, a simple extraction from $90, an E.max crown from $550 and a composite veneer from $250, while the price page gives from $150 per quadrant, from $120, from $450 and from $220 (both read 2026-10-20). The Google listing shows Sunday closed; the site and the AI file keep Sundays for emergencies by prior appointment. The 3D CBCT scan is taken at a partner imaging laboratory, not on site.
Strengths
- Information Transparency: 20 of 20 points.
- Price Transparency: 15 of 15 points.
- Reputation & Reviews: 16.5 of 20 points.
- Medical Infrastructure: 13 of 15 points.
- Communication & Service: 8.5 of 10 points.
- No red flags identified in public sources.
Weaknesses
- AI & Search Visibility: 4 of 10 verifiable points (missing: mentioned for: best dentist Tijuana; mentioned for: English speaking dentist Tijuana; mentioned for: dental implants Tijuana; mentioned for: emergency dentist Tijuana; mentioned for: Tijuana dental clinic for expats)
Score Breakdown
Every criterion below is scored from public sources. ✓ verified yes · ✗ verified no / not found · ◐ partial · ? unverified (scores 0, not a negative finding).
Information Transparency
20 / 20
Whether basic facts about the clinic - its team, premises, services, and location - are publicly verifiable.
| ✓ | Has a working website [st-site] | 4/4 |
| ✓ | Dentist names listed Seven dentists named in full with their speciality, training institution and professional licence number [st-team] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Dentist specializations listed [st-team] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Real clinic photos Facility photographs on the team page, three photos and a video on the Google listing; the site labels its patient scenes as illustrative with fictional patients [st-team] [st-gmaps] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Service list published [st-prices] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Clear contact details Mexican and U.S. phone numbers, WhatsApp, e-mail and street address on every page [st-team] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | English website version Full /en/ tree with hreflang en-US and es-MX [st-sitemap] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Address and map published [st-site] [st-gmaps] | 2/2 |
Price Transparency
15 / 15
Whether patients can estimate costs before visiting. Published price ranges count; exact prices are not required.
| ✓ | Prices or price ranges published A standing list in USD across seven areas, not a promotion [st-prices] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Cleaning price listed General cleaning from $65; the $80 initial evaluation includes a general cleaning [st-prices] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Filling price listed Composite filling from $75 [st-prices] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Crown price listed Zirconia and E.max crowns from $450 [st-prices] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Implant price listed Implant fixture from $1,000; All-on-6 per arch from $12,500 [st-prices] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Consultation price listed Initial evaluation $80; periodontal consultation from $40 [st-prices] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | X-ray / imaging price listed The $80 evaluation includes a full set of X-rays; 3D CBCT from $120 [st-prices] | 2/2 |
Reputation & Reviews
16.5 / 20
Public review signals. The Google rating is adjusted with a Bayesian prior (rating 4.0, weight 25) so a 5.0 from a handful of reviews does not outrank a 4.8 from hundreds.
| ✓ | Google rating (Bayesian-adjusted) as of 2026-10-20 [st-gmaps] | 6/6 |
| ◐ | Google review volume as of 2026-10-20 [st-gmaps] | 2/3 |
| ✓ | Review recency Newest reviews 2026-10-18 and 2026-10-19 [st-gmaps] | 3/3 |
| ? | Clinic responds to reviews The owner-reply block was read in four review sorts on 2026-10-20 and carries no reply on any of the nine reviews rendered, dated 2025-05-05 to 2026-10-19; the rule asks for at least ten reviews read before this counts as a negative, so it stays unverified. [st-gmaps] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | No recurring complaints No rating below four stars in the histogram (109 five-star, one four-star) and no complaint in the reviews read, including the lowest-rated sort [st-gmaps] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | No suspicious review patterns Not an all-five-star histogram (one four-star review of 2026-02-16); reviewers include Local Guides with 10 and 52 reviews, the reviews read are in both Spanish and English and dated from 2025-05 to 2026-10, though five of them fall on 2026-10-18 and 2026-10-19 [st-gmaps] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Active Facebook presence [st-team] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | TripAdvisor presence Two negatives: no listing in a TripAdvisor search, and no TripAdvisor link on the clinic website or its Google listing [st-ta] [st-team] | 0/0.5 |
| ✓ | Other review platforms WhatClinic and Dental Departures profiles [st-whatclinic] [st-departures] | 0.5/0.5 |
Medical Infrastructure
13 / 15
The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.
| ✓ | On-site X-ray A full set of X-rays is included in the $80 evaluation [st-prices] | 2/2 |
| ✗ | CBCT (3D imaging) The price page states the 3D CBCT scan is taken at a partner imaging laboratory and billed through the clinic, not performed on site [st-prices] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Implantology [st-prices] [st-team] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Orthodontics Metal braces and Invisalign, with an orthodontist on the team [st-prices] [st-team] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Oral surgery Surgical extraction, apicectomy, open flap curettage and implant placement [st-prices] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Pediatric dentistry A pediatric section on the price page and a pediatric dentist on the team [st-prices] [st-team] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Emergency care An emergency appointment line on the price page; Sundays kept for emergencies by prior appointment [st-prices] [st-site] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Works with international patients Aetna and MetLife PPO billed directly, a U.S. phone line and cross-border patient support pages [st-insurance] [st-tourism] | 2/2 |
Communication & Service
8.5 / 10
How easy it is to contact the clinic, get answers, and book - especially for international patients.
| ✓ | WhatsApp / LINE available WhatsApp +1 619 763 5489 and +52 664 174 2930 [st-site] | 2/2 |
| ? | Response speed | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | English spoken [st-site] [st-team] | 2.5/2.5 |
| ✓ | Pre-visit consultation possible Patients are invited to send photographs or X-rays over WhatsApp before the visit, with a written estimate after the evaluation [st-site] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Clear service explanations Each treatment carries what it covers, what the assessment decides and what to confirm in the estimate, plus an FAQ on safety, follow-up after returning home and warranty terms [st-prices] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | Convenient opening hours Saturday 9:00-18:00 on the site and on the Google listing [st-site] [st-gmaps] | 1.5/1.5 |
AI & Search Visibility
4 / 10
Whether the clinic is discoverable when patients search - including via AI assistants. Checked with fixed queries: "best dentist Tijuana", "English speaking dentist Tijuana", "dental implants Tijuana", "emergency dentist Tijuana", "Tijuana dental clinic for expats".
| ✗ | Mentioned for: best dentist Tijuana Not present in the top web results for "best dentist Tijuana" on 2026-10-20. [stq-best] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: English speaking dentist Tijuana Not present in the top web results for "English speaking dentist Tijuana" on 2026-10-20. [stq-english] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: dental implants Tijuana Not present in the top web results for "dental implants Tijuana" on 2026-10-20. [stq-implants] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: emergency dentist Tijuana Not present in the top web results for "emergency dentist Tijuana" on 2026-10-20. [stq-emergency] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: Tijuana dental clinic for expats Not present in the top web results for "Tijuana dental clinic for expats" on 2026-10-20. [stq-expats] | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Structured data on website JSON-LD of types Dentist, Organization, Place and GeoCoordinates on all 60 pages read [st-sitemap] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ◐ | Google indexing quality The own site of the clinic ranks for its name (result 2 of 9, behind its WhatClinic profile) but appears in none of the five canonical city queries [stq-name] [stq-best] | 1/2 |
| ✓ | Dedicated service pages Seven treatment pages in both languages plus 94 dated articles [st-prices] [st-sitemap] | 1.5/1.5 |
Licensing & Credentials
Whether the clinic publishes its operating licence and the dentists working there together with their professional licence numbers. A verified “not published” is recorded as a red flag; data we have not checked yet is shown as unverified and carries no penalty.
Clinic operating licence: not checked against public sources yet — unverified, no penalty
Dentists & professional licences
| Dentist | Specialization | Licence No. |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Gina Fernanda Luna Jimenez [st-team] | Periodontics (UABC; speciality licence pending) | Cedula 14133217 |
| Dr. Luz Dalia Luna [st-team] | Endodontics (UABC) | Cedula 6458189; Esp. 12000769 |
| Dr. Paola Tejeda [st-team] | General dentistry (UABC) | Cedula 15191328 |
| Dr. Bianca Paulina Acosta Sansen [st-team] | Implantology and oral rehabilitation (Instituto Alzaga; speciality licence pending) | Cedula 14498142 |
| Dr. Hector Esquivel [st-team] | Prosthodontics (ULA) | Cedula 5658003; Esp. 11671754 |
| Dr. Nancy Meza [st-team] | Pediatric dentistry (UABC; speciality licence pending) | Cedula 13183226 |
| Dr. Arely Becerra [st-team] | Orthodontics (UABC; speciality licence pending) | Cedula 15593773 |
Red Flags
No red flags identified in the public sources we reviewed.
Data We Could Not Verify
- Reputation & Reviews: Clinic responds to reviews
- Communication & Service: Response speed
Unverified items score 0 points but are not treated as negative findings. If you can document any of them, please send a correction.
Contact Information
| Website | https://thespecialteeth.com/ |
|---|---|
| Phone | +52 664 174 2930 |
| +1 619 763 5489 | |
| https://www.facebook.com/TheSpecialTeeth | |
| Google Maps | Map listing |
| Address | Ave. Negrete 2051, Zona Centro, Tijuana, B.C. 22000 |
Contact details are provided for identification only and may change; verify with the clinic directly.
Sources
| ID | Source | What it supports | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| st-site | https://thespecialteeth.com/en/ | Home page: bilingual clinic ten minutes from the San Ysidro crossing, Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00 with Sunday emergencies by appointment, WhatsApp contact, Aetna and MetLife PPO billed directly, reference prices in USD, embedded Google review block | 2026-10-20 |
| st-team | https://thespecialteeth.com/en/nosotros/ | Team page: seven dentists with full names, specialities, training institution and professional licence (cedula) numbers, plus a dental assistant and a patient experience manager; address Ave. Negrete 2051, Zona Centro; Mexican and U.S. phone numbers; info@thespecialteeth.com; Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube links | 2026-10-20 |
| st-prices | https://thespecialteeth.com/en/dental-treatments-tijuana/ | Standing price list in USD across seven areas: initial evaluation with full X-rays, photos and a general cleaning $80; general cleaning from $65; deep cleaning from $150 per quadrant; composite filling from $75; simple extraction from $120; surgical extraction from $200; 3D CBCT from $120 taken at a partner imaging lab; periodontal consultation from $40; scaling and root planing from $120 per quadrant, full mouth from $385; implant fixture from $1,000; All-on-6 per arch from $12,500; zirconia and E.max crowns from $450; porcelain veneer from $550; composite veneer from $220; root canal $300, retreatment $350, post and core $150, apicectomy from $175; metal braces and Invisalign quoted after assessment; pediatric care priced after evaluation; FAQ on safety, follow-up after returning to the U.S. and warranty terms | 2026-10-20 |
| st-insurance | https://thespecialteeth.com/en/dental-insurance-aetna-metlife-ppo/ | Aetna and MetLife PPO accepted with direct billing to the insurer after a prior clinical evaluation | 2026-10-20 |
| st-tourism | https://thespecialteeth.com/en/dental-tourism-dentist-near-san-diego/ | Cross-border patient support: arrival and transfers, border crossing guidance, accommodation, with six pages on trips from Tijuana | 2026-10-20 |
| st-llms | https://thespecialteeth.com/llms.txt | A file written for AI assistants: key facts, hours, insurance, team composition and a reference price list | 2026-10-20 |
| st-sitemap | https://thespecialteeth.com/sitemap.xml | 167 URLs with lastmod, a bilingual tree under /en/ and /es/, hreflang en-US and es-MX; JSON-LD of types Dentist, Organization, Place and GeoCoordinates on every page read (60 of 60) | 2026-10-20 |
| st-css | https://thespecialteeth.com/wp-content/litespeed/css/4c228c20530c49… | Stylesheet rules .tst-label-en{display:none} and html[lang^="en"] .tst-label-es{display:none}: both language variants of the copy ship in every page and one is hidden with CSS, so the English home page carries 38 Spanish blocks next to 38 English ones | 2026-10-20 |
| st-gmaps | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=12985042773883634773&hl=en | Google listing "The Special Teeth Dental Clinic - Dentist in Tijuana" (category Dental clinic), claimed: rating 5.0 from 110 reviews, histogram 109 five-star and one four-star, newest reviews 2026-10-18 and 2026-10-19, hours Mon-Sat 9 AM-6 PM and Sunday closed, geo 32.5239608/-117.0325909; the owner-reply block was read in four payloads (relevant, newest and lowest sorts) and carries zero replies on the eight distinct reviews rendered, dated 2025-05-05 to 2026-10-19 | 2026-10-20 |
| st-whatclinic | https://www.whatclinic.com/dentists/mexico/tijuana/the-special-teeth | WhatClinic profile of the clinic | 2026-10-20 |
| st-departures | https://www.dentaldepartures.com/dentist/the-special-teeth | Dental Departures profile of the clinic | 2026-10-20 |
| st-ta | https://www.tripadvisor.com/ | A TripAdvisor search for the clinic returned no listing, only Tijuana forum threads about other dentists; no TripAdvisor link on the clinic website or its Google listing | 2026-10-20 |
| st-clues | http://www.dgis.salud.gob.mx/contenidos/intercambio/clues_gobmx.html | CLUES master workbook (ESTABLECIMIENTO_SALUD_202608.xlsx, 25.2 MB, catalogue updated August 2026) downloaded and searched today: no entry for this clinic, and none for Trust Dental Care, Advanced Smiles Dentistry, Dentiland, I Love My Dentist or Ramos Dental Clinic either; the whole national catalogue holds 36 establishments named "consultorio dental", so private dental practices fall outside its scope | 2026-10-20 |
| st-sep | https://cedulaprofesional.sep.gob.mx/cedula/ | The SEP professional-licence register (cedula profesional) did not answer today: connect timeout, HTTP 000, tested from two different hosts | 2026-10-20 |
| stq-best | search:best dentist Tijuana | Web search on 2026-10-20: results 1-9 were yelp.com, ilovemydentist.com.mx, thedentaldistrict.com, dentalramosclinic.com, medicaltourismco.com, placidway.com, dentalsolutionstijuana.com, molarcity.com and stripe.jhu.edu; the name and site of this clinic were not among them | 2026-10-20 |
| stq-english | search:English speaking dentist Tijuana | Web search on 2026-10-20: results 1-9 were goodsamdental.org, instyledentaltj.com, dentiland.net, smiletogethertijuana.com, orthodentmx.com, tijuanadental.net, olivedentalsolutions.com, allodental.com and molarcity.com; the name and site of this clinic were not among them | 2026-10-20 |
| stq-implants | search:dental implants Tijuana | Web search on 2026-10-20: results 1-9 were yelp.com, smiletijuanadentist.com, mydentalbrush.com, allinonedentalimplantscenter.com, bioimplantcenter.com, mariettadentalcare.com.mx, dayodental.com, tijuanadentistcenter.com and drimplantdentist.com; the name and site of this clinic were not among them | 2026-10-20 |
| stq-emergency | search:emergency dentist Tijuana | Web search on 2026-10-20: results 1-9 were whatclinic.com, yelp.com, ilovemydentist.com.mx, advancedsmilesdentistry.com, dentiland.net, dentalramosclinic.com, dentaldepartures.com, trustdentalcare.com and egdentalmex.com; the name and site of this clinic were not among them | 2026-10-20 |
| stq-expats | search:Tijuana dental clinic for expats | Web search on 2026-10-20: results 1-9 were whatclinic.com, ilovemydentist.com.mx, smile4evermexico.com, instyledentaltj.com, clinicadentaltijuana.com, advancedsmilesdentistry.com, tijuanadentalcenter.com, tijuanadentalstudio.com and tijuanadentistcenter.com; the name and site of this clinic were not among them | 2026-10-20 |
| stq-name | search:The Special Teeth dental clinic Tijuana Negrete | Web search on 2026-10-20: the own site of the clinic is result 2 of 9, behind its WhatClinic profile, and its Dental Departures profile is result 3 | 2026-10-20 |
Change History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-20 | Listed on 2026-10-20 after the clinic asked for the free check (questionnaire of 2026-10-19). Researched from the own site of the clinic in both languages (home, team, treatments and prices, insurance, dental tourism, contact and booking pages, its sitemap, its stylesheet and the file it writes for AI assistants), its Google listing read in three review sorts, its WhatClinic and Dental Departures profiles, a TripAdvisor search, the CLUES catalogue of Mexican health establishments and the SEP professional-licence register. Visibility is taken from the five canonical Tijuana queries of 2026-10-20, read once for every clinic re-read in this pass: this clinic appears in none of them, while its own site ranks for its name. Seven dentists are named with the professional licence numbers the clinic publishes itself; those numbers could not be checked against the SEP register, which did not answer today. Still unverified: response speed. |
A question or a correction?
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