Dental implants have become the preferred method of dealing with missing teeth for patients and dental professionals alike. The implants require no additional care methods, lifestyle changes and look 100% natural. Unfortunately for many people, the majority of insurance companies do not cover them. This means that many patients must cover the expense of dental implants on their own.Naturally, the cost of implants can quickly exceed $1,000 dollars and it is common for one tooth to start at $700 and up. Instead of selecting an option more in line with their financial needs, such as bridges or dentures, many people have started turning to lower quality dental implants and dental tourism.
The need to keep their costs down, yet not understanding the difference between an inexpensive implant and one that is cheap has lured many patients to make serious mistakes when searching for the right dental implant. Unfortunately, what may seem inexpensive in the short term can wind up costing the patient much more in the long run. It is not uncommon for poor quality implants or insufficient work to require the patient to visit another periodontist to correct poor quality implant and the resulting damage that occurs from shoddy workmanship.
Spokesman for Beverly Hills Periodontal Institute and Santa Monica and Beverly Hills periodontist Dr. Miles Madison has witnessed his fair share of subpar dental work. He states:
I know all too well the perils of selecting the cheapest implants and work one can find on the market. I help patients like this on a daily basis in my practice. The story is usually the same. They decided to go with rock-bottom pricing on implants and now suffer the financial and physical consequences of their decisions. Fortunately my patients are thrilled after their corrective dentistry and I am happy to have helped them.
Many places advertising cut-rate dental implants reduce costs in a variety of ways. Some may choose to use cheap labs, cheap materials, one-size-fits all abutments and even reuse drills. Although the price is tempting to many, once one knows the true costs of cut-rate dental implants, they will think twice about giving that establishment their hard-earned money.
Dr. Madison states, “I understand how difficult these economic times are for everyone, so I can’t stress how important it is for patients to eschew cut-price methods and instead work on saving their money to get the best quality implants and periodontist as possible. Their wallets and mouths will thank them in the long run.”