I needed a couple of teeth replaced. The quote my dentist gave me for implants was higher than I could afford, especially because he said I’d need some bone grafting done first. I called around to several dentists and they all said the same thing. I was about to give up and settle on a removable partial denture, which was heart-rending for me. Right before I scheduled the procedure, a friend recommended her dentist who didn’t require bone grafting. I talked with him and he said he could do the procedure without the grafting and at half the price the other dentists quoted. I was so excited!! Now, here I am many thousands of dollars later and both my implants have fallen out!! The whole thing, right out of my mouth. Was I taken in? Are there no affordable dental implants and he was just trying to get my money?
Bella B. – Cincinnati
Bella,
The problem isn’t looking for an affordable dentist. There are affordable dentists out there who do great, quality work. Then, there are those who do just about anything to draw in business, yet keep their profits up. Those aren’t affordable dentists as much as cheap.
It sounds to me like the one you chose, said what you wanted to hear in order to get your business. Mind you, I say that without having examined you, which may be unfair.
However, if both implants just fell out of your mouth, that hints to me one of two things. 1. You DID need bone grafting surgery. Your teeth are held in your jaw by the bone that surrounds the root. Without enough jawbone, your implant procedure was doomed to fail. 2. If you did have enough jawbone to begin with, then it is likely your dentist didn’t leave enough time for osseointegration (Time for the bone to form around your implant).
If I were in your place, I would go to a skilled implant dentist and have them look at your case. They can likely tell you what is going on. If your dentist was negligent, you may be able to get some money back in order to have the procedure done correctly.
This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
I hadn’t been to a dentist in years for financial reasons. I started to get worried about my oral health, not because of any specific issues, but it’s just been in the back of my mind. I did an internet search for affordable dentists and found two in my immediate area. I’ve been to both of them. They were both awful. The first one was just plain smelly. I don’t know why. It’s like he just didn’t care about bathing. I could barely stand to stay in the chair because of them smell. I know he said I needed some work. I expected that. But, I can’t remember anything he said because I just wanted out of there. I don’t think I could go back to him if it was free. The next one at least cared about personal hygiene. He was a bit rough in how he handles patients. He told me I have a tooth that could go any minute. I could try to save it with a root canal and crown or I can just extract and replace it. I tried to ask him some questions but he said he doesn’t have time to answer patients. I can call the office and leave a message and one of the hygienists will get back with me. On the way out I told the desk lady I didn’t understand why he doesn’t answer patient questions. She said if I want low prices he needs to keep people moving so he can make up profit losses. Is it possible to get quality service by a dentist who cares AND affordable prices? Please don’t make me go back to Mr. Stinky.
Elaina
Dear Elaina,
Cheap does not always equal affordable.
It’s great that you’re working so hard to find a dentist which you can afford. It’s a shame your choices have been so limited. It doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find one, though you may have to go outside of your immediate area if those were the two closest choices.
Reasons Dentists Choose to Have Affordable Prices
There are several reasons dentists may choose to have prices that are lower than the average around them. Some of those motives are better than others, as you’ve unfortunately experienced.
To Draw in Patients
This isn’t a bad motive (in some cases). It mostly depends on why they need to draw in patients. Sometimes it is simply a matter of being a brand new practice. They haven’t had time to develop a patient base. We’ve all had to start somewhere. However, other times a dentist isn’t that great. They need to draw in patients because they have horrible patient retention. The only way to keep their income going is to lower their prices and draw in new victims.
Compassion
Other dentists simply know that every human being is working at a different budgetary level. They don’t want the working poor to be without dental care simply because their current job salary or life circumstances make affording those types of things feel like a luxury. Many of them have been in difficult circumstances before and still remember what it felt like.
Their quality doesn’t suffer from their compassion. Often you won’t find them the absolute cheapest, though. Why is that? Because they also think patients deserve quality care. They refuse to sacrifice their patients at the altar of cheap parts to make up profits. That leads me to an important warning.
A Cheap Dentist isn’t an Affordable Dentist
When a dentist uses having the lowest prices to draw patients in, sometimes they try to make up the profits by purchasing low quality (cheap) materials. One place we’ve seen this often is with dental implants.
In the United States, an implant fixture can cost several hundred dollars. That’s because we have high medical standards and regulations designed to keep the safety of patients in mind at all times. But, if a dentist wants to come in significantly lower in price than his nearby peers he has a couple of choices: make less money or make up the profits somewhere. Too many of them choose to make up the profits elsewhere. The dentists can simply purchase is implant part from out of the country for just a few bucks, saving him hundreds on just one phase of the procedure. Unfortunately, those cheap parts have led to many infections causing not just a dental emergency, but complete implant failure. I’ve even seen some patients come for help because their implant simply snapped in half.
Now, that patient has to start over again, missing more work. Plus, in addition to having to get their dental implants done again from scratch, they have to add bone grafting to the mix because dental implant failure removes too much bone structure. Instead of saving money, they end up paying more than double.
How do You Know if You’re Getting a Good Affordable Dentist?
There’s no foolproof way to ensure yourself against a dud, but there is one simple step you can take— check their reviews. People post reviews of their experiences when they’ve either been very good or very bad. Either way, you’ll have some idea of what others experienced at the dentist’s hands.
My dental implant has been feeling odd lately. It started hurting and now the surrounding gum feels bouncy. Now my jaw is hurting and it’s painful to eat. The dentist who did my implant is out of town. Do you have a recommendation on how I can take care of this?
Lucy D. – Montana
Lucy,
I’m a bit concerned about the situation you’re in. You’ve got an infection at your dental implant site. If this isn’t dealt with immediately two very bad things can happen.
1. You could die. I know it sounds ridiculous in the twenty-first century, but it still happens that people die from tooth infections. In fact, just this past February a 40-year-old man in California died when his tooth infection spread to his lungs. An equally great risk is your heart or brain, because of their proximity to your teeth.
Don’t think this can be treated just by taking antibiotics. Many people make that mistake and end up in quite the dental emergency pickle. Antibiotics will forestall the infection, but the only way to truly get rid of it is for the dentist to get in there and remove the infected portion.
2. Your implant can fail. If the infection really gets hold, you could lose the implant. If that happens, you can’t just get a new implant. You’ll need to have bone grafting done, then start all over with surgery and healing time, then finally get your implant crown again.
This needs to be dealt with right away. I do realize your dentist is out of town, but I”m sure he has some procedures in place for dental emergencies. If not, then you can just do a Google search for an emergency dentist.
If you get the care you need soon, you’ll have a much better chance of saving your implant.
Now that I”ve likely completely depressed you (sorry about that), let me cheer you up. Once your implant site is healthy, you’re going to love having it as a tooth replacement. Nothing comes closer to having a healthy, natural tooth back. I’m sure your dentist has told you this as well, but you’ll be able to eat, brush, and floss normally. No restrictions.
I had called around to find the least expensive place to get dental implants. I found a dentist who was $1000.00 cheaper than everyone else. But, the fixture broke and now I have a serious infection. I don’t know what to do. I spent everything I had to get this implant and now I am worse off. Is there any way to fix this?
Liz C. – Mesa, AZ
Liz,
I am really sorry this happened to you. I say this over and over again– there is a big difference between cheap dentistry and affordable dentistry. Generally when something is significantly less expensive than almost every other place you call, it means they are cutting corners in places that are advantageous to themselves, but not to the patient.
In this case it sounds like he used substandard materials in order to save money on his end. This puts you in a real bind. Unfortunately, this procedure will have to be completely re-done after the infection has healed. You’ll probably also need some bone grafting in order to ensure their is enough bone support for the new implant.
I realize you don’t have money for this procedure right now. You may have to get a removable partial denture while you save up for the second implant procedure.
This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Kevin Peck.
