What are the differences between expensive and affordable dental implant care?

Dental consumers sometimes think that a dentist who charges more can provide the best dental implant care. This attitude stems from the common belief that if something is expensive, it is automatically better. I don’t think this logic applies when choosing from whom and where to get your dental implant care.

You, the potential consumer of dental services, should know exactly what you are paying for, especially when selecting expensive versus affordable dental implant care. You should also familiarize yourself with the facts that truly identify successful dental implant care results.

Research on the outcome of using specific brands of dental implants today is largely done in university settings. Most of this research is funded by the companies whose dental implants are being tested, creating a situation with obvious potential for conflict of interest. Most of these studies are of very short duration and exist primarily to promote the new implant products that the benefactor companies are eager to bring to the dental market as soon as possible. These types of “selfish” studies are of little value except for marketing.

When examining the costs of dental implant placement and restoration, it becomes apparent that the ultimate cost of dental implant care by the dentist is determined very subjectively. By subjective, I mean that a dentist’s out-of-pocket expense to purchase, place, and restore a dental implant is largely limited to:

1. What the dentist chooses to pay for the materials.

2. Elective costs for forms of direct and indirect advertising decided by the dentist.

3. The dollar amount (click on Exhibit 2) the dentist wants to charge for his or her time to complete a dental implant-related service. This fee is essentially based on what the dentist wants to make as a profit. It’s a sentiment, not necessarily based on competitive factors.

Also, even though I am a big proponent of marketing, I think consumers should be aware of hidden costs and other clever sales strategies beyond “hype” when responding to any ad, bait and switch strategies are common in all industries, including dental. implant field. You should research who is treating you, their experience, and their results.

I believe that the prudent consumer seeking dental implant care needs to educate themselves to make good decisions when choosing who will care for them, now and in the future. The informed purchase is the responsibility of consumers towards themselves.