Suspicious Affordable Dental Implant Dentist

I purchased a discount dental plan specifically to get affordable dental care. I was hoping to get affordable dental, implants especially, for three teeth I’d lost. I could only see certain dentists. When I went in, before they even saw me for anything they had me fill out a form for financing. They didn’t call me back until after I received approval. I’d never had that at a dental office before. Then, they did x-rays and a cleaning. The dentist came in but never examined me. He just told me I’d need several crowns (which was a surprise to me) and then went right into the implants. He never even examined my teeth, which I also felt strange. He preferred for me to schedule the appointment right away, but I just felt weird about the whole appointment. I hadn’t been to a US dentist in a while because I’m out of the country a lot, but I remember it being much different. Am I overreacting?

Louisa

Dear Louisa,

Diagram of a dental implant
There are several ways to get affordable dental implants

You’re not overreacting. That is very unusual. A dentist would give a thorough exam before recommending a treatment. He should have also explained why he recommended it, along with any alternative options you’d have.

I’ve never heard of a dentist approving you for financing ahead of your exam, with the exception of the Clear Choice Implant centers. But they’re more of a conveyor belt clinic than a dental practice. This whole situation makes me think what you really need is a second opinion.

I’d ask for the clinic you just went to for your x-rays. This way you don’t have to pay for x-rays twice. They’re legally obligated to give them to you so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Also, be aware that some dentists will offer free second opinions.

Getting Affordable Dental Implants

While dental insurance can help, the more important thing about affordable dental implants is first making sure you have a qualified dentist do the work. It’s a very advanced procedure. If it’s not done properly, it can lead to infection along and other means of dental implant failure, causing you to start over completely. Implant failure also means an additional procedure, because you’d have to build back up the bone in order to replace the implants.

If you needed full tooth replacements, the affordable options you’d be looking at are snap-on dentures or implant overdentures. However, you only need a couple. There are a couple of things you should know that might help with affordability.

First, you don’t pay it all at once. Because the procedure is done in stages, the payments are done in stages too. I am aware that even that may be too expensive for some. If that’s your situation, many dentists are willing to work with you on spacing it out even further.

Pick an experienced implant dentist. Then, communicate with them about your particular situation. Together, I’m sure you can come up with a reasonable solution.

And, just like you did with this previous dentist, trust your instincts.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.