Beware Dental Implant ‘Special Offers’ – Are They All They Seem?

If you are tempted to travel for cheaper implants, you might want to think again….

Dental implants are becoming increasingly popular for replacing missing teeth, offering as they do, a long lasting and secure solution that both looks and feels like a natural tooth. One barrier to having these placed, for some people however, is the cost.

There is no getting away from the fact that this is not a cheap option for replacing lost teeth although it should be remembered that they actually offer good value for money over their lifetime and shouldn’t need repairs etc providing that you take care of them as instructed by our Ipswich implant team.

As teeth implants become more widely known, it is natural that those with less disposable income are also likely to want them instead of dentures and will look for a way to save financially. This is entirely understandable but can lead some to make poor choices, easily tempted by ‘special dental implant offers’. These are often not the bargain that was hoped for though.

Dental implant holidays

As the weather starts to warm up, we anticipate that you will see a rise in the number of these adverts. The reason for this is that many of the treatments are carried out abroad, often tempting patients with an ‘all in’ offer which includes not only implants, but a holiday too. Although this might be tempting, and we will come to the implications for the treatment shortly, the reality is that after you have had an implant placed, you may not feel like doing much for a day or so and will be restricted in what you can eat, making it less of a holiday than you might have wished for.

Clinical qualifications

Most people register with a local dentist, and most of the Foxhall Dental Practice patients come from Ipswich and the local areas around it. This makes sense as it enables you to get to know your dentist’s team and how they operate. It also means that if there are any follow up problems to a procedure you have had, they are on hand to help you out.

If you travel abroad for treatments and in particular dental implant placement, the likelihood is that you won’t know the dentist who is carrying out the procedure. Although there are some excellent dentists abroad, and we don’t wish to denigrate their abilities, this isn’t always the case and, because you don’t know them, you may be taking a gamble on how skilled and experienced they are at placing implants. For example, one of the reasons why a procedure may be cheaper is that they are less experienced and, in effect, you are helping them ‘practice’ their skills. This might go well for you, of course, but it is a risk, especially with such a complex treatment.

There is also the possibility that some countries have less strict requirements to qualify as a dentist. At the very least, you should check this out before you go.

Cheaper materials

Another reason that some dentists will be able to offer cheaper implants is that they are cutting corners on the quality. This is a recipe for disaster as the quality of the implant; the part that is placed into the jawbone, is critical. Only certain materials will enable the bone and implant to fuse together in a process known as osseointegration. It is this that creates such a strong bond, ensuring that the replacement tooth remains secure. Some implants may use a combination of materials that mean the osseointegration process is less successful and you could find that your new tooth implant is not secure and may even come out.

Implant maintenance problems

The above also raises the point as to what would happen if your implant placement went wrong. Although tooth implant success rates are extremely high; as with any medical procedure, there can be problems that occur afterwards. In the case of an inexperienced dentist, this could be due to an error made when placing them or the fact that cheaper materials means that the implant and bone don’t fuse correctly.

If problems do arise, and you have had your treatment carried out abroad, that means that you would most likely need to fund your own flights and accommodation to visit the dentist again. There is also the issue of whether you would want to see the same dentist, especially if they were the cause of the problem in the first place.  UK qualified dentists who have undergone additional years of study to carry out this procedure, are rarely keen to resolve a problem that has been caused by someone looking to have them done ‘on the cheap’.

Local dental implants

All of this brings us to why you should have your implant treatment carried out at your local Ipswich dental practice. The fact is that our implant dentists are both experienced and fully trained, greatly increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome. You can also be sure that we use high quality materials for the procedure. All this means that you should have a strong and secure tooth replacement that can last you for 20 years, and often many more. We will also, of course, monitor the progress of the implant, something that is very difficult if your dentist is a thousand miles (or more) away.

Finally, we return to the question of cost. It is true that you will pay more for your treatment here than if you take up one of the offers mentioned. Do remember though that this is a medical treatment and one that can have implications if it goes wrong; so we strongly recommend that you don’t try to cut corners.  At the Foxhall Dental Practice, we are able to help our patients spread the payment for the treatment over a period of time, using one of our finance plans.

If you would like to discuss the latest teeth implants, or any other treatment with us, please call our Ipswich dental clinic on 01473 258396.