- Do you usually surf the net looking for the better deal?
- Do you think this is a good strategy now that you finally decide to do something with your smile?
- Are you looking for free quotes and appointments for Implants, Aesthetic dentistry or Oral rehabilitation?
All of these may sound appealing but when it comes to such an important decision, in the areas of implants and aesthetic dentistry, choosing a low-cost dentist can be the most expensive of decisions.
Let me be clear: I’m all in for promotions, when I go to a supermarket and see something I usually buy with 50% discount I might get five or six packages and I’m very happy with the savings.
But this is only valid when you’re comparing the exact same product and this has no parallel when we are talking about your health and, for good or bad, the impact of the dentist in the patient’s mouth is huge.
Take for example this case: dental crowns and bridges are not all alike
The patient had gone to another clinic and had just placed a bridge on the left upper quadrant with very poor aesthetics. This was not what the patient wanted and, although she had just finished and paid for this treatment she came to our clinic to solve the problem.
In order to achieve a natural beautiful smile that agreed with the patients looks and age, we replaced the bridge and placed veneers on the incisors to get the result the patient wanted.
It’s important to understand that lots of different treatments can have the same name, but can lead to different outcomes.
In my 35 years of clinical practice, with an increasing abundance of dentists, Dental Clinics and Dental Insurances that are offered at very low cost, lowering prices no matter what it takes, is something I see with a big concern. A mentality of low-cost being raised in detriment of choosing a professional by he’s quality.
In order to have good results in areas such as Oral Rehabilitation, Implants and Aesthetic Dentistry (veneers) we must create the conditions for the results to be predictable (trustworthy):
- An experienced Dentist that strives for Excellence and has a knowledge of all the techniques through he’s continued education.
- Top Ceramists and technical laboratory
- Choices based on quality and not price, from the materials used to the Dentists and other professionals working at the Clinic.
- Rigorous sterilisation techniques.
These choices are the only way to guarantee good results. None of these unfortunately can be achieved by a low-cost dentist where the main concern is numbers and cutting costs.
When Things look too good to be true they probably aren’t good!
Have you ever wondered how someone that does its job with a minimum of realism and honesty can promise free appointments and treatment plans?
In my case, in order to give a treatment plan I need a minimum of:
- A 30 minute appointment, photographs, radiographs, a check up, evaluate the patient’s needs and desires and eventually even do dental impressions .
- I then analyze all this data, discuss the case with my lab technician and make a treatment plan with the costs: (this phase takes me another 30 to 60 minutes).
- On a second appointment, (another 30 minutes) I present the case to the patient, with the help of his photos and photos of similar cases, answer the questions that always come up and, only when everything is understood do we move to the next phase and book the subsequent appointments.
For all this process, that takes me a minimum of 1 hour to 1 and half hours, plus all the disposable material and sterilization, I charge a value that only barely covers the costs. I don’t have any profit in this phase of the treatment, but I do this because I have a high acceptance rate when I present the plan to my patients.
I cannot even begin to imagine how someone can realistically offer all of this for free, but unfortunately this is what many people expect and look for.
There are many clinics, especially franchised, in which all the efforts are done in the marketing department to close a deal with the client as fast as possible, preferably with payments upfront in such a way that when the patient starts to realize where his choices led him, it’s all already too late to turn back.
In my daily practice I see a lot of cases in which the intervention of the dentist did a huge harm to the patient. As an example the next photo shows a patient that bought a cheap dental treatment that was not what he really needed.
The vulnerability of people in the hands of “bad professionals” is immense.
The patient came to my appointment because he didn’t like the provisionals they had placed on him.
Nothing was done as it should: periodontal disease was not controlled, the interest was to place 4 crowns (in this case temporary but charging upfront the definitive ones) and what he has spent was literally thrown away.
Having paid upfront all the treatment, when he came to the conclusion that he was not in the right place, it was already too late. Unfortunately cases like this are more common than you would think.
In this other case below, we see how a bad intervention can ruin a mouth with just a simple crown and leave the patient unwilling to smile for several years.
The ability of a dentist intervention for good or harm is huge.
Cases can be solved with good or bad solutions. More important than a free appointment is a good solution. Money is certainly a very important factor but it cannot be the only one. You must realize that the treatment stays in your mouth for many years, 24 hours a day.
All of this is increasingly important when the interventions become more complex and the iatrogenic potential of the dentist skyrockets so, before you place the responsibility of your smile and oral health, especially for implants or a rehabilitation or aesthetic dentistry in the hands of a professional, do your homework:
- Ask the dentist to show you some before and after photographs of his cases.
- Try to know what the patients say about the dentist (today this is very easy with Google Maps and Social Networks).
- When you meet the dentist see if you are comfortable with a person that is going to treat you. Listen to your gut feeling.
- Don’t just go for someone who promises a cheaper service because you will surely regret it.
- Beware of aggressive commercial and even intimidatory practices that look for immediate upfront payments.
It’s better to do the Rehabilitation step by step, or postpone until you can afford it, then to start a process on irreversible treatments that are going to leave you worse than before and also with less money, which was your main concern, by the way.
