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dental tourism - Dream Dental Implant Center

Mar 29
0

Top Factors that Influence the Cost of All on 4 Dental Implants

By | All on 4 dental implants | 2 Comments

Zirconia monolithic bridge supported all on 4 dental implantsAre you confused about how much All on 4 dental implants costs? The price can can vary so much from office to office. From an outside perspective, this can be frustrating and cause you to pause in your journey. We hope this post will help you understand what factors affect cost and what to keep in mind as you get quotes from different doctors. Here are the questions that you should answer?

  • Office location and the local All-ON-4 market
    • Geography can play a big role in the cost of dental implants. Depending on where you live and your willingness to travel, the cost of All-on-4 dental implants can vary dramatically. The lower the cost of living generally leads to lower price but not always. Other factors below also play an important role in the overall ALL ON 4 dental implant cost. Our patients come from all over the United States and even internationally because the the cost of All on 4 dental implants is less than other places. Some cities have a greater number of All-on-4 doctors and because the supply is high, the price drops. Dental tourism is becoming more and more popular. Warning: We highly recommend finding an office that is within the United States or has strict regulations with regards to dentistry.
      • Questions to ask the doctor
        • Who is your top three competitors and how are you the same or different?
        • Where do your patients travel from?
  • Number of doctors managing my transformation
    • Two office Approach – Historically, two different doctors (and their accompanying offices) handled larger complex cases such as All-on-4 dental implants. This means that a surgeon required his own separate fees for the surgical phase of treatment and a restorative doctor would charge you for the second phase of making your permanent teeth . Having two specialists in their respective field to manage treatment can be a great thing for the patient if they are good at communicating with each other. Dr. Hendriks uses the analogy of building a new home and making sure that you have the contractor in charge of the foundation communicating well with the general contractor in charge of framing and roofing. Often times, doctors are so busy that inter office communication can be a challenge.
      • Here is a practical example. Imagine if your dream was to have a beautiful home built on a large piece of property with the house toward the back so yo have a large and grand front appearance as you enter. What if you leave on a trip for a couple weeks and come back to find that the foundation was built in the middle of the property? Its poured perfectly but in the wrong location for you dream house. Who’s fault is this? How do you remedy it? How much longer will it take to have this fixed? This is the sort of the thing that can occur when both parties aren’t clear about the outcome and work in tandem.
    • One Office Approach– In contrast to this approach, a well trained doctor, committed to excellence, can be trained surgically and restoratively to do both phases. This is What we do at Dream Dental Implant Center. This makes it very convenient for you to go to just one office for all your visits and know that any unforeseen problems will be managed by his/her office. The advantages of having one office can often outweigh the two office approach but only if the One office has the surgical and restorative experience. Warning: Its easy to be fooled by good marketing that gives the appearance of experience and expertise so it behooves you to do your homework and ask tons of questions, do a background check on the business and the doctor, look for legitimate reviews, and anything else that gives you the feeling that this office can give you the dream smile you want.
      • Great questions to ask the doctor
        • Who will be the doctor doing the surgery and what are the associated fees?
        • Who will be the doctor providing the temporary teeth and the fees associated, as well as, when will they be provided?
        • Who will be the doctor providing the permanent teeth and the fees associated, as well as, when will they be provided?
  • Successful All-On-4 experience – This includes the doctor, as well as the team that supports him. Unfortunately good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes. Dr. Hendriks always says that Something magical happens when you do what you love, you do it often, and you enjoy teaching it.
    • When you love what you do – A doctor with tons of passion and love for transforming lives with ALL-ON-4 Dental Implants
    • You do it every day – doctor who decides that he/she ONLY wants to do life changing All-on-4 dental implant transformations and decides to limits his practice to this one procedure.
    • You teach it – A doctor who unselfishly is willing to teach what he knows to other doctors. Dr. Hendriks believes teaching is the highest calling in life and that sharing knowledge with the world can have an even greater positive affect on the world. Dr. Hendriks has many doctors from all over the United States who travel to Utah to attend his courses. many dentists have a desire to begin doing All-on-4 implant procedures, but they also have so little experience that they will often lower the cost to win a case. This is often done without letting the patient know of the level of experience. This is a big factor in the price, and their inadequacy will usually result in tacking on costly and often times unnecessary warranty fees. Labs that have more experience and provide extra customization charge more to the doctor and therefore the price increases. Some doctors do not disclose that they send their work overseas to other countries with lower cost of labor and no regulation of materials. These devices often look similar to other dental offices but lack the integrity and can fail 3-5 years later.
      • Great questions to ask the doctor
        • How many ALL-ON-4 Dental Implant transformations have you completed and are at least 5 – 10 years out and doing well?
        • Where did you go to get trained in ALL-ON-4 surgery and prosthetics?
        • When did you start performing ALL-ON-4 surgery?
        • How many All-ON-4 Transformations do you do monthly? Last year?
        • Do you provide other services besides ALL-ON-4?
        • Do you educate your peers or have a teaching center?
        • What’s the hardest case you have done?
        • Can you show me before and after pictures of your favorite case?
        • What’s the most difficult complication you have dealt with?
  • Breadth of Surgical treatment plan
    • Implant number – Although four implants per jaw is the most common number, at times additional implants should and need to be placed to ensure short term and long term success. Factors that can affect this include excessive bone loss, severe bone infection, bone quality with relation to vascularity, density and healing ability, bone quantity in key implant position locations.
    • Implant Type – Most implants are placed in the maxilla or mandible but in some cases, longer implants are needed, which are more invasive and placed in the face/zygoma bone just below the eye.
    • Bone Grafting Needed
    • Gum grafting Needed
      • Great Questions to ask the doctor
        • What is unique or different about my case that you plan to do differently than others?
        • Have you been trained and have experience with zygoma dental implants?
        • What types of implants do you intend to place?
        • What brand of implants will you place in my surgery?
        • Will you do additional bone and gum grafting for my case?
  • Prosthetic plan and timeline
    • This is a critical factor that could make all the difference to you. Understanding the smile building plan and how it is intended to play out, will ensure success or failure depending on the person. Some offices can do a permanent device (although the selection would be very limited) within 24 hours of surgery and charge extra for it. Other offices will do a device within 24 hours of surgery and charge less but the teeth couldn’t be classified as permanent. This is why its so important for you to ask lots of questions and get clear documentation.
    • Type of All-on-4 temporary teeth?
      • Many offices use an inexpensive denture and than convert it into a temporary for the patient. These types of of devices generally are the hardest to heal in because they tend to be too bulky and cosmetically inferior to a custom made bridge that is designed prior to surgery and than modified digitally after implants are placed. Bulky converted dentures break easier and are hard to clean.
    • Type of All-on-4 permanent teeth?
      • This is one of the most important factors that affect ALL-ON-4 dental implant costs. Here are the most common type of bridges fabricated as an ALL-ON-4 bridge. These are presented from cheapest to most expensive and can be categorized into two classes: Polylithic or monolithic.
      • Polylithic – Means that something is built out of multiple pieces that are put together. Each of these types of devices have a sub-structure that provides the strength and a superstructure that isn’t as strong but provides the beauty that the substructure can’t provide.
        • Substructures
          • Titanium Base most commonly fabricated and will usually be cheaper than zirconia because stock denture teeth are used to save money in most cases.
          • Trinia Base
          • Trilor Base
          • Pekton Base
        • Superstructures
          • Denture Teeth and pink acrylic gums
          • Ceramic crowns with pink composite gums
          • PolyMethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) for crowns and pink composite for gums
          • Porceain teeth with pink porcelain gums
          • Crystal Ultra nano ceramic
      • Monolithic
        • Zirconia – One material that is milled to exact fit and then custom colored
  • Who makes my teeth? – Most offices have to send teeth out to be made by a 3rd party lab, which can create a substantial variability in the quality of your device. Some offices have cases sent to the lowest bidder even though they still charge the same price. Offices with an in house lab are unique and
  • Will I be asleep? – This procedure can be done under local anesthetic, I.V Sedation, or General Anesthesia, which increases the price with each level of anesthesia, as well as the location it is rendered in. A hospital setting will be much more expensive than a dental office that brings in an Anesthesiologist.
  • What makes my case hard?
    • Teeth Grinders – Often break temporaries and have more failures and some doctors will increase the price in anticipation of the higher likelihood of complications
    • Smokers – Carry an implant complication risk that is 3 times higher than a healthy patient that does not smoke.
    • Diabetics – As long as the diabetic is controlled with an A1c of 7 or lower, there is no need for higher fees.
    • Previous drug abuse – Can make the treatment more complicated depending on the likelihood of rebound
    • High smile pull – One of the most challenging presentations that often carries with it added surgical procedures and restorative appointments in order to satisfy the patient and produce a bridge that is comfortable and easy to clean.
    • Skeletal deficiencies – Can increase the price because more visits are often needed to systematically create the skeletal appearance that is pleasing, as well as comfortable for the jaw.

Who would pay the least for All on 4 Dental Implants?

  • Someone living in, or willing to, travel to an area with a lower cost of living and a competitive market (such as Salt Lake City, Utah!)
  • A denture-wearer who hasn’t experienced excessive bone deterioration and still has healthy, leathery tissue
  • Someone who chooses a titanium bar with denture teeth
  • Being awake for the surgery
  • Choosing a single office that does the surgical and restorative work with an in-house lab

The price could be as low as $15,000 per arch!

Who would pay the most for All on 4 Dental Implants?

  • Someone who lives in a city with a high cost of living such as LA, NYC or Miami
  • Someone who needs additional implants or zygoma implants
  • Someone whose teeth are extremely infected
  • Someone who has severe bone loss in the areas where the implants need to be placed
  • Someone with high cosmetic and functional needs
  • Anyone wanting a zirconia bridge with individual porcelain crowns and porcelain gums
  • Choosing to have it done by two offices, an oral surgery and restorative without an in-house lab
  • Choosing to use Full General Anesthesia (generally patients with high anxiety choose this option)
  • Someone requiring removal of existing implants
  • Someone with a high smile pull
  • Anyone who is a smoker, has diabetes, grinds their teeth, or has a history of drug abuse with a deep bite

The price could be as high as $35,000 per arch!

 

Want to know your cost? Schedule your free consultation today: Book Consultation

Mar 20
27

Dental Tourism in Mexico

By | Dentist | No Comments

Dental Tourism is a relatively new phrase coined to identify the rise in individuals leaving their own community to travel elsewhere to receive dental services. This industry has grown a lot in Mexico as US citizens have flocked to Mexico seeking dental help. The US vs. US dentist vs Mexico dentistMexico sounds like a rematch of a soccer (fútbol) game from a couple of years ago. But today we are talking about something more than a competition of athleticism on an open field between two team vying to be victorious and prove who’s the best. No, we are talking about dentistry, that age old profession that has evolved from the rudimentary procedures of 7000 BC to the more complex procedures of providing implants of today; and with this discussion of dentistry we are going to evaluate the dental services of the United States of America to its neighbor to the south, Mexico. Is there really a difference or is the service you get there the same as here, just cheaper?

Well, first things first; Why would anybody choose to go to Mexico to receive dental services? The answer is quite simple, cost. The cost of dentistry in Mexico is dramatically different compared to costs in the United States. We are talking 66% in most cases if not more. A procedure that you might pay $1400 for here will cost you about $265 there. I bet you are now thinking to yourself that that should be a no-brainer, why wouldn’t everyone go to Mexico for dental work? While cost is a deciding factor for many people, there are other things to take into consideration as well.

The US State Department recently upgraded its travel advisory status for Mexico identifying five Mexican states as “Do not travel to”, due to crime. The rest of the states in Mexico are either lower levels of “do not travel”, “exercise extreme caution” or “reconsider travel”. Border states are on the “do not travel” list therefore you would have to go deeper into Mexico to find a state that is at least “reconsider travel” or “exercise extreme caution”, this means you either drive through the heart of crime country or you fly over it. Guess what if you choose the later, you just wiped out your savings in going to Mexico. So while deciding cost you need to look at the all the costs, not just the cost of dental services, but travel and accommodations if that should be needed.

The next thing that you must consider is the training of the dentist providing the dental services. You know that they went through their 4 years of school and then the one year of civil service and then started practicing dentistry. In most cases they are very proficient at the basic services like cleanings, and other general dental care. When you start getting more advanced, although they provide one stop shops, you can’t always expect them to be proficient. For example, let’s look at implants, since Dream Dental specializes in implants. A dentist in Mexico might see one or two implant cases during their training, and then never see one again until you show up saying that you need an implant. Are you willing to trust someone without experience to do something as important as provide you with an implant? Then since their services are provided at a cost-effective price point, they are known to rush procedures causing complications and failure. If you return home and experience the failure, what will you do then? You would have to deal with the issue until you are able to make it back down to hopefully get it fixed, or to have them tell you that they can’t help you. That is unacceptable in my book.

In closing, although a very viable part of the tourism industry, dental tourism isn’t always what it appears to be on the surface. There are some things more important than cost, like personal safety and quality. I could go on for a while longer on some other reasons why you should not choose Mexico as your destination choice for dental services, but I think that I’ve proven my point with just these two. Always keep in mind that when deciding on where to get your dental implants, consider the experience of the team providing them for you and the care that you will receive. When you do that we hope to see you here at the Dream Dental Implant Center.

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