I am kind of an old duck and almost 70. I’m missing quite a few teeth and have the rest of my teeth degrading quickly. I went to a dentist and he wanted to save my remaining teeth, do a bone grafting procedure, plus quoted me $50k on the implants. I decided to try Clear Choice. They originally quoted me over $50k, but when I said I couldn’t afford that dropped down to a little over $20k. The drop made me suspicious and I’ve heard that Clear Choice has a lot of complaints. The price is tempting plus they are willing to remove the remainder of my teeth which I don’t want to continue dealing with. Do I need to worry about Clear Choice or is it okay to go?
Luke
Dear Luke,
Most of the complaints that I am aware of with Clear Choice have more to do with their sales tactics. Though, I, like you, am curious why they dropped their price so drastically. Did they inflate the original price they quoted you hoping to get more money out of you? I don’t like that idea. It seems unfair and arbitrary.
As for saving your remaining teeth. I can understand a dentist being a stickler about that if you were in your 20s and just entering adulthood. But, you are 70 years old and the teeth are declining anyway. You might just call around to find an experienced implant dentist who is more sympathetic to your plight and would be willing to do what you want. It shouldn’t be that hard to find a dentist do that.
Do You Need Bone Grafting?
You mentioned the dentist wanted to do bone grafting on the areas that needed dental implants. There is another option if you still have some bone structure left. One thing to look at is all-on-four dental implants. I’ve placed an image of that above. This procedure allows patients without the ideal bone structure to still get the implant overdentures they want without have to have bone grafting done. While not everyone is a good candidate, it is worth looking into.
Who Should Do Your Dental Implant Procedure?
Dental implants rank at the top of dental malpractice suits. Because there isn’t such a thing as a recognized specialty in dental implants, you want to be extremely careful who you allow to do your work. For instance, take a look at Dr. Thomas’ qualifications:
- Graduate of the surgical program of the Pikos Institute – Trinity, FL
- Graduate of the prosthetic program of the Misch Implant Institute – Taylor, MI
- Graduate of the Kois Institute – Seattle, WA
- Fellow: International Congress of Oral Implantologists
- Surgical training in implantology and prosthodontics: Brazil Metropolitan University of Santos
- Esthetic, implant, and restorative dentistry graduate: Kois Center
This means not only is he highly trained, but he can also do both the surgery and the restoration, which cuts down on any miscommunication issues that happens when you have to use two different practitioners. This is the type of dentist you want for your work.
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