I need some advice. A previous dentist talked me into removing all my teeth. I am haunted by giving in to that because I really feel at least twelve are them were salvageable. I know that is water under the bridge, but it would have saved me the problem I am facing now. That same dentist told me I could just get dentures now and them add dental implants later. Now I am thinking he said that because he doesn’t do dental implants and he wanted the fee for the dentures. They have been a disaster from the beginning. They hurt constantly and I have a horrible gag reflex. At the moment, I only wear them (and then only the top ones) when I have to go in public. I need teeth! I decided to go to a Clear Choice Dental Implant center to learn about the all on four procedure. They said I was a good candidate and quoted me $67,000. Then, when they found out my age offered me a senior citizen discount which brought it down to $53,000. That is a $14,000 difference. Were they overcharging to begin with? It is still too high for me. Is there a better route for me to go?
Elaine
Dear Elaine,
Wow! You have been put through the mill. Let’s start with your old dentist. Let me first say he is one of the laziest dentists I have heard of in a long time. We go into our business in order help take care of teeth. I am sorry he did this to you. All we can do now is salvage the damage as much as possible.
Clear Choice may not be your best option. I would suggest getting a second opinion. Their pricing seems arbitrary to me, and I’m guessing that you could get a lower fee for an all-on-4 dental implant procedure from some other very qualified dental implant dentist. It sounds like they are pricing it with bone grafting in mind. However, the main point of doing an all-on-4 is to work around the need for bone grafting to begin with.
You did not mention how long it has been since your teeth were extracted. If it hasn’t been too long, you may not even need to have bone grafting done. In that case you can go with straight implant overdentures. I would start by having some really good diagnostics done, with an experienced implant dentist, to see what you are dealing with. Once you know how much bone you have you can make some decisions.
If you don’t need bone grafting, get implant overdentures. If you do need bone grafting, you have two choices. First, it is a possibility that you can get the all-on-four procedure done. Just bear in mind if one part of it fails the whole thing will need to be redone. Your other option is to have the bone grafting done and still get the implant overdentures. I would do a good consult first and discuss the pros and cons of each in your specific case before making a decision.
This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.
