Should I Be wary Of Cheaper Priced Implants?
Over the past decade or so there’s been one treatment for missing teeth that’s revolutionised the industry and that’s dental implants. In Richmond near London for example, clinics have noticed a large uptake in people requesting this service so there’s plenty of opportunity for dentists who are well trained in the field. That said, there’s also plenty of competition. Nowadays any potential patient looking to have the implant procedure done has endless choices.
The problem is that because competition is fierce many dentists who are new to the field can’t compete with the more experienced and established clinics, so more often than not they compete on price. One way to do this is to source cheaper implants. The savings they make can be passed onto the customer. The clinic makes money and the patient thinks they’ve got themselves a good deal, so a win/win situation all round right?
Well, not exactly…
Cheaper implants are in fact something that a patient should be very wary of and here’s why… If the competition in this field is fierce, you can imagine what it’s like for those who manufacture them. You’ve got well established brands such as Straumann, Astratech, Zimmer, Biohorizons and Osstem all of whom have been manufacturing cutting edge dental implants for many years. In fact large companies such as these invest millions into researching and developing their latest products and it’s this research and development that ultimately make implants even better for the end user. The remaining smaller manufacturers (of which there are many) often can’t compete with the big boys and many go out of business. While this could be perceived simply as ‘the nature of the beast’ it does present a problem.
Firstly, not all implants are the same, meaning that one part of an implant from one manufacturer can’t be interchanged with another. Therefore if a dentist did source cheaper implants from a smaller start-up manufacturer and the company then folded, the dentist won’t be able to source replacement parts. Clearly this might then impact on the patient as they have no fallback should there be a problem.
Secondly, in order for manufacturers to compete with the big boys they too will often compete on price. However in order to do this they have to cut costs themselves. For example where a large manufacturer might use commercially pure titanium, a smaller manufacturer might opt instead to use titanium alloy. While there is no clear evidence to suggest that pure titanium gives greater implant success, it’s important to note that alloys can contain a wide range of other composites which might not be quite so bio-compatible. Ultimately this means that in some patients, those exact same materials could cause the body to reject it.
The bottom line is that as a patient if you’re considering dental implants in Richmond, or indeed anywhere else in then country, be wary of any clinic offering a cheap service, because they could be using cheaper implants.
At Sheen Dental we only use tried and tested implants that have been around for many years. If you want to find out more, then visit our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk Alternatively why not contact us on 020 8876 5277 and book yourself a free, no-obligation consultation. Here you can get all your questions and concerns answered so that you can make a fully informed dental decision.