I need some advice. Several years ago, I had twelve dental implants placed. I thought I’d gotten a great deal because he was about half the cost of other dentists in the area. Unfortunately, he never completed the work and all I have are the implants. It’s incredibly difficult to eat and I am in pain all of the time. I’d been calling the office and leaving multiple message without getting a response. I finally went up there and they told me the dentist fled to Egypt after getting sued. The staff that is still there won’t give me my records or a refund. What do I do?
Mary
Dear Mary,
I’m going to be upfront with you and say you’re in a bit of a pickle here. It sounds like you were swindled. If the dentist is truly out of the country, you will have little recourse. The first thing I recommend is that you get these dental implants looked at. It’s possible, not definite, that the implants themselves are fine and you just need someone to finish off the job by getting you the dentures to attach to them. That would be the best case scenario.
If the implants are not fine, which is possible given that he left because of a lawsuit, then you will have to replace them. This isn’t as simple as removing the first implants and putting in new ones. You will have to get a bone grafting procedure done between them in order to ensure that you have enough bone to secure the new implants. This is because the removal process will cause you to lose some bone.
What I don’t want you to do is look for another cheap dentist. There is a huge difference between an affordable dentist and a cheap dentist. Cheap generally means that they are either not good at their job and can’t keep patients. As a result, they need to lower their prices in order to draw people in, or they are cheaper because they are cutting corners by purchasing cheap fixtures from overseas. Neither of those is good for the patient.
Look for someone who has extensive post-doctoral training in dental implants. Dental school alone does not count. You’d want someone who went to an institution such as the Dawson Academy or the Las Vegas institute of Advanced Dental Studies. They would be a safe option to have your implants evaluated as well as to do them.
This blog is brought to you by Auburn, AL Dentists Drs. Murphree and Yount.