Is There Help for Paying for Dental Implants?

Question submitted by Angie:
I am only 33 and need dental implants. I just don’t have the money for it and now I am worried that I am going to end up with dentures at my age. Is it possible that if I agreed to do free advertising for them that dentists will allow me to get the work done for free or at a big discount? If not, are there charity dental shops that will help me?

Angie

Dear Angie,

While there are charity dental clinics, they generally do the least expensive procedure possible for what you need. For example if you need your teeth replaced, then they will provide you with removable dentures, not dental implants. As for the advertisements, that won’t work either. The unfortunate truth is that it would be hard to find a dentist who would give you dental implants in exchange for advertising. This is because patients often volunteer to do these ads for free.

I know that all sounds discouraging, but there are ways to get something more affordable. However, don’t look for the cheapest dentist. If their prices are significantly lower than everyone else’s that is an indication that something is wrong with their treatments and they’re using super low costs to draw in patients. Either they do not produce good results and have trouble retaining patients, or they use poor quality implants to save money and keep their profits up.

Instead, I would look into one of these options:

• You could see if there is a dental school near you that teaches dentists how to do dental implants. If that is the case, they will provide you a discounted fee. This is because you will be putting up with being treated by a student who is being trained. It takes a bit longer and the dentist is inexperienced, but the student will be supervised.
• You could start with snap-on dentures while you save up. This can be done with two full-sized implants or some mini-implants.
• If even that is out of your budget, then you may have to start with removable dentures for now and save up until you can get the implant treatments you need.

This blog is brought to you by Tucson Prosthodontist Dr. Howard Steinberg.