It is possible to treat your teeth cheaply, but it is not necessary. Experimenting with your own health in search of savings can be expensive, both in terms of consequences and complications, as well as their treatment. This is what Magomed Dakhkilgov, chief physician of the German Implantology Center, candidate of medical sciences, implant surgeon, orthopedist, periodontist, told socialbites.ca.
The first factor affecting the price of treatment is the doctor’s labor. According to the expert, the training of a dentist requires a lot of work and time, and training never ends; throughout his career, until the doctor decides to retire, he improves his qualifications, takes retraining courses, studies new technologies, techniques, materials and tools. All this costs money for both the doctor and the clinic.
“On the one hand, the patient may argue that this is not his problem, he just wants to treat his tooth. But here it is important to understand – just 25-30 years ago, teeth were treated with poisonous resorcinol-formalin, in case of pulpitis, the nerve was “pulled out” with arsenic, metal prostheses were used, and only very wealthy people could afford implants. Now all this is in the past, and all thanks to the active practice of clinics and the work of doctors on new techniques to make the treatment more effective, simpler and painless, and the results are long-lasting,” he explained.
Accordingly, if a clinic offers very cheap treatment, then most likely the specialists working there are not of a high enough level, because a highly qualified and experienced doctor will not agree to low payment.
Another area of savings for the clinic is the purchase of inexpensive or used equipment.
“In order to effectively treat teeth, first of all, it is necessary to make the correct diagnosis. For this, clinics purchase modern X-ray machines, cone-beam computer tomography installations, etc., which are installed directly in the offices. All this is necessary for the correct diagnosis. Secondly, in order to work successfully, a dentist, unlike, for example, an endocrinologist or a local therapist, necessarily needs complex and rather high-tech equipment. This is at least a dental chair that has everything you need, from a water supply to an LED lamp. It is enough to look at the dental chairs of the 90s and modern ones to understand the difference. But a good dental chair cannot be very cheap; the more offices there are in the clinic, the higher the costs, because the chairs need to be repaired and maintained,” the dentist emphasized.
The third factor is the materials and tools. If the chair is to last a long time, consumables need to be purchased constantly. This is another trick of cheap dentistry: the cheaper the clinic buys, the lower the price it can set.
“However, it is worth noting that the low price of materials does not arise without reason: it means that the main goal of the manufacturer is not quality, but quantity with minimum production costs. As a result, the patient can be given poor-quality anesthesia, fillings that fall out after a year, constantly breaking braces, implants that do not take root, dentures that crack from chewing puree. Buying high-quality materials increases the price of treatment, but ensures the quality of treatment, its long-term results and, ultimately, patient safety,” the doctor concluded.
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