Importance of Second Opinions When Considering Dental Implants

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Dental implants are a comprehensive dental treatment option to help patients replace missing or severely damaged teeth. In addition to enhancing smile aesthetics, these structures are effective for preserving the integrity of the mouth and the alignment and stability of the remaining, natural teeth. When considering implants for your smile, it is important that you are presented with dental treatment plans that are tailored to your needs and are comprehensive in nature. This article will serve to guide patients to ask questions of their  Washington DC area Prosthodontist, and to ensure they are comfortable with their individual dental implant treatment plan. Although there are many benefits to gain from dental implant enhancements, there are also a number of factors that can impact their success and the future oral health of the patient. For these and other reasons, it is important to consider a sound second opinion before committing to these procedures. This can be especially true for those who receive their recommendations from national providers who solely provide implants, and do not offer the comprehensive balanced dental care that may be required to maintain overall good dental health. As an example most of the national providers do not offer hygienist therapy, which is a very important part of the patient’s ongoing dental care and to maintaining good overall dental health.

Follow up care is also very important, so it’s good to know if the practice providing the implants will also be providing your ongoing care and follow up. Our Washington DC dental implant practice believes that the team that placed the restoration is best suited to provide supplemental care, since the members are integrally familiar with your case. This is something to strongly consider.

Consider Alternatives to National Dental Implant Providers, such as Clear Choice®

These national dental implant providers tend to have a more narrow plan of care, and their services are often more designed towards recommending dental implants in all cases, rather than offering alternatives as determined by the specific individual conditions of each patient. In these centers, dental implants are commonly recommended as the sole means for addressing severely damaged or lost teeth and consumers are often pressured into making immediate commitments or decisions. Unfortunately, issues with oral health that extend beyond the missing or damaged tooth in question, could have a negative impact on the success of an implant. If being told to extract all of your teeth in one arch, be sure to ask as to why they are being extracted and ask why they cannot be saved. This is why it is often best to consult with providers who are willing to make comprehensive examinations of their patients’ oral health and are willing to outline the benefits and drawbacks of different enhancement procedures in an effort to help consumers make informed decisions.

During your initial consultation for dental implants, ensure that your provider is equipped to provide you with the full range of in-house prosthetic services should you need them, including treatments such as dental crowns, dental bridges, dental implant supported restorations, dentures, dental veneers, dental inlays, white bonded fillings and teeth whitening to name a few. These are many of the alternatives to treatment that should, in most cases, be offered to the patient.

Individualized Care

Ultimately, seeking out a second opinion when considering dental implants will increase the likelihood of receiving individualized care as well as a treatment plan that you fully understand and are comfortable with. In order for optimal benefits to be gained from any preventative cosmetic dental procedure, dental care must be patient-specific. While corporate providers such as Clear Choice® may recommend certain procedures as a standard way of addressing structural issues, smaller individualized practices, such as that of Dr. Gerald Marlin, tend to put a greater emphasis on learning and defining the needs of each individual. If implants are determined to not be the optimal solution, then the patient will be counseled to undergo an alternative treatment. When due consideration is given to all past problems and current issues, the probability of successful care, including dental implants is greatly improved.

What to Look for With a Second Opinion

We’ve highlighted some of the benefits of requesting a second opinion for dental implants, and as an example of a comparison after visiting Clear Choice®, Dr. Gerald Marlin, a Prosthodontist in Washington DC, as part of your initial consultation will perform a complete evaluation, and, at a separate consultation after carefully reviewing your diagnostic records, will present your alternative treatment plans along with a presentation of similar, completed cases, so you can see what realistic expectations you can have for your dental implants. You will not have your treatment options and sequence of therapy presented by a staff member; rather you will deal personally with Dr. Marlin.

At Prosthetic Dentistry of Washington DC, we have over twenty-five years of experience with implant placement and restorations in the same office by specialists working with a staff that, on average, has been with us for over ten years. In addition to fabricating dental implant restorations, our In-Office Laboratory, also saves you time by custom creating our patients’ dental crowns, dental bridges, dentures, porcelain veneers, dental inlays, and other dental restorations.

About the Author

Dr. Gerald Marlin is a Washington D.C. specialist in implant, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry. Connect with him on Google+.