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According to a newly published article from States Newsroom, health and dental experts have warned that many dentists nationwide might be conducting dental implant surgeries purely for profit, not because a patient’s dental health requires it.
In the article – “Dentists are pulling ‘healthy’ and treatable teeth to profit from implants, experts warn” by Brett Kelman, Anna Werner – Becky Carroll shared her terrible and painful experience with dental implants that probably never should have been implanted in the first place. Becky went to ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers after seeing an advertisement that explained how the clinic could replace her upper teeth, many of which were crooked, stained, or altogether missing. However, the $31,000 procedure proved to be far more harmful than helpful, making it painful and difficult for her to chew at all. More than two years later, she could finally afford to go to another dental clinic for corrective surgery. Third-party dental health experts would later review her case, prompted by the States Newsroom journalists, and determine that alternative methods to correct Becky’s smile should have been explored before extensive dental implant surgery.
Why would ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers agree to replace Becky’s entire top row of teeth with dental implants? Based on the lawsuit Becky has filed and the warnings of other dental experts, the motivation behind the clinic’s decision was clear: profit.
Misleading Descriptions of Dental Implants
Dental implants can be incredibly helpful for patients with teeth that are damaged or decayed beyond repair or traditional treatment. The problem is that not many teeth are actually so damaged that they need to be outright replaced, experts explained in the article. Yet many dentistry offices and dental surgery clinics sell dental implants as a product to fix any sort of dental issue, including relatively minor problems like cavities.
Furthermore, dental implants are often described as “replacement teeth” to patients who ask about them. The truth is that dental implants are not teeth and should not be seen as them. Dental implants especially shouldn’t be seen as immune to damage or defects despite being sold under this pretense. In reality, dental implants can become chipped, and poorly installed or maintained dental implants can lead to infections and other serious issues around the implantation site.
Dental Implants from Untrained Dentists
To make the matter of unnecessary dental implants even more concerning, the journalists found that hundreds of dental clinics across the country that offer dental implants did not employ an oral surgeon, periodontist, or prosthodontist who had been trained in dental implant surgery. Currently, most states do not require any specialized training for a dental professional to be allowed to install dental implants, but that doesn’t mean specialized training wouldn’t help. With stories like Becky Carroll’s, it is clear how much can go wrong when a dental implant is not only installed for no clear medical reason but also by a dentist who might not have enough understanding of dental implants to effectively perform the dental procedure.
Dental Implant Popularity is On the Rise
- In 2022, more than 3.7 million dental implants were sold in the U.S.
- Each year since 2010, dental implant usage has increased by more than 6% on average.
Again, the popularity of dental implants does not mean that they are becoming more and more needed to treat the dental problems of patients nationwide. In 10 interviews conducted by the journalists of States Newsroom, dental experts and specialists all warned that implants had become overused to the point that they had firsthand experience with their colleagues recommending and implanting them when better, less intensive, and less expensive alternatives were available. One dental specialist from the Academy of General Dentistry explained that he sees at least one patient a week who had been recommended a full-mouth replacement of dental implants when there was no need for it, and possibly not even the need to replace a single tooth.
Are You Having Dental Implant Problems?
Were you convinced by a dental office that you should get dental implants, but now you’re suffering unexpected side effects? It might be possible that you never needed dental implants at all. If you were sold dental implants under false pretenses, it could constitute a form of dental malpractice that can be answered with legal action.
Hilliard Law and our trial attorneys are investigating stories of dental implants being recommended to patients purely for profit and without giving the patients a full understanding of alternative treatments. As a legal team that is trusted nationwide to handle complex cases like those involving medical malpractice in its many forms, you know that you can trust us, too, if you think you could have a dental implant malpractice case of your own. Talk to our attorneys during a free consultation by dialing (361) 882-1612 now. (We are headquartered in Texas but can help clients across the U.S. and even in Mexico for select cases.)
More information
- “Dentists are pulling ‘healthy’ and treatable teeth to profit from implants, experts warn” (States Newsroom, Brett Kelman, Anna Werner – Becky Carroll)