I have lost three teeth and want to get dental implants, but my dentist absolutely refuses to give me implants until I meet his demands and get my gum disease treated. Does he have the right to do that?
Ben
Dear Ben,
Not only does your dentist have the right to do that, but he’s also actually doing you a huge favor. He could be dishonest and bend to your wishes, collect your money, and let you face the consequences of your decision. Instead, he’s trying to protect you. I’d say you have a fantastic dentist.
Think about it logically, you’re losing teeth because you have gum disease. If you look at the diagram above, you see the dental implants are held in by a healthy bone structure. Gum disease causes you to lose bone, which is why your teeth are falling out.
If your teeth fall out, so will your dental implants. If I were you, I’d follow your dentist’s advice. Get your gum disease treated. Then, you can get dental implants without the fear of losing them. Plus, you prevent any more teeth from falling out as well.
Otherwise, if you ignore his advice and look for a dentist who is less honest and will just take your money and move on, you’ll regret it. Here’s what will happen. You’ll go through the whole surgical procedure to have implants placed and before you know it, your implants will fall out, leaving you back where you were, without teeth.
The only difference is now you’ll also be out several thousand dollars for nothing.
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