You've probably seen TV commercials and online advertisements for businesses offering what seems to be cheap, fast dental work. These places lure low income people in with splashy promotions that make dental work seem more affordable.
They also try to appeal to patients who have not seen a dentist in many years, in hopes of convincing them that this negligence has caused them to need a lot of dental work.
The old proverbial expressions "buyer beware", "look before you leap" and "you get what you pay for" are relevant here.
Remember when you were young and bought an old jalopy at a really low price. You were so happy to have a vehicle to get around in. You didn't have to pay much money to acquire it. Life seemed wonderful. You felt like a really smart person.
Then the car started breaking down. You had to replace this, fix that, and worry about what was going to go wrong next. You hoped you wouldn't be left stranded on a lonely stretch of road in the middle of the night.
You eventually came to a dismal conclusion. You realized that buying that cheap old junk car wasn't a good idea. It may have ended up costing you more than you would have spent on a nicer, newer set of wheels.
Don't let this happen with your teeth.
If you go to a cut-rate dental services provider, you may end up with worse problems due to mediocre work or inferior products in your mouth. And your overall health could suffer.
An ethical, totally professional dentist may cost a little more than these "fast food" type dental clinics, but in the long run, you'll save money and have better results.
Your traditional, mainstream dentist will stay on top of dental technology, spend time explaining things to you, and work with you on payment options that fit your budget.
Here are some hazards associated with high volume, discount dental service chains.
(1) They tend to pressure their dentists to put profits over people.
It doesn't matter if this alienates customers, because they try to replace each disgruntled patient with 10 new victims. It's a numbers game for these businesses. Individuals don't matter, only high volumes.
(2) Their dentists are often encouraged to perform the maximum number of dental procedures on each patient, even if the procedures are technically not necessary.
(3) They set profit goals and quotas, to get their dentists to care more about how much money is rolling in, rather than quality care for patients and what is in the best interests of these patients.
(4) Sometimes they focus on children under Medicaid, and give the kids work that is shoddy or unneeded just to exploit the Medicaid system.
(5) Elderly patients may be taken advantage of through scare tactics, to make them think they need dental work that is not relevant to their actual needs.
(6) Hard-sell tactics may be used to bully patients into getting loans or using credit cards to pay for over-priced and unnecessary treatments.
(7) Since dental school is sometimes more expensive than medical school, new dentists can have large debts. Being unable to start their own practice, they are easy prey for high volume dental chains, who lure them in and hire them with promises of fantastic pay and big bonuses -- if the new dentists go along with their dubious program.
(8) They may take advantage of the fact that most people don't question what a dentist says. Few people seek a second opinion from a different dentist, like they might do when it comes to major surgery. They may even look into a healthy mouth and find all kinds of things that are "wrong" or "bad" and need fixing, so that they can make maximum profit from each patient.
Don't let these predatory businesses take advantage of you or your family.
Seek a qualified dentist.
Contact orthodontist offices -- even the receptionist or secretary will know which dentists in your area are doing good work at reasonable rates.
Regular, mainstream dentists will work with you to find a way you can pay for their services, even offering monthly payment plans.
If you are in the Peoria, IL area and want a free consultation, contact my office today.
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