Clear Choice Dental Implants, Marketing Hype or Quality Care?

Before accepting treatment, do some research and be sure you are comfortable with the decision. Just like some franchises are run well and others aren't (I love the Subway near my house, but not the one near where I work), Clear Choice offers a good option to people.  It is a practice that joins an oral surgeon with a prosthodontist and has a lab in house.  Quite often when the work is done, it is done well.  

However, sometimes a square peg is pushed into a round hole.  People that only want/need a single implant HAVE been offered to have all remaining teeth removed.  I understand that MOST people that go in do not accept  treatment and seek alternatives.  Some treatment offered to people are NOT options that I PERSONALLY would have presented.  That does not mean Clear Choice is bad, it just is what it is.  

Clear Choice is NOT here in Seattle (yet) so I can only speak from hearsay.

Many practices use a “team” of specialists to perform the “All-on-4″ procedure, or you are referred to a “team” of  specialists, when this happens every member of the “team” must get paid! This results in higher costs for the Patient. Don't become a just another number, make sure you are treated like a member of the family.

I feel like an informed consumer is a better consumer.  Do some research before making your consutation and listen to treatment options presented.  If you do not feel comfortble with what the doctor or team are presenting, get a second option.  There are always several ways to complete your treatment.

Ultimately the dentist, anesthesiologist and lab technician
are the ones that will be responsible for your comfort, safety and the final
outcome. That varies from doctor to
doctor and office to office. If you are
unsure, get a second opinion. The All on
Four treatment is absolutely amazing and one of my favorite treatment options
but there may be alternatives, make sure you are aware of them. For the record I have heard good things about
Clear Choice in Dallas.

I must agree with the majority of the posted answers, Dr Kazemi below hit it right on the head .  This Implant "supercenter" is geared towards making large amounts of money to recoup the millions of dollars they spend on marketing.  The doctors that work at these centers are paid a percentage of each case they perform. They have no vested interest in the patient.  Patients are overcharged for the All On Four procedure (which is essentially the only treatment they offer, even if your teeth are healthy) They convince the patient that all of their teeth are infected and they need to come, making the patient now a dental cripple.  If you have already lost a large amount of bone or have been in denturees for a long period of time, All on Four is a good option, but it is not the only option for all pts.  That is like saying that because you have one blocked artery in your heart, you need a heart transplant when you only need a one vessel angioplasty.  Totally unethical.  As mentioned before once you get pulled into one of these centers you get bombarded by a bunch of sales people, it is truly the proverbial used car salesman routine.  You dont see a doctor until the day of surgery.  Beware of corporate dental establishments. They will call you on a daily basis after your "free consultaion" and brow beat you into returning for treatment if you didn't make a deposit on the day of your consultation

These mass production centers are geared on making money. In order to compete with low prices a compromise on the quality of the products they use and the experience of the practitioners. There is a lot of implants on the market that are not the same quality of the main brands with no safety research or  quality control and they are very cheap thus the low prices that are given. For instance, the most established brands of dental implants cost the surgeon on average $600 while the clones that benefited from a loop hole in the FDA regulation called 510K, cost average $90. There is no long term survival rate of these implants, just machines milling a titanium rod 24 hours without any quality control….
Second phase of the dental implant treatment are the crowns placed on top of the dental implants. The quality is based on the material that they are made from. In implant dentistry the alloy ( which is the metal) consists of a noble metal such as gold. You can imagine how expensive gold is right now and if you compare, you will find out that it is not possible they are using quality material.
Dentistry and in particular esthetic and implant part of it can’t be the same model as K-Mart….
 

Clear choice is in the business to treat people with a full jaw of teeth on four implants. This is an excellent option for many patients who fit the profile for this type of treatment. This type of treatment has also been "packaged" into everything for one price. My advice is to always get a second opinion. Yes, in many cases the replacement teeth are a type of denture tooth that is a type of plastic, but all-on-four can also be completed with porcelain teeth. The financial investment will be higher with porcelain teeth. As far as the quality of care, every dental practitioner has different abilities. Clear Choice employs their dentist under one roof. This makes it very convenient for the patient. There are many practitioners that work with teams of the best dentist in the world. Many of them perform the all-on-four technique

I have talked to many patients who have been to one of the Clear Choice centers and also two doctors that briefly worked for them. Here is what the patients have told me: They were met by a sales person and were pushed hard to sign up for the treatment and pay deposit. They were not given any treatment options except what they do which is mostly all-on-4 treatment. One patient had some teeth that were perfectly fine but needed some minor periodontal therapy. But she was told it's better to get them out and just do all implants. Another patient who had a failed implant, had to pay for the replacement and she was very unhappy because it was done just two years ago.

The two doctors I talked to said that they left the center because it was very corporate like and it did not offer an atmosphere for true multi-specialty team approach. They felt they were driven into offering all extractions and all implants with no other options. And they felt production was the priority rather than comprehensive dentistry. Another point descried by them was that when they were done with patient's treatment, they had to ship the patients back to their general dentist for cleaning and check ups. This is of course not a good idea when it comes to continuity of care and taking responsibility of a patient's care over time.

My personal opinion is they are great marketers with lots of hype. The fact is the 'same day teeth' that they promise, is only possible in a very small group of patients who meet the right criteria. Also, the treatment they offer is not patient-centered; it's rather corporate-centered which is usually not in the best interest of the patients. I suggest all patients to ask the right questions when choosing any dentist for their implant care and make decisions based on proper criteria. In our website (under FAQ section), we describe the key questions patients need to ask to make sure they are on the right path.

I hope this is helpful.

Dr. Kazemi

ClearClearchoice is a venture capital backed for profit operation. Like many many big businesses they are flush with cash for marketing and maintaining a large department of attorneys that intimidate possible lawsuits or other challenges.  They are working more off a business model.  When choosing a doctor or dentist or anything that involves your health you should be concerned about the underlying motives of the doctor.  HOw much time did the doctor spend with you?  Do you have a gut feeling of trust for that doctor?

 

 

The same treatment is never a fix all for all people.  Every one has different needs, expectations, conditions and limitations. As a general rule, what sounds to be a great deal and too good to be true , it is just that.

Stay away from fads and gimmicks, stay away from branding . Always go with your gut feeling, but make an educated choice by getting a second opinion every time that you do not understand a situation or things do not feel right. Always do your home work and find a doctor by asking referrals from other doctors,  Friends, and search for their experience and background to receive best care.