Dental Implants in Mexico, Turkey, or USA – Where Should I Go for Dental Implants?

Dental implants are not cheap. Because of that, many folks look around to try to find a better price. I admit, I do the same thing when I am looking to buy something expensive. Check all the local stores, check online, wait for Black Friday, etc etc. I am guilty of all of those things when looking for a big ticket item. I don’t blame anyone for doing the same things when it comes to dental implants. It’s incredible how expensive a few tiny screws and the teeth that attach to them are. All on x treatment, also called full mouth implants, can cost upwards of $50,000 or $60,000 at some offices. That’s a couple of new cars or one really nice car. I am sure we would all rather purchase a fancy new car with that money than go to the dentist to get teeth pulled and implants put in. 

The thing is, life without teeth can kinda suck. Life with bad teeth can kinda suck, too. Life with teeth that won’t stay in your mouth isn’t fun, either. That’s why so many people are willing to invest in implants to have healthy and beautiful teeth again. You can’t put a price on pain free self confidence and the ability to eat what you want. That is often what all on x treatment offers. 

Luckily, with modern technology, it is possible to offer this treatment for more affordable prices. Our clinic is significantly more affordable than $50,000, but, I understand, it still ain’t cheap. The high price tag often forces patients to look around and see if there are better options. I’ll be the first to tell you, there are cheaper options out there. Most of them are outside of the United States. Let’s talk about the risks and benefits of hopping on a plane and heading out of town to get your brand new implant teeth.

Just a plane ride away. Mexico, Costa Rica, Turkey, and other destinations for dental implants.

The big benefit of heading overseas or out of the country for any kind of medical treatment is cost. It is significantly cheaper to go to these places. Other than that, there usually is no other benefit. 

I am NOT saying that there are no clinics in these places that do good work that lasts. There certainly are some incredible doctors overseas. I’ve seen some really nice work from other countries. Many times, though, I see work from out of the country that is not up to our standard. The problem usually isn’t that the work wasn’t executed well, although that sometimes does happen. It is more often that obvious corners were cut that have compromised the outcome. 

That’s not always the case though! Let’s talk through a best case scenario with no cut corners. You go to Turkey and head to the clinic for your consultation. You meet the doctor doing your treatment, and he is very nice and seems to have a ton of experience. You are so excited that you pay for treatment on your way out and start the next day. The awesome Turkish doctor executes the treatment PERFECTLY. I mean flawless. You could put the picture of the x-ray in a textbook because it looks so good. You get the temporary teeth screwed in and they are exquisite. You are thrilled. Now it’s time to head back home and heal. 

Here is where the issues can start. You are now thousands of miles away from the clinic you went to. Small problems that are often easily correctable can become big problems in a hurry. Even with a perfect surgery and perfect teeth, there are things that are out of our control. A screw can come loose. Teeth can break. You could need a bite adjustment. An abutment could come loose. Lots of gum and bone changes happen after surgery. Initially, a lot of swelling occurs and the gums can put pressure on the teeth when being screwed in. This can cause the screws to feel tight initially because of the gum pressure, but once that swelling subsides in a week or two, the screws can start to loosen because now there could be room for the screws to  tighten down further.

Any of these simple scenarios are possible even with perfect execution and a perfect outcome. They are things that don’t happen in most cases, but they DO happen. This begs the question: Where will you go if it happens? You can’t walk into any dental office and ask them to tighten up a screw. The dentist probably won’t have the parts or the screwdriver that is necessary. They may not even know how to do it. This isn’t a treatment that all dentists are familiar with. You also can’t assume that because the teeth are loose, it is just the screw. 

Let’s take it a step further. What if that loose screw actually turns out to be a more complex issue? The teeth are loose and it isn’t a screw problem, it’s a “your body rejecting an implant” problem. An abutment is broken. The whole arch of teeth broke into pieces. You get an infection, and a round of antibiotics didn’t work. You start bleeding in the middle of the night and can’t get it to stop. These problems get a lot more complicated. They can be complicated to fix when you live 10 minutes away. Imagine 10 hours, or 10 countries. 

The bad thing about all on x treatment is that small problems can quickly compound into big problems if they aren’t taken care of quickly. That loose screw can turn into broken teeth, or a broken implant, in just a matter of a few days. Let’s assume you can make it back to Turkey to get the issue resolved. That was 2 days of travel each way. That’s a lot of time lost!

There’s the good ones, then there’s the bad ones.

There are the good dentists in these countries, and there are the bad. There are the good dentists in America, and there are the bad. There is a difference, though. There is a reason these other countries are so much cheaper. Sometimes corners are cut, lesser materials are used, cheap off market implants are used, not to mention we don’t really know how well infection control standards are enforced in these places. Again, there are good clean clinics in these places that do good work. Education in their country may not be up to the same standard. I am not saying they are all bad. I would argue,though, that comparatively, the USA has a higher percentage of dentists that follow higher standards and appropriate protocols. It is also much easier to figure out if an American clinic follows those standards. 

When traveling abroad, you have no recourse. If you get caught in a bad situation, there’s not much you can do. It’s as simple as the clinic can just start ignoring your phone calls and emails if your case goes south. It doesn’t have to be their problem any more. Again, I’m not saying that they are bad people and will hang you out to dry. There are certainly less laws and protections in place in some of these countries, though. That’s something to consider. 

In the worst case scenario, everything fails and you have to start all over again. Let’s say you decide to go for it again, but this time stay in America. Boy, is it more expensive, and not on a beach in Mexico!

Why does it cost more in America?

This answer is simple. Everything costs more here, and I do mean everything. Dental school, dental implant education, implants, implant parts, the teeth, the scanners that scan the teeth, all the way down to the hospital grade wipes to clean off the chair. Everything. Those are items pertaining specifically to the implants and teeth. It’s important to remember that your American dentist lives in America too. We experience the same price increases in life that everyone else experiences. Housing, kids, insurance, car, and all of the other things that we all have. The cost of living has skyrocketed post covid. The cost of living is often much lower in other countries.

Let’s touch on those implant items for a moment as they relate to other countries. Many of the dental items we use in America have to go through different processes and approvals before they can be used on another human being. They also have to be tested thoroughly before being released to the market to ensure safety. This causes the prices to increase significantly. The benefit is that things should be safer here. Some other countries can skip these processes without repercussions. There is also very little manufacturing done in the United States. This means that most things are imported and have to go through an additional group of checks and taxes before they can be accepted into America, which increases our costs. If I buy the same items as a Turkish dentist, some of them can cost me 5-10x more just because of our location. Again, though, this is in an effort to ensure the highest safety standards possible.

Contrary to popular belief, American dental implant prices aren’t due to greed. If we could offer our treatments for cheaper, we would. It’s just not a possibility with the way our economy is set up, unfortunately. 

In Conclusion…

Remember that there are good dentists that do great work in other countries. The issues you can run into aren’t necessarily because of their skill level or cutting corners. Sometimes, you need quick access to your dentist to fix the little things. Also remember that the little problems can turn into big problems if they don’t get taken care of quickly. When you need us, you NEED us!

All advice is my opinion and you should seek professional medical advice from your physician before taking any action.

– Blake Vidrine, DDS