What If?
Recently my friend Dr. Scott Froum, renowned Periodontist, called me up and asked me, “Have you ever calculated the cost of what happens when an implant fails?” Now I’ve calculated a lot of things, including costs of procedures, costs of build outs, and the return-on-investment for marketing, but the cost of our dentistry failing? Nope.
His response, “We need to write an article on this!”
We all know that implants are amazingly successful. It’s awesome that we have this option for our patients, and of all the options available in dentistry to replace a tooth implants are hands down the best option. And while there’s a lot of literature around the success and failure of implants and the clinical techniques to help implants, there’s no literature around the costs surrounding implant failure.
The Cost
We added up all the costs associated with extra appointments that include: follow up visits, removal visits, post op appointments, new implant placement appointment, follow up appointments, scanning appointment, and a new abutment/crown. From chair time, employee time, the cost of a bad review, and your lost production, these costs add up to a huge number. What’s the total? –$4,234.87
Now that’s a rough cost, but the worst is when you factor in the profit on the initial procedure. In the case where you have no insurance discounts or participation, you might walk away making just $43, but in the worst case, you might actually lose around $2,400.
In any case, the earlier you catch possible failures, the better. If you can intervene early, then you save yourself possibly up to $4,234! We see cases all the time like this inside Dental Success Network, and if you have cases like this, the faculty inside DSN is there for you!
It was an honor to get to participate in this article with Dr. Forum, and if you’re interested in more information about his content, you might want to follow him in Perio-Implant Advisory.
PS – When implants fail, there’s no better group of experts to lean on than the faculty like Dr. Scott Froum, Dr. Taher Dhoon, and Dr. Daniel Briske at the Dental Success Network!
PPS – The entire article was published in the November issue of Dental Economics, which you can subscribe to for free and read the digital versions.