Implied Expertise

It is often difficult for patients to distinguish between advertising claims and factual information. Slick marketing experts can create a message that is very appealing to consumers in an effort to increase their clients' revenue. But it is important to remember that "advertising" is used to "sell" something, in this case implant treatment.  

There are numerous advertisements claiming that doctors have a certain level of expertise with implant treatment. Unfortunately, many of these claims are questionable at best. For example, some dentists advertise that they have specific implant credentials that do not represent the level of training and experience that ADA recognized specialty residency training provides.

Still other claims, such as those from implant center chains, represent a high level of expertise simply because the combined volume of implant procedures in all of their centers is significant. And in fact, some of the doctors in these centers are not the most experienced implant surgeons in their area.   

Some centers also imply that oral surgeons are best qualified to surgically place implants and that prosthodontists are best qualified to restore them. The truth is that there are oral surgeons who do not place many implants and there are also some periodontists who place more implants than most oral surgeons. And there are a number of general dentists who restore more implants on a daily basis than many prosthodontists.

The bottom line is that it is critical to evaluate marketing hype versus facts and do your research carefully. Ask the questions that will help you select the right doctors to provide your implant treatment. Click here for Selection Criteria.