Affording Dental Implants


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If you receive your quote for dental implants and it seems like more than you afford to not throw the idea out straight away. Private and cosmetic dental treatment can be expensive, and dentists are often aware of the fact that not every one can pay a lump sum for their treatment, especially if the treatment is costing tens of thousands of pounds. Consequently there are different options with regards to payment. It is advisable, however, not to choose your dentist based on the payment plan. Choose a dentist that you feel comfortable with and who has a good record, then find out about the finance packages on offer.

Monthly Payments

The first option would be that you do not actually pay for all of your treatment upfront. Instead you can spread the payments over a fixed period of time. This may incur an interest charge, so find out what the interest would be before you agree to anything. Many cosmetic dental surgeries offer their own finance package, which can be over anything from 12 months to 5 years depending on your treatment. It is possible that this will be offered interest free as an incentive for you to have the treatment done with that particular surgery – many will use 0% interest in their advertising if it is offered. Often this means that your dental surgery or clinic are paying the interest on your loan to the dental finance provider, because the amount of money they will make overall from you choosing to have your dental work done with them makes it worth it. If you are paying by monthly payments your dentist will contact their dental finance provider to ask for a credit check. This is the same credit check that you would have if applying for a credit card or getting car on monthly instalments: the finance company needs to know that you will be able to keep up with the payments. Once you have been approved the dental finance company will pay the dentist the whole amount of the treatment, and you will pay your instalments back to the finance company. Even if your dental practice is offering 0% interest on the price if you pay by instalment, many will offer a discount off the price if you pay upfront. Remember to ask if the price changes when you pay upfront, so that you can fully understand your options before making a decision.


Taking out a bank loan

It is possible to take out a loan with your bank for cosmetic dentistry, which may be your next step if your dental clinic does not offer any finance packages. Banks will charge interest on the loan but you may have longer to pay it back so the monthly instalments may be smaller (although obviously over time you will have paid back more). The issue with bank loans is that due to the credit crunch banks have tightened up on lending. This means that where before you may have been able to walk in, request a loan and find it in your bank account that same week, now you will have to have an excellent credit rating. Just like the dental finance provider, the banks need an assurance that you will be able to pay the money back. You are more likely to pass a bank’s credit check if you own your own home (and have not defaulted on the payments) and have not missed payments on your credit card.

Overseas Treatment

Travelling abroad to have your dental implant procedure can work out cheaper than having it performed privately in the UK or US, even with the cost of flights and accommodation factored in. The reason that this kind of treatment is cheaper abroad is a combination of lower salaries and living costs, more cheaply run dental practices and sometimes less expensive (though potentially lower quality) implant materials.

The first two reasons should not necessarily give you cause for concern as long as you select a first-rate trusted dentist, however, cheaper implants are likely to be less durable and less effective. Of course, it is also very difficult to know the quality of the dentist you are considering thanks to language barriers and limited access to other patients. You should therefore approach having treatment overseas with caution.

If you were to have a faulty treatment which resulted in dental implant failure or other problems, the cost of rectifying any mistakes will most probably work out far more expensive than if you have had a successful surgery in the UK.

Currently there are a number of countries which have become popular locations for overseas dental work. Practices in Hungary, Croatia, Spain, India, Mexico and the Czech Republic have all been picking up more and more patients from the UK.

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