Summary
Fueled by profit-driven private equity, the booming dental implant industry is facing fierce criticism for what some call reckless and horrendous practices that leave patients in pain. Experts like Harvard’s William Giannobile and periodontist Luiz Gonzaga warn that clinics are pressuring patients into costly and unnecessary implants, often removing healthy teeth that could be saved.
Becky Carroll’s experience with ClearChoice was a nightmare. She alleges that during her $31,000 implant surgery, her anesthesia wore off, leaving her conscious and in agony, while the misaligned implants rendered her unable to chew. Nationwide, lawsuits recount similar ordeals, yet companies like ClearChoice and Aspen Dental deny any wrongdoing.
My wife had industry articles written about her mouth, and it was a battle just to get her mounts switched out for white ones and the metal removed for our wedding day, six years after she had braces put on.
Having seen photos of what her teeth looked like before braces, I would have still asked that girl out and eventually married her, although I see why she may have been even more self-conscious then than she was afterword(although I have my doubts anything was helped on that front too).
My own mouth is crowded with teeth I begged them to remove, now getting damaged by pressure from neighboring teeth and extremely difficult to clean between.
They don’t seem to care what we actually need or don’t need. Meanwhile, none of our kids have needed braces.