The warranty period for dental implants and implantation, is there a lifetime warranty?

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Published: September 30, 2018

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Installing a filling on a tooth or prosthetics are the most popular dental services in Russia. Before dental interventions, it is worth clarifying what warranty period applies to the filling or prosthesis.

• Legal standards
• Warranty period for dental services
• Types of warranty obligations
• In what cases and how are dentures and fillings repaired or replaced under warranty?

During this period, the client of the dental clinic has the right to have defects eliminated free of charge.

What is the difference between the obligations of a company and dentistry?

The implantation guarantee consists of two components:

• warranty provided by the manufacturer for the titanium implant;
• guarantee for the implantation procedure from the dental clinic.

To determine the actual service life, let’s consider how the clinic’s warranty differs from the service life established by the manufacturer.

How many years does the warranty last for implants? Is there a lifetime warranty?

Each dental implant manufacturing company provides an official guarantee for the product. Thus, the manufacturer promises that the implant will retain its shape and functionality throughout the specified period.

• Premium implants come with a lifetime warranty.
• The warranty period for mid-segment designs ranges from 10 to 25 years.
• Economy class systems have a 10-15 year warranty.

A middle-class implant can last a lifetime, but a premium system can cause complications after a short period of time.

If the implant breaks or is defective, the manufacturer will replace it. Usually, for a technical defect to make itself felt, one year is enough. If the breakdown occurred due to the fault of the patient or doctor, replacement is not performed.

What are the obligations of the clinic during implantation?

The second form of guarantee is provided by the dental clinic and does not exceed 12-24 months . Medical institutions determine warranty periods independently. The clinic's guarantee only applies to the installation of a titanium support. As a rule, it is in the first 2 years that the risk of implant rejection is especially high, the reason for this is a violation of the implantation technology.

According to statistics, most complications after implantation in the early period are due to medical negligence or inexperience. The reason for non-survival may be insufficient sterility of the instruments, an incorrectly selected implant, or rough preparation with a bur.

If the implant is rejected after 3-5 years, then other reasons beyond the doctor’s control contribute to this. For example, insufficient hygiene or systemic diseases. Therefore, the doctor is not obliged to extend the guarantee for a longer period.

In practice, the patient cannot always obtain compensation in case of rejection. It is difficult to prove a doctor’s guilt, and not everyone is able to independently admit and correct their mistake.

Can a denture last as long as a dental implant?

The service life of an artificial crown directly depends on the material from which it is made. have the shortest service life - 2-3 years . Plastic is a brittle material that can crack over time under the pressure of chewing pressure. The porous surface structure quickly lends itself to pigmentation, becomes clogged with food debris and becomes a breeding ground for bacteria.

Metal-ceramic crowns are stronger and more durable and will last at least 10 years . Under extremely high chewing loads, the ceramic surface may chip, but if you avoid hard foods, the crown will not lose functionality until the end of the specified period.

The most durable, strong and hypoallergenic crowns are made from zirconium dioxide . Their service life is equal to that of a titanium root and is at least 15 years .

If an artificial crown breaks, there is no need to remove the implant. Only a new crown is made and attached.

Recommendations on how to extend the life of an implant

The dental guarantee is not an indicator of the longevity of the implants. If the manufacturer indicates a service life of 20 years or more, then you should rely on this data. The implanted structure can last until the end of your life if you follow the recommendations for its use.

Expert recommendations on how to extend the life of dental implants:

• strict adherence to oral hygiene (brushing teeth twice a day, using mouthwash and special dental floss);
• prevention and treatment of dental diseases at the first signs;
• giving up bad habits (use of narcotic drugs is a categorical contraindication);
• undergoing professional teeth cleaning in dentistry;
• reducing the load on the structure when eating food (it is not advisable to gnaw, constantly chew, eat hard foods, etc.);
• Periodic visits to the dentist for preventive purposes.

The service life of the crowns can also be affected, since when the structure is changed, all its elements are replaced.

A-Medic Dental Clinic provides a guarantee for the installation of implants in accordance with the quality of the products. The specialists of our center have extensive experience in implantation, so we are confident in the work of our implantologists. We offer our patients a choice of implants from the most famous manufacturers at an affordable price.

What determines successful engraftment and exploitation?

• Professionalism of the implantologist and orthopedist;
• implant quality;
• degree of fixation of the rod with the superstructure;
• compliance with operating and hygiene rules;
• patient's health status.

Often, after complete tissue healing and prosthetics, patients begin to underestimate the importance of oral hygiene. Caries cannot form on artificial crowns, but dentures are no less susceptible to plaque deposits than natural teeth. Deposits lead to inflammation of the mucous membrane, which can provoke peri-implantitis and root rejection.

Each case is individual, and the actual service life depends both on the patient’s health condition and on the professionalism of the doctor.

What is implantation

In the majority, people generalize methods for restoring teeth under the concept of “prosthetics.” This is not entirely correct. Implantation is a stage of reconstruction, which is the installation of an artificial root (implant), onto which a crown or solid prosthesis is subsequently attached.

Implantation is performed with an estimated period of 5 to 30 years. The service life of the product has the main influence on when the next dental implantation will be required, but there are a number of other factors that can shorten not the warranty period, but the actual service life.

In order to extend the period of wearing artificial roots, it is necessary to pay special attention to preparing for the procedure, to choose the right clinic/doctor and the products themselves, before carrying out the mini-operation to install the pins.

Criteria for choosing a specialist and clinic

• It is necessary for the doctor to have a license to perform implantation and permission from the SES;
• it is important that the surgeon has extensive work experience and a positive track record;
• the doctor must provide diplomas, certificates and certificates of specialization;
• the clinic must be equipped with all necessary diagnostic and surgical equipment.

You can install implants with a clinic guarantee of up to 10 years at Dantistoff Scientific Dentistry. Doctors - candidates and doctors of science. Sign up.

Reviews

If you have information about the risks when signing warranty agreements, or you know a clinic where the agreement was drawn up as honestly as possible and without risk for the patient, share your knowledge with users of our portal in the comments.

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In what cases is it canceled?

In case of violation of which obligations the patient may lose the guarantee if:

1. Neglect of preventive examinations. If the patient did not visit the clinic, the blame for unsuccessful engraftment will fall on him. The doctor could diagnose and stop the inflammatory process at an early stage.
2. The surgical and orthopedic stages of treatment were carried out in different clinics. If complications arise, no doctor wants to take the blame from his colleague. And the patient himself will have to figure out for a long time whose fault it was that the problems started.
3. The patient did not comply with the medication regimen or the rules for caring for the prosthesis.
4. He hid from the doctor chronic diseases or other contraindications that led to implant rejection.
5. The patient smoked during the post-implantation period.

Warranty service for prostheses

It was already mentioned above that it is important to distinguish between two separate concepts - the service life of the prosthesis and the guarantee for it that the dental clinic offers. The legislation of the Russian Federation defines a number of dental services for which guarantees must be provided. So, for example, in the event of damage to a prosthetic product due to the fault of the clinic, the latter undertakes to make appropriate repairs or completely replace the structure, and in other situations, even return the money that the patient paid for the treatment received.

Is it possible to replace a product if it is cracked?

If a crack appears on the orthopedic device and the warranty period has not yet expired, the patient has every right to contact the dental clinic to replace the product. However, first you need to establish the reason why the damage appeared on the structure.

If a crack appears on the orthopedic device and the warranty period has not yet expired, the patient has every right to contact the dental clinic to replace the product

Of course, most often this happens due to poor quality of material or workmanship. However, insufficient care and improper use of the prosthesis on the part of the patient can also lead to this kind of trouble. Typically, in such cases, the product is taken for examination, and based on its conclusion, the clinic decides on its further actions.

Why don’t dentists provide a guarantee for implantation and when is the product replaced?

Alexey Viktorovich, maxillofacial surgeon

You often hear the following advertising slogans: “100% guarantee on dental implants!”, “Warranty on implants for 20-30-40 years!” and others. To be honest, no doctor can give a 100% guarantee for any surgical procedure. Whether it's a sinus lift, osteoplasty or dental implantation. The doctor can create favorable conditions, and the positive outcome of the operation is the merit of the body. Even the simplest tooth extraction procedure has small risks of complications.

I know of one case where MIS Corporation actually replaced a defective implant. But if a patient rarely brushes his teeth or chews nuts every day, it’s his own fault.

The bottom line is this: a lifetime guarantee is a promise that the implant will not fail, not that it will not fall out due to peri-implantitis in 5 years.

Treaty pitfalls

In our country, some legal tricks are used that allow clinics to avoid fulfilling warranty obligations and lower the price of the implantation procedure as much as possible.

Let's list the main ones:

• "Profitable proposition". This technique captivates many clients - before implantation, the doctor calculates the cost of the operation in the patient’s specific case, resulting in a huge estimate.
  After this, the doctor seems to make concessions, offering to carry out the operation “in another place” without drawing up a contract. Of course, in case of rejection or complications, the patient simply has nowhere to turn, since no one gave him any guarantees.
• "The best professor." A method similar to the previous one - the specialist suggests inviting “personally for the patient” the best implantologist, who in fact turns out to be a freelance employee of the clinic.
  As a result, when any claims arise on the part of the patient, there is simply no one to present them to – the “professor” disappears.
• If the guarantee agreement is signed not by the attending physician , but by some consultant or administrator, this is a reason to be wary.
• If there is a line on the clinic’s website or in its documents “The information is not an obligation and is not a public offer ,” then the agreement concluded with the institution does not actually make sense.
• In the text of the contract , where the patient signs that he does not have hepatitis, allergies and other diseases, there may be the text “I have been informed that there is no guarantee...”. There should be no such phrase anywhere else in the contract.
• It is impossible for a doctor to persuade a patient to undergo an operation without obligations on his part , even in “very, very” difficult cases.
• Avoid hidden division of warranty , where different contracts or clauses of the contract provide a guarantee for each element of the implantation - for treatment, for surgery, for the implant, for instruments, etc.
• It is preferable to be treated in clinics where they give a lifetime guarantee for their work , and not for 12 months. Of course, in most cases, problems appear in the first year after surgery, but there are other situations.

Unfortunately, in Russia such tricks in contracts with clinics are not uncommon, and most likely it will not be possible to completely avoid them. Try to at least avoid establishments that use the most fraudulently explicit ones.

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