1. Is it a private dental practice, or a franchise or multiple office corporation?
The treatment you receive at a corporate practice has some serious drawbacks:
- Dentists are mere employees at corporate practices and may have few incentives to stay at their particular offices. You can never be sure if your dentist will be there the next time you visit. Even when dentists are shareholders, it's easy for them to sell their shares and leave.
- Another downside to this corporate environment is their supporting administrative staff and management fees are financial burdens that make it nearly impossible for them to offer their patients lower prices.
- Because these franchise offices are owned by shareholders, their main focus is on profitability for the shareholders.
- Furthermore, employees are sometimes offered financial incentives to perform certain procedures which might create bias in treatment recommendations.
- One of the worst aspects of corporate practices is that they are often designed to provide specific treatments. When you visit one of these offices you might not be offered all available treatments, but only those options which they are set up to deliver; these options may not include alternatives to implants.

At Austin Dental Implant Center, we are happy to offer and explain all the available treatment options, including alternatives to implants. Our unique setup allows us to deliver quality treatment and personal care at lower. We accept and file insurance, and we also offer payment plans through third-party companies which can make your treatment even more affordable.

2. Will your entire treatment be done in the same place by the same dentist?
Complications have been known to arise from miscommunication between the surgical and restorative phases, and between dentists delivering different phases of treatment. This is not to mention the hassle of traveling between different offices, and the miscommunication that occurs between the staff at each office, if they bother to communicate at all.

3. Is your dentist a specialist in implant dentistry?
Beware of non legitimate specialists. The only specialty that is recognized by the American Dental Association that deals with restoring dental implants and placement of implants is the specialty of "Prosthodontics". Other so-called specialists are not legitimately recognized specialties. "cosmetic Dentist", "implantologist", "implant specialist" or any other such titles are not specialties that are recognized by the American Dental Association. Dr. Kaar is a Prosthodontist, and prosthodontics is a recognized specialty, and is the only specialty that deals with implant restorations. There are two other recognized specialties of "periodontics" and "oral surgery", that deal with the surgical aspects of implant treatment, however not the restorative aspect of it. As a result you will still need to see another dentist for the restorative phase.

4. What was the training that your dentist received?
All too often, a few weekend courses, or an implant company sponsored course is all the training that a dentist received before starting in implant dentistry. Dr. Kaar has undergone 3 years of extensive training after graduating from dental school to become a prosthodontist. In fact, less than 2% of all dentists are prosthodontists and only 0.5% are board certified. There are many dentists who are trying to help their patients by getting involved in this area of dentistry. The reason that is generating so many dental implant mistakes is that implant dentistry was not a part of the dental school curriculum of the vast majority of dentists in practice today. Only now are dental schools starting to incorporate training in Implants. And as they try to do this, they are faced with a curriculum that is already jammed so full, they don't know what to cut out so that they can adequately cover Implant Dentistry.

5. Is your dentist using an implant system based on cost?
Be careful not to take the risk of having an implant procedure at a cheaper price from an unqualified dentist. Instead, carefully choose an implant dentist who is dedicated to quality care, individualized services and an understanding of your needs and desires. This person should take time to consider your specific condition and develop a treatment plan that will meet your goals and enhance your oral health. This includes choosing the right implants for your situation. There are hundreds of dental implant manufacturers, and every year more of them are going out of business. Imagine if you needed replacement parts, and they are no longer available.

6. Does your dentist understand the different types of implants, and will he choose a specific implant that will best suit your needs?
All too often a dentist is trained in one specific implant system, which may not be the best choice in your situation. At Austin Dental Implant center, we work with a number of different systems and will choose the system that will serve you best. However, we will only work with reputable implant companies, and will never use a system that does not have long term track record.

7. Does your dentist have a full service dental laboratory in his office or will he be sending your case to an outside dental laboratory for the fabrication of your restorations?
It is crucial that there is clear communication between your dentist and the laboratory that will ultimately fabricate your implant restorations. At the Austin Dental Implant Center we have a full service dental laboratory that is equipped with some of the most advanced equipment available, and your work is completed under the direct supervision of your prosthodontist. Some other labs will send your restoration to China or other countries to be fabricated. In these cases the quality, the alloys and other materials used in your implant restoration are questionable for very least.

8. Is implant dentistry a routine procedure for your dentist?
If your dentist is not set up to treat implants routinely, they are not able to deliver it in an efficient manner. Austin Dental Implant Center is fully set up to provide implant dentistry and it is an everyday procedure while other offices provide all services in addition to implant procedures, which are only performed every so often.