How to Identify and Avoid Dental Scams

Dishonest dental professionals can misdiagnose conditions, recommend unnecessary procedures, and even offer non-existent services. Understanding how to safeguard yourself when visiting a dentist is essential.

Marina Kolesnichenko

Dentist and Chief Physician at Beauty Line Dental Clinic.

There are many ways patients can be financially exploited, often referred to as "money scams": excessively high treatment prices using ordinary or even low-quality materials, pushing unnecessary services that don’t enhance treatment effectiveness, and the most expensive treatment methods. Clinics may advertise discounts with fine print stating “Prices start from…”, making it practically impossible to receive the advertised low-cost service. In severe cases, patients might find charges for services they never received.

Let's explore these tactics in detail and how to protect yourself.

How Dental Scammers Deceive Patients

1. Providing Poor Quality Diagnostics

One of the biggest concerns for patients, sometimes even more than extra expenses, is poor diagnostics. This is often linked to attempts to extract more money from you. Examples include a dentist insisting that you urgently need complex and expensive procedures, treating all remaining teeth unnecessarily, or unjustifiably extracting healthy teeth to place implants. In the worst cases, an unscrupulous dentist may remove a healthy tooth.

Be cautious. First, a reputable dentist will clearly justify diagnoses and treatment plans using tools like intraoral cameras that visually demonstrate oral issues, X-rays, and CT scans.

Second, they typically offer several treatment options at different price points, especially when you mention budget constraints.

If the dentist loses interest after you mention your budget or attempts to pressure you about your health, it’s best to seek care elsewhere.

Lastly, while additional issues may be discovered during treatment (e.g., root inflammation found in a tooth with decay), a trustworthy dentist will always provide clear explanations for any extra procedures.

2. Listing Non-Existent Services

This is a marketing trick: patients who find that a clinic doesn’t offer the service they need may be pressured to settle for available but unsuitable treatments.

While treatment should always be warranted, and patients sometimes struggle to evaluate the necessity of certain procedures, many know exactly what they need. For instance, patients with dental phobia looking for sedation dentistry should verify that the clinic holds a valid anesthesia license. This information can usually be found on the clinic’s website or by asking during appointment scheduling.

Similarly, verify what implant brands or orthodontic methods the clinic uses and check for corresponding certifications and licenses.

3. Offering Cheap Dental Implants

Dental implants are a modern way to restore smiles but require strict protocols, experienced professionals, and various materials, such as bone grafts if bone loss is present. Many clients don’t know this and are lured by implant prices as low as $60–$100.

Implants are medical devices that must have certification and health authority approval to ensure safety.

Top-tier companies provide premium implants with lifetime or extended warranties (e.g., 30 years). On the other hand, cheaper Chinese or Korean implants resemble budget cars—they function but don’t match premium quality. Some clinics advertise only the implant price, excluding diagnostics, surgeon fees, and other costs, which patients discover later.

This strategy banks on patients not wanting to search for other clinics after arriving for their appointment, a common marketing tactic in low-traffic clinics aiming to boost patient numbers.

4. Promising to Whiten Teeth by 20 to 30 Shades

Dishonesty in dentistry isn’t limited to billing or diagnosis—it also appears in cosmetic services like teeth whitening.

A common scam is promising whitening results of 20 to 30 shades on the Vita scale.

The Vita shade guide is based on extensive research of natural tooth colors across different races and ages. Teeth darken over time due to enamel thinning revealing dentin pigments. The scale categorizes shades into four groups (A: yellow-pink, B: lemon, C: gray-yellow, D: gray). Whitening can realistically lighten teeth by 10–12 shades maximum. For example, moving from B5 to B1 is a 4-shade improvement but counts as 12 shades on the lightness scale—not 20 or more.

How to Avoid Being Scammed at the Dentist

1. Choose Reputable Clinics

Follow simple advice—rely on referrals from family, friends, and colleagues. This increases your chances of finding a trusted clinic and skilled dentist.

2. Compare Prices Across Clinics

Compare service prices at different clinics or use aggregator websites to gauge average costs for the procedures you need.

3. Verify Licenses and Certifications

Research the clinic’s website beforehand. Premium clinics justify higher fees through superior materials, innovative methods, highly qualified staff, and often unique treatment approaches. Certificates and diplomas from manufacturers and professional development records should be publicly available.

4. Demand Clear Explanations for Diagnoses and Treatments

Your dentist should support all recommendations with diagnostic data, explain procedures clearly, and consider your financial situation.

Explore useful articles in Column Categories as of 23-01-2022. The article titled " How to Identify and Avoid Dental Scams " offers in-depth analysis and practical advice in the Column Categories field. Each article is carefully crafted by experts to provide maximum value to readers.

The " How to Identify and Avoid Dental Scams " article expands your knowledge in Column Categories, keeps you informed about the latest developments, and helps you make well-informed decisions. Each article is based on unique content, ensuring originality and quality.