The downside is cost. If your student plans on being around another
20+ years and has the money have
them go for the implants.
I had nine teeth removed from the back of my mouth earlier this
year. Frankly it hasn't been anywhere near as lousy as you'd
imagine. Heck, I'd almost recommend it.
I started looking into implants at once. In LA the average cost was about
$4K per implant. $36K to replace mine? On a harmonica player's salary?
So I checked around and found out that a couple of friends had just gone to
Delhi to do some 'medical tourism.' That is, the wife needed both hips
replaced. In LA she was quoted as high as $140K and not much lower and she
has the same crummy insurance everyone else has. They did some research
and found that in Delhi should could get this work, highly recommended, for
about $15K.
While they were there, her husband got a great deal of dental work, which
had been quoted as being over $20K in LA. He got it for under $3K in Delhi.
Both my friends had incredible experiences, and what is turning out to be
superlative work. His American dentist took a look at all the dental work
in his mouth and proclaimed it to be first rate. All in the came back to
LA about $20K lighter, but she can walk again and he can chew his peanuts.
Well, my friends put me in contact with the Delhi dentist, who looked at my
Xrays (yay for digital Xrays) and quoted me a price of $1K per
implant. $9K is doable for me. But there are issues, because you don't
just walk in bare and walk out with implants. The stems have to be
implanted in your jaw and then you have to wait for a significant period
before the final teeth are put in. I can't stay in Delhi for months, I'm
an important man with emails to write. There is some possibility of doing
the posts and having the actual implants made in India, and then having my
LA dentist perform the installation some months later.
But I have recently heard --- this could be total baloney --- that up in
Utah dentists charge about a grand an implant. I'd way prefer going to Utah.