Checklist
Most of these take a clinic thirty seconds to answer. The ones that do not are the ones worth noticing.
Every question below exists because someone did not ask it and paid for the omission. Copy the list, send it as a single message, and evaluate the reply as a whole. The speed and specificity of the response tells you nearly as much as the content.
1. Which implant system and product line are you placing? You want a manufacturer name in writing. This determines whether components are sourceable near you for the rest of your life.
2. Is the manufacturer distributed in my home country? If the clinic does not know, find out yourself. A well-made fixture from a company with no local distribution creates a maintenance problem later.
3. How many implants are you planning, and what triggers placing more? Surgical plans change once the site is exposed. You want to know the contingency and its price before the day, not during it.
4. Are the abutment and crown included, or is this the fixture only? The single largest source of quote-to-invoice drift in implant dentistry.
5. What imaging are you basing this on? A firm number without a CBCT is an estimate of an estimate. Any quote should be provisional until 3D imaging exists.
6. Do I need bone grafting or a sinus lift, and is it in this price? Conditional grafting is common and legitimate. Undisclosed conditional grafting is how a $1,500 implant becomes $2,600.
7. Do any teeth need extraction first, and are extractions included? Ask per tooth, not in aggregate.
8. Is my periodontal health adequate for implants right now? Placing fixtures into active gum disease compromises everything downstream. A clinic that raises this unprompted is paying attention.
If a clinic says grafting "probably will not be needed" without having seen a CBCT, treat the entire quote as provisional. Bone volume is not assessable from a panoramic x-ray alone.
9. How many trips, and how many days in country for each? Convert this to airfare and lodging and add it to the quote. It is part of the price.
10. What is the healing interval between surgery and final restoration? Typically several months. If a clinic proposes dramatically less, ask them to explain the protocol.
11. What happens at my follow-up appointments, and can any be done at home? Some checks can be handled by a local dentist with records sent back. Establishing this early saves a trip.
12. What is your written warranty, and what voids it? Ask for the document. Verbal warranties are not warranties. Most require attending maintenance visits and not smoking; both are reasonable and both are frequently overlooked.
13. If an implant fails within the warranty, who pays for the replacement, and who pays for the travel? These are two different questions and they often have two different answers.
14. Can my dentist at home service this restoration? Ask your home dentist too, with the manufacturer name in hand. Their answer matters more than the clinic's.
The best clinics answer all fourteen without irritation, because they have answered them hundreds of times.
What the response pattern tells you
A rough heuristic, not a scoring system
| Named implant system, unprompted | good sign |
| Written warranty attached | good sign |
| Quote flagged as provisional pending CBCT | good sign |
| Firm price, no imaging, discount deadline | caution |
| Vague on grafting and extractions | caution |
| Cannot or will not name the fixture brand | caution |
None of these is disqualifying on its own. A cluster of cautions is worth taking seriously.
Independent of everything above, confirm the treating dentist appears in ReTHUS, Colombia's national practitioner registry. Certificates on a wall and logos on a website are not verification.
Fourteen questions feels like a lot to send a stranger. It is not, for a purchase of this size, and the clinics worth traveling for will treat it as a sign you are a serious patient rather than a difficult one.
Send us the responses you get back. We will tell you which are standard, which are unusual, and which need a follow-up question.
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