The guarantee, and what happens after you go home

A guarantee is only worth what it says on paper, so ours is written into your treatment plan before you pay, not described on a phone call. It runs 5 years on the implant fixture and 5 years on the prosthetic work, meaning crowns, veneers and bridges. It has conditions, it has exclusions, and this page states both, because a guarantee with no conditions is not a guarantee, it is marketing.

Implant fixture

5 years

Crowns, veneers and bridges

5 years

Conditions

Check-ups kept, daily cleaning as instructed, a night guard worn where one has been supplied

Not covered

Injury, an untreated problem elsewhere in the mouth, work altered by another dentist without our notes, damage from a habit the plan already warned about

Who to contact

The dentist who will treat you directly, by WhatsApp at +355 69 691 1118

What the conditions actually ask of you

Three things, all of them ordinary.

** Implants and crowns are maintained, not installed. A yearly examination with X-rays where needed catches the two problems that end restorations early: decay starting at the margin of a crown, and bone changing around an implant. For a patient who lives abroad, that examination can be done by a dentist near home and the records sent to us.

** Around an implant the daily work matters more than it does around a natural tooth, because the tissue seal there is different. That means brushing, and something that gets between and underneath: an interdental brush sized to your gaps, a floss threader under a bridge, or a water flosser. We show you which on the day the crown goes in, and it is specific to your restoration rather than generic advice.

** Sustained clenching is the mechanical load that breaks ceramic and loosens screws, and it happens while you are asleep and unable to moderate it. Where a guard is part of your plan, wearing it is part of the guarantee, and we would rather say that plainly now than argue about it in three years.

If something goes wrong when you are at home

Message the dentist who will treat you on WhatsApp with photographs, in daylight, showing the tooth and the gum around it. You are writing to the dentist who treated you and who has your file, your radiographs and the lot numbers of what was placed. That matters, because most of what patients worry about can be resolved by knowing exactly what is in their mouth.

From there the answer falls into one of three shapes:

• Reassurance with a watch. Something normal at that stage of healing, with what to look for if it changes.

What we ask in return is that nobody else modifies the work without telling us. A crown adjusted by another dentist without a record is a crown whose history we no longer have, and that is what most guarantee disputes are actually about.

The manufacturer’s cover, which is separate from ours

Straumann and Nobel Biocare fixtures carry their own manufacturer programmes on the implant itself, independently of anything the clinic promises. That is one of the practical reasons a premium system at 800 euro or 700 euro is a different purchase from a fixture at 300–450 euro, alongside the research record behind them and the fact that components remain available in years to come. Your plan records which system was used and its lot number, so the fixture in your jaw can be identified by any dentist anywhere.

Component availability is worth a sentence of its own. If a screw or an abutment is needed in eleven years, a widely used system from a manufacturer still trading is far easier to service than an obscure one, whatever either cost on the day. Our dental implants page sets out which systems we place and at what price.

The first year, month by month

The plan sets out check-ins rather than leaving you to guess. Photographs at agreed intervals during healing, a review when the final crown or bridge has been in use for a few weeks, and the first annual examination twelve months after the work is finished. Between the two visits to Tirana the contact is remote and it is with the clinic, not a coordinator. The implant timeline page shows where each of those points falls, and the visit planning page covers how the appointments are arranged around travel.

FAQ

Is a guarantee from a clinic abroad worth anything in practice?

It is worth what the document says and what the clinic will actually do, which is why you should read the terms before treatment rather than after. Ask three specific questions of any clinic in any country: what exactly is covered and for how long, who pays for travel if you have to return, and who you contact and how quickly they answer. A clinic that answers all three in writing is offering something real. A clinic that says “lifetime guarantee” and nothing else is offering a phrase.

What happens if an implant does not integrate?

It is uncommon and it is the situation the fixture guarantee exists for. The implant is removed, the site is allowed to heal, and a replacement is placed once the bone has recovered, which usually means a few months and sometimes a graft. Under our terms the replacement treatment itself is covered within the guarantee period and the conditions above. What the document has to state clearly is travel, because that is the real cost of a second attempt for someone flying in.

Do I need to come back to Tirana for check-ups?

No. A yearly examination with a dentist near you is enough, and we ask for the report and any X-rays so your file stays current. Many patients do come back, usually because they are combining it with a trip, and we are glad to see the work in person. What we cannot do is guarantee work we have not seen or heard about for five years, which is the whole reason the check-up is a condition rather than a suggestion.

Can the guarantee pass to someone else, or survive my moving country?

Moving country changes nothing: the guarantee is on the work and on you, and the file travels as a document. Send us your new dentist’s details and we will forward the treatment record.

How should I clean around an implant crown?

Brush twice a day as normal, then clean the sides of the implant crown with the interdental brush size we give you, every day rather than occasionally. Under a bridge use a threader or a water flosser to clear the space between the bridge and the gum. Avoid anything abrasive on a ceramic surface. One cleaning appointment a year with your own dentist or hygienist at home keeps what you cannot reach under control, and it is the cheapest part of the whole treatment.

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