Patients Should Be Refunded Remaining Treatment Costs When Implant Treatment Is Discontinued

Decision of the Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee of the Korea Consumer Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee announced on the 14th that if a patient prepays the full cost of an implant and discontinues treatment midway, the remaining treatment fees should be refunded to the patient in stages.

Regarding the case of complainant A who stopped implant treatment, the committee decided that the hospital should refund A the remaining amount excluding the costs for the stages of medical procedures already performed. Last year, A decided to get an implant and had an artificial root implanted but was dissatisfied with the treatment process and discontinued treatment midway, subsequently requesting a refund for the remaining treatment fees.

The medical institution claimed that there was no problem with the treatment process and that refunds were either impossible or only a small amount could be returned. However, the committee decided to refund 40% of the prepaid treatment fees, excluding 60% corresponding to the progress of the treatment. The committee viewed dental implants not as a single treatment process but as a procedure involving staged medical acts over a long period. Therefore, it judged that deducting only the costs corresponding to the completed treatment stages was reasonable.

According to the Consumer Agency, the Korean Academy of Periodontology has set the fees for each treatment stage as follows: ▲ Stage 1 Diagnosis and Treatment Planning 10% ▲ Stage 2 Fixture Implantation Surgery 43% ▲ Stage 3 Prosthetic Restoration 47%. The cost of implant materials is calculated separately.

The committee advised consumers to receive detailed explanations about the treatment plan before implant procedures and recommended paying the costs in installments while confirming treatment results rather than paying the full amount upfront.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.