Treatment planning mistake

It was interesting to watch two dentists treatment plan a case together recently.

Whenever I treatment plan a case I'm always thinking to myself, "What's the best I can do for this patient?" Then, somewhat later, I think "If that's not financially possible what's something else what's a reasonable compromise?"

The point being, I always start with the best I can do and work back from there.The dentists in question were looking at a case that could have been fixed beautifully with orthodontics and implants. It would have been magnificent.Unfortunately, their treatment planning started with partial dentures. Then it got onto what type — chrome or acrylic.

These dentists' starting reference point was not "What's the best I can do for this patient?" Instead it was "What's the cheapest I can do for this patient?"

After listening to this for a while I  started to feel really sorry for the patient.Instead of being shown the best that dentistry has to offer, they were going to be led directly to a pretty poor alternative.

Maybe the orthodontics and implants would be offered with a throw away line: "You could consider braces and implants but that is very expensive." Maybe orthodontics and implants were not going to be offered at all.

When you treatment plan a case what is your starting point — the best that you can do or the cheapest that you can do?