Dental implantation is a cosmetic and complex process. You pay for the dentist's skills. Implant posts and dental crowns increase cost. Additional procedures if necessary, such as bleaching, extractions, etc.
The entire procedure, that is, from treatment planning to placing the implant and the final cementation of the cap, requires between 2 and 6 months. Because implants are nothing more than foreign objects grafted into the body, our body needs some time to integrate and adapt to them. Meanwhile, there are a number of visits to check the integration of dental implants into the jaw bone through dental x-rays. Therefore, the total cost of one or more implants is expensive because it also includes this number of visits.
Dental implants cost a lot of money for several reasons. On the one hand, your implants will be custom-made to fit your teeth and mouth. You may need to have several molds removed from your mouth during the process, and all of that costs money. My experience has been that, in some situations, they are one of the most satisfactory procedures performed for patients.
There are some dental procedures that make both the patient and the dentist smile. A well-made set of porcelain veneers or crowns can transform a poor smile into something the patient loves to show smiling all the time. Despite the fact that it was expensive, the patient feels a new sense of self-confidence that is worthwhile. A patient who wears loose dentures is mostly disabled from the perspective of mechanical chewing.
Your chewing forces drop from 700 pounds per square inch to 70 psi. Patients learn to accept smiling with a slight fear that their teeth will slip or move. They also learn that they can no longer chew some foods. When implants can be placed and a new dental prosthesis placed, the patient gains enormous satisfaction with their new ability to chew and speak with new confidence.
Now let's return to the question of why dental implants are expensive. The main reason for the expense is the training and experience of everyone involved in manufacturing, delivering, placing and restoring a dental implant. It must be made of surgical-grade titanium, placed atraumatically and in a healthy position in the appropriate jawbone. The implant, once cured, must be restored by a well-trained laboratory person who uses high-end digital grinders to create an implant tooth that works in the mouth for many, many years, if not many decades.
Most patients think of an implant as a single replacement tooth. A dentist thinks of all the components needed to replace that “tooth”. An implant tooth consists of a dental accessory (screw), dental abutments and screws (healing and restorative) and, finally, the porcelain crown placed on the abutment. So, the more pieces there are, the greater the risk that they won't fit properly and the higher the cost of getting the perfect tooth for your situation.
My last warning is a common phrase that seems to hold its truth over and over again. That phrase is “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Beware of bait and switch schemes where implant accessories are advertised at low prices. It seems to cost half of what normal implants cost.
But most of the time the patient discovers that the porcelain abutment, abutment screw, and crown are charged separately, so in the end, the cost is about the same or similar to that of their local implant dentist. Make sure your implant dentist has received extensive training and is an active member of a professional or dental implant society so that, at least, you know that you are continuing to receive training and education. The advent of dental implants has given patients a new world in current treatment options to replace missing teeth. The dentist will then place the abutment, which is placed over the implant and can help place the crown.
The cost of the procedure may be higher depending on your circumstances, and several implants will increase the cost. Before an implant can be placed, at a minimum, your dentist will need to obtain an x-ray image of the site or sites; preferably, you should make a CBCT (cone beam CT) image of the sites. However, with techniques such as “all-in-one” dental implants, there's no need to replace each tooth with a different dental implant. Considering all the costs and spreading them over the rest of your life, dental implants are likely to be the most cost-effective option.
Individual implants are more affordable than a full arch of teeth, but there are many reasons why you shouldn't try to use individual implants as “steps” to save money by replacing your teeth with a permanent solution if you're a candidate for a full arch. Dental implants can be considered a long-term investment not only in terms of money, but also in terms of quality of life. When considering the cost of dental implants and comparing quotes, there are several important points to consider. Implant failure can range from fracture of the restoration, breakage of the screw, fracture of the implant or disintegration of the implant.
You should keep in mind that the implant is placed in a three-dimensional space and, therefore, it is crucial to correctly position the implant body within this space. Therefore, when determining the cost of an implant, even these factors have an enormous influence and, consequently, the charges are included in the total cost of an implant. While it may be true that the initial costs of dental implants are higher than those of other tooth replacement options, that fact overlooks part of the story. However, to restore three teeth with two implants, a pontic tooth or “fictitious tooth” connecting the two implants would be needed.
Dental implants don't require special care, just brush and floss them like you would with your natural teeth. . .
