* All fees and prices indicated are estimates only. The amount you pay may vary and will be subject to your health fund cover’s terms and conditions.
I see some dentists advertising “cheap” implants. Are these legitimate?
A professionally placed dental implant is not cheap because it involves specialised practitioner skills, surgical procedures, and the use of advanced biomedical technologies.
Any practitioner that tells you otherwise, or tries to sell dental implants on a “low-cost” basis, is either unaware of all the facts, or is not giving you the complete picture.
Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
What factors make up the cost of a dental implant?
The cost of implant surgery depends on a number of factors:
- Your overall and oral health will determine whether any prerequisite procedures are necessary prior to the actual implant surgery.
- The practitioner’s training, experience and expertise. An oral surgeon can charge up to $1000* more than an implant dentist.
- The type and quantity of implants used.
- The implant brand and pedigree. See question about implant manufacturers on this page.
- The geographical location, and the local economy, where the surgery is performed.
Are all implants the same?
There are more than 300 implant manufacturers today in countries like the USA, Sweden, China and Korea. Not all of them offer products backed by clinical data.
“Titanium” implants can be made from 100% titanium, which is 100% inert and will not corrode, or an alloy containing varying percentages of titanium.
The net cost to the practitioner can vary as much as a factor of 10 (from $80* to $800*) for the “same” type of implant depending on the manufacturer and location of manufacture.
What do I need to be aware of when getting quotations?
When seeking quotes for dental implant treatment, your practitioner should give you a good indication of the cost for both the surgical and prosthodontic components; plus a breakdown of that you will get (procedures and materials) for these components.
Few general dentists will do both the surgical and prosthodontic components of your implant treatment. Most will refer their patients to have the implant surgery done by a specialist or an implant dentist, and then have the patient return to them for the prosthodontic component. The inconvenience of this approach is the extra appointments and travel required.
Dr Chan has the training, expertise and experience to perform both the surgical and prosthodontic components of your dental implant.
Are there cost-cutting practices I need to be aware of?
Some practitioners will take shortcuts to lower their prices; such as:
- Reducing the time and effort spent on treatment planning.
- Rushing to surgically place implants before designing the prosthesis or comprehensively reviewing the patient’s overall health situation.
- Not using articulators to communicate detailed information to dental laboratories.
- Skipping the use of surgical guides and just eyeballing the implant placements.
- Using unbranded implants or taking a “mix and match” approach of sourcing components from different manufacturers for a given patient.
- Using dental laboratories that outsource the work to unknown and unaccredited overseas fabricators.
Shortcuts greatly increase the risk of costly surgical errors, implant failures and potential long term damage to your health.