Understanding the Cost of Dental Implants
February 27, 2019
Patients have heard a lot about the benefits of dental implants, but many of those pitches don’t have clear discussions of the cost. If there are, the practice tells you a starting cost, but not necessarily fill in all the extra expenses that can come with placement and other procedures needed to support the implants. If you’re trying to calculate your dental implant cost, you need to know exactly what will go into your implant procedure, because each additional treatment needed to make implants work will increase the cost. You also need to understand your own insurance coverage and the obligations it puts on you through cost-sharing, because those considerations are often outside the ability of a dentist’s office to calculate.
Additional Procedures Implant Patients Need
There are plenty of dental implant patients whose placement procedure is simple because they need no other care beside post-operative aftercare. For others, there are several support procedures. Typically, patients who need these procedures would not be candidates for implants without them. That means they will need to consider other teeth replacement options if the combined cost of all the procedures is too great.
- Bone placement: Jawbone loss and structural loss to the upper jaw are both issues if teeth have been missing for a while, and sometimes surgeries are needed to create extra support for implant anchors.
- Tissue grafts: Patients also need tissue support sometimes. Often, they are the same patients who need bone grafts, but not always. Some patients just need extra help regenerating gum tissue before implants can be anchored safely.
- Periodontal treatments: Often, patients who are receiving implants after tooth loss due to gum disease will need stabilizing treatments to address the underlying infection before it is safe to place implants.
For more information, contact our office today at our Pittsburgh or Monroeville location, to make an appointment for a consultation. At your appointment, the doctor will answer all your questions about the procedures you’ll need.