If you are asking the question ‘how much is a dental implant?’ and expecting a specific price answer, then it can be frustrating to find that the cost price for a dental implant procedure fluctuates dramatically.
In Australia, for example, a quick Google search will return figures varying a few thousand dollars. Clearly, ball-park figures don’t really give you much of an indication as to how much it may cost you. So why is this?
In reality, there are a whole host of factors that can and do influence the cost of undergoing dental implants, so it’s worth taking a closer look at these.
Factor #1 – Underlying dental implants procedures
When it comes to a dental implant procedure, no one patient is the same and by default, nor are dental implants treatments. It could be that a patient presents with limited bone or with underlying gum disease problems – all of which can compromise the process. Therefore, these contraindications will need to be dealt with or treated first. Naturally, because many of these processes involve extra (and in some cases complex) dental work, then this is a cost that will be added to your overall treatment plan.
Conversely, a patient who presents with good oral health and sufficient bone is likely to not require any underlying preparation procedures and therefore can expect a cheaper procedure than someone who say, needs a bone graft or a sinus lift prior to undergoing dental implants treatment.
Factor 2 – Type of dental implant restoration
When asking the question ‘how much is a dental implant’, the number of implants will have a direct correlation with the price naturally, but so will the type of restoration. You may not know, for instance, that dental implants are multifunctional. They can be used to replace a single missing tooth, several teeth, or even an entire arch of teeth. So whether or not you need a single crown, an implant-supported bridge, or an implant-retained denture, it will have a direct effect on the cost of your dental implants treatment.
Factor 3 – Location
If you have been delving into the cost of a dental implant procedure then you’ll probably already know that prices differ greatly depending upon where you have the treatment done. For example, it’s possible to undergo an implant-based restoration in countries such as India, Malaysia, Thailand and Bali for a third of the cost of treatment back here in Australia But while that may sound appealing, cut-price treatments come with a whole host of risk factors that you wouldn’t necessarily get when you undergo dental implants back home – but that’s for a different blog post. Just be aware for now that prices can vary greatly from country to country.
Even when it comes to Australia, the costs of a dental implant procedure can also differ depending upon whether your chosen clinic is based in say, Sydney or Melbourne or is in an out-of-town area. Why?
Simply because the cost of living in places like Melbourne and Sydney are higher than in out-of-town locations. Dentists will need to consider factors like higher staff wages, more costly premises, and higher rents and utilities which can all affect the price of dental implants treatment.
Factor 4 – Dental Implant Branding
Did You know that there are well over 200 brands of dental implants in the marketplace as of 2020? Yet not all are created equal. Some implant brands, for example, utilise lower-grade materials or have invested less in clinical testing than more well-known implant brands. This is why they are able to keep their manufacturing costs and therefore their retail prices low.
Unfortunately, the dental implants industry is extremely competitive and new start-ups are coming into the market place all the time and more often than not, the only way they can compete is on price. The problem is that those same companies can go bust very quickly.
So, what does this mean for a patient?
If you undergo a dental implant procedure using lesser-known brands, there’s simply no guarantee that they will still be around in several years.
So if you do need a replacement component like an abutment, your dentist might struggle to find the right part because the company is no longer trading. This may result in undergoing a whole new dental implant procedure using well known and proven brand replacements. Brands that have stood the test of time and are trusted because of it.
Factor 5 – Dental Implant Types
Sometimes the spacing between teeth is not sufficient for a conventional dental implant to fit, or alternatively, the patient may suffer from insufficient bone height at the implant site. Given these scenarios, the dentist may suggest using a narrow diameter or wider diameter implant in the dental implant procedure. Typically these ‘specialised’ dental implants tend to cost more than standard implants (usually by around $250).
In addition, in cases where the bone structure around a dental implant lacks density, a dentist may also suggest specially coated dental implants that help with the osseointegration (bone fusion) process. Similar to non-conventional implants, coated dental implants will usually cost more.
So there you have it, everything you need to know about implant pricing and the factors that influence a dental implants procedure.
If you would like to find out more about how much a dental implant is for your given situation then come and talk to the team at No Gaps Dental for a consultation. We’ll listen to your needs and requirements and give you a detailed treatment plan complete with customised pricing and a timescale for completion.
Call us at (02) 8806 0227 today.
Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks.