No matter how careful you are to take the best possible care of your teeth and your oral hygiene, anyone can lose a tooth for all sorts of reasons, whether due to conditions like an infection or after an accident or some other cause of injury. Losing a tooth is upsetting, but the damage can be corrected and disguised with good dental implants. Dental implants involve placing an artificial tooth root into the jaw, which may require some bone grafting to create a secure base. As dental surgery goes, the dental implants procedure is fairly major, so the costs can soon add up, making for an expensive piece of dentistry.
Why Dental Implants Are So Expensive
The cost of dental implants can be very high, but for good reason due to the work and materials involved. As with any major dental procedure, you should remember to factor in the cost of dental implants as an investment in good quality dental work, rather than just as an expensive cosmetic procedure. By spending the money, you’ll be rewarded with a restored smile with healthy teeth. Cheap work is likely to be poorer quality, risking the future health of your mouth.
So, why are dental implants so expensive to have done? Remember that the dental implant is not just a simple thing to fit into the mouth. The procedure can be lengthy, and should be broken down into several stages, making it an expensive option. Of course, as you’re working in the mouth, you need to be certain the all the materials and tools used in the procedure are of the highest quality.
The first stage of placing dental implants is to fit a piece of pure titanium into the jaw. This titanium needs to precisely shaped into a screw in order for the implant to be fixed into the jaw bone. Titanium isn’t an expensive material in itself, but this careful crafting and refining is an expensive process due to the precision required in the work.
Is it just the titanium that pushes up the cost of dental implants? There are actually many more factors that contribute to why dental implants are so expensive. All dental implants need a uniquely designed crown which will be fitted over the titanium screw in the jaw. This crown is the part that looks like a replacement tooth. No two dental crowns are ever the same, as nobody has the same teeth. Every crown must be made specifically for the patient, after a thorough evaluation by the dentist making it. Crowns cannot be mass produced, which of course makes them more expensive. As with the titanium screws, the materials used for crowns are not expensive, but the work that goes into making them properly is. However, this painstaking work is entirely necessary in order to create a dental implant that is effective, high quality and that will last for a long time. Poor workmanship means an ill-fitting crown, which would be uncomfortable and unsightly.
The skills needed to correctly make and place a dental implant also has a big impact on why dental implants are so expensive. You’re not just paying for the implant itself, but also for the skill and expertise of the dentist and the rest of the team who create the implant and crown and then secure it into your jawbone.
Fixing the screw into the jawbone and placing the screw on top of it are both complicated procedures, which require a lot of precision, detail work. Your dentist will have spent many hours training to develop these skills, and you’re paying for those hours of work, the high precision fitting and the expertise of the dental team. It’s important to spend the money on a dentist who is an expert, so you get surgery work that is done properly, heals correctly and will give you a smile that lasts and keeps on looking good. Remember too, you’re not only paying for the surgery, but for the aftercare too. Long after the procedure is done, you will need to keep returning to your dentist for appointments for them to check on how the healing is progressing. Healing after a dental implant can take a while, and is usually broken into stages after each stage of the implant fitting. After care check ups make sure you will retain full and normal use of your mouth. If you do face any problems during healing, this appointments will be able to catch them and deal with them to prevent them from developing into bigger issues.
Can You Reduce The Cost Of Dental Implants?
Dental implants are never going to be a cheap dental surgery, nor should they be. You do need to make an investment in order to be sure you’ll get quality treatment and aftercare from a skilled dentist who uses the best materials and tools to ensure your future oral health. A cheap implant won’t last, costing you more in the long run for more treatments and possible a replacement implant.
However, if you can’t justify why dental implants are so expensive, there are some ways to help you make some savings. Some less scrupulous will charge a premium for high cost procedures like dental implants, knowing that people will justify it for quality work. Before deciding which dentist to use, ask around for some quotes for this kind of work, read reviews and ask for recommendations. Ideally, you want to find a dentist who isn’t pushing up costs in order to maximise their profits. If you think you’re being overcharged or have been given a quote that seems higher than you expected, get a second opinion from a different dentist. This can help you to find a fair cost for this important procedure, without having to compromise on the quality of the dental implant you get.
By doing your homework, you can spend a little less, but still get a dental implant that will restore your smile after tooth loss, and look good for years to come.
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