One of the first questions potential patients ask when they call our office is how much a new set of teeth costs. Although this is a very difficult question to answer without seeing the patient first for a consultation, I will try my best here to explain some general pricing guidelines.
Like any other medical procedure, having bad teeth extracted, having implants placed and having new teeth on the implants is a complex procedure that depends on many factors. Ultimately replacing bad teeth or missing teeth is replacing body parts. It is easy for a trained professional to do it when he has all the information but close to impossible to promise anything over the phone or by email without seeing the patient, without seeing the xrays, CT scan, impressions, etc.
Single Implant
I’ll do the ball park estimate for a single implant and for a full set. They are the usual and customary prices that patients can expect from the dental practitioners in general all over United States.
1. A single implant is indicated when a patient is missing one tooth. The procedure involves the following:
a. Extraction of the bad existing tooth. It could be a normal extraction or surgical extraction with prices ranging from $120 to $550 per tooth.
b. Placing an implant in the jaw bone to replace the root of the tooth. The price varies based on the type of implant, brand with different qualities with a price range from $900(advertised, not actual) to $2200.
c. Possible bone graft if the bone was damaged or lost from the infection of the bad tooth. Also, the price depends if only the bone graft is needed or a soft tissue(gum) graft is needed. Prices range from $600 to $1200.
d. Place an abutment, which a connection part between the actual implant and the tooth. The price varies based on the brand, if it is standard(prefabricated), material that is made of (gold, titanium or non-precious metal) or custom (made specifically for a specific situation in the patient’s mouth.) Abutment price between $600 to $1200.
e. Place the tooth on the abutment. The cost of a dental implant tooth also varies based on having a temporary tooth during the healing period, the core material used (gold, cubic zirconia, non-precious metal), the quality of the porcelain used and the skill of the technician who fabricates that tooth. Dental implant Tooth cost is around $1200 to $2200.
Teeth in a Day
2. Teeth-in-a-Day, All-on-4, All-on-Four, New Teeth in one Day are different names for the same solution: replacing all teeth with dental implants. One might think that the price to restore all the teeth in the mouth would be the price of a single implant multiplied by the number of teeth. In this case it does not work like that because the patient does not need an implant for every single tooth. The pricing for this procedure is more straightforward because it only depends on the brand of implants that are being used, the location of the dentist, the number of dentists involved in the treatment (the more dentists, the more expensive it is) and the final material chosen for making the final teeth (plastic, composite, titanium bar with plastic teeth, full contour zirconia, zirconia with porcelain layering, high noble metal frame with porcelain layering) and the number of teeth that need to be removed.
For one complete arch(upper or lower) one can expect a fair quote starting from $19.500 for teeth made of composite material attached to titanium bar to as much as $30.000 for porcelain teeth made on a cubic zirconia frame.
So, to answer the question on how much dental implants cost: it depends. Now you have a ball park of the procedures needed to replace a tooth with a dental implant or all the teeth with full arch solutions(Teeth-in-a-Day, Al-on-4,…etc) and the fees associated with them. Even to do the sum of the above mentioned fees would not be correct, because some procedures are needed and some of them are not needed. For example, a lot of patients come to me from other offices and they were quoted bone graft as needed (item c. on the list). I examined and determined that the bone graft was not needed if I did the procedure.
Also, most of the dental implant procedures are done between couple different doctors. For example, the tooth is extracted and the implant placed by one doctor. Then the patient is sent to another doctor to place the abutment, eventually the temporary tooth and then the final tooth. The prices vary slightly between doctors. In our office everything is done under one roof, including the fabrication of the teeth is done in our in office lab and done by Master Dental Technicians.
Warranty: you should ask the practitioner how long is the warranty on the work. I hear a lot of stories where patients had this expensive work done and after few years the work fails, they go back to the same doctor and he wants the same amount of money to replace it or he charges for repairs. We offer a full life time warranty on our work.
ATTENTION: be cautious when you see advertisements like “Dental Implants $799” or “Dental Implants $395” (I personally saw that ad in Los Angeles). The patients are made to believe that this is the total cost. It is not. It is just the cost of the actual dental implant (item b. on the list) with the CONDITION that the patient commits (and pays) for the rest of the work (items a. to e.) in that specific office and the prices are usually inflated to make up for the low advertised cost of the actual dental implant.
Conclusion:
When you need a dental implant, you now have a reference now on how much it costs. When you go for a consultation and see what is needed in your specific case, ask if your work is done by multiple doctors or only one (preferably because you deal with one person), ask for the procedures needed, ask for the prices, what lab will make your tooth (preferably in-house lab) and very important, how long is the warranty?
If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact me at info@sewelldentalarts or call the office and come in for a FREE consultation, 856-582-2220.
I hope it helps.
Septimiu Pastiu, DMD