Dental Implants And Other Ways To Replace A Tooth

It depends on your general health, your gums, the bone where the implant would go and what you need replaced, so we can’t say until we’ve examined you. A consultation and imaging come before any recommendation, and not everyone is suited to an implant.

We ask about smoking, diabetes and your medicines, because they can affect healing, and we check your gums and your teeth. Imaging shows how much bone is available. We also ask whether you could reach the area to clean it every day, because an implant needs daily cleaning just like a natural tooth, and regular checks for as long as you have it.

If an implant isn’t right for you, or you’d rather avoid surgery, there are other ways to replace a tooth: a bridge, a denture (healthdirect, dentures), or leaving the gap for now. We’ll compare them for your mouth, including what each asks of the nearby teeth and what it costs. We can’t promise how you’ll heal or how long an implant will last. You’ll have the stages and costs in writing before you decide.

• healthdirect (Australian Government). Dentures

It varies with how you heal and whether extra procedures are needed, such as bone grafting, so we can give an estimated time frame only after the assessment. Implant treatment happens in stages, with healing time between them, so ask your dentist for the time frame for your own case.

The usual stages are a health and mouth check, imaging and planning, surgery to place the implant and a healing period before the final tooth is fitted. Some people need a tooth removed or bone added first, which adds stages. Some are given a temporary tooth while they heal, where that’s suitable. After the tooth is fitted, regular reviews keep an eye on the implant and gums.

Ask for the stages and the estimated time frame in writing, with what’s included at each stage. If healing is slower than planned, we’ll tell you and adjust the plan. We can’t promise a date, because healing differs from person to person. Smoking and poorly controlled diabetes can slow healing, so tell us about both, and about any medicines you take. We set out stages and costs this way for every treatment in our services.

No. The implant is the post in the jawbone. The tooth you see is a crown, bridge or denture attached to it, and the quote should say which parts it includes. Ask whether it covers assessment, imaging, surgery, any extra procedures, the part that connects the post to the tooth, a temporary tooth, the final tooth and reviews.

In March 2023, CHOICE reported an Australian Dental Association fee survey to 1 July 2022. State averages for placing an implant ranged from about $1,334 to $3,000 in that survey, and the abutment, the part that connects the post to the crown, from about $400 to $1,404. The crown is a separate item again. These are national survey figures, not this clinic’s fees.

A single price that sounds low may leave out one of these parts. Ask for an itemised written quote that lists each stage and part, so you can compare like with like, and ask what happens if you need a bone graft or an extraction first. We explain the plan and its costs before treatment begins, and your fund can tell you what your policy pays.

• CHOICE. How much does the dentist cost? (reports the ADA 2022 dental fee survey; last updated 9 March 2023)

Healthy gums and daily cleaning protect the tissue around an implant, and inflammation there can lead to bone loss over time. That’s why we check and treat your gums before planning, and watch them closely afterwards.

Gum disease starts with plaque. Early gum disease, gingivitis, usually settles once cleaning improves and you’ve had a professional clean. If it’s left, it can spread under the gum and wear away the bone that anchors teeth, and loosen them (healthdirect, gum disease). Around an implant, inflammation can wear away the bone holding it, so the same care applies.

Smoking raises the risk of gum disease, so tell us if you smoke. Your own cleaning matters too: the design of the final tooth has to leave room for you to clean around it, and you’ll be shown how. Regular check-ups let us watch the implant and your gums for early signs of trouble. If you’ve lost teeth to gum disease, say so, because we’ll want to treat that first. An implant can’t be maintenance-free, and we can’t promise how long one will last.

• healthdirect (Australian Government). Gum disease

That’s a reasonable choice. Ask about a bridge or a denture, or leaving the gap for now, and we’ll explain what each means for the teeth nearby. You don’t need to decide at the first visit, and you can have a second opinion.

A bridge is a false tooth held by crowns on the teeth either side. It needs no surgery, but the neighbouring teeth are shaped to take the crowns. A denture is a removable plate with one or more false teeth, and it comes out for cleaning (healthdirect, dentures). It also needs no surgery. Leaving the gap is an option too, and we’ll tell you what that could mean for the teeth beside it.

Each option needs different cleaning and has different costs, now and over time. Ask for a written quote for each, with the likely maintenance and replacement costs. We won’t push an implant when another option fits you better, and we can’t promise any option will last. Your health, your gums and what you’d like to be able to do all count, and we’ll talk them through.

• healthdirect (Australian Government). Dentures

Probably not. Medicare doesn’t cover most dental services, and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule covers basic dental services only: Services Australia says it doesn’t cover orthodontic or cosmetic work, or dental services provided in hospital. Ask your fund what, if anything, it pays toward an implant.

Private health extras vary a great deal. Some policies list implants, some list only parts of the treatment and many exclude them or cap them, often with waiting periods and annual limits. Items such as the crown and the part that connects it to the implant may be treated differently from the surgery itself, so ask your fund about each one.

Ask us for the item numbers and an itemised written quote, then ask your fund what you’d have left to pay for each stage. We can claim eligible items on the spot through HICAPS with participating funds, but eligibility is for your fund to decide, and we can’t promise a rebate or a set gap. Payment plans are explained on our payment options pages, and each provider sets its own terms.

• Services Australia. What’s covered by the Child Dental Benefits Schedule

No one can promise that. Implants and the teeth on them need daily care and regular checks, and they can develop problems, including inflammation of the gum around them, which can lead to bone loss over time. How long one lasts depends on your health, your cleaning and your habits.

What helps an implant last: healthy gums, daily cleaning that reaches all the way around it, regular reviews, and tell us if you smoke or have diabetes, because both affect healing and gum health (healthdirect, gum disease). Grinding can strain dental work, so we’ll ask about it and may suggest a night splint. The final tooth can chip or wear and may need repair or replacement.

Implants aren’t maintenance-free, and an implant isn’t a way to stop looking after your mouth. We’ll explain the likely upkeep costs before you start, not only the cost of the surgery. If the gum around an implant bleeds, looks red, or the tooth feels loose, phone us rather than waiting. We’ll examine it and explain what we find and what it would take to treat.

• healthdirect (Australian Government). Gum disease