Why are dental implants so damn expensive?

The answer is simple.

Quality.

The problem isn’t so much that dental implants are so expensive. The problem is that with the huge amount of information pummelled to us through advertising in every channel from the traditional reliable radio through to modern day T.V. and now the smartphone.

The reality is that, we no longer know or understand quality. However, thankfully you have Enso Dental. We will talk you through the process of having dental implants done from the surgical aspect all the way through to the restorative aspect. What? There’s 2 actual distinct phases involved in a dental implant? Yes…almost all of the time.

Why don’t you know about this already?

Because we advertise “dental implants” for $x, the average person visualises a surgical screw placed together with a false tooth on top.

The actual truth of the matter is that the dental surgery is done by a clinician proficient in placing dental implants within micron accuracy into your jaw bone. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s “micron” accuracy. 1/1000 of a millimetre. The dental surgery associated with a dental implant is akin to placing a nail into a spot that is limited in all 3 dimensions either side by live human tissue. Doing this in a living, breathing human being usually only partially sedated, is an extremely difficult thing to do! The surgeons we use are surgeons we would trust with our own mouths and have done many of these types of surgeries before.

The second part of a dental implant replacement usually follows 3-9 months later (the reason for this large leeway time is to allow enough time for the dental implant to bond to the bone) and is the second phase where a personalised, beautifully artistic tooth crown is fabricated to precision fit (once again to micron accuracy) the implant screw placed in the dental implant surgery as described above. We use local laboratories because we know they must use materials approved by the TGA for use in human patients. We can’t say the same of overseas laboratories because although they may be good, we don’t know where they would be sourcing the materials from. Thankfully, the rigid TGA is great for medical grade materials.

Finally, dental implant surgery may need bone grafting if you haven’t got enough bone. If you’ve had teeth missing for a long time, it’s because the presence of teeth ensures the bone stays. If the teeth are removed, the bone gradually resorbs away. So as a rule of thumb, the longer a tooth is missing, the less bone there will be available for placing a dental implant securely.

And just before you think you knew everything about dental implants and why they cost so much…. remember that a component of our fee is for post-operative follow-up, care and maintenance therapy. If anything went wrong during the process, we would be able to absorb some of the costs of treatment into the overall cost incurred for you if any rectification is required. Just remember this when you realise you have to take into costs of booking flights and accommodation if you had your dental implants done overseas recently and you’re having any issues.

Finally, this is more of a philosophical reason but it does hold in this modern day age of things and stuff. The bigger the item, the more you don’t mind forking out for it. For example, a yacht is pretty big…so it must be expensive. $30,000 for a car doesn’t sound unreasonable but we usually turn them over every few years…

A dental implant including surgery for 1 tooth at it’s most could cost you $7,000…but think about the following:

• A dental implant will be placed with the time and effort of 2-3 clinical dentists and 1-2 laboratory technicians highly trained with their accumulated experience over years. That’s 3-5 professional people dedicating their expertise to your one dental implant.
• These dentists care about you, your health and the success of the dental implant first and foremost.
• The dental implant and crown should last 15-20 years if not more. We can’t guarantee the longevity of these protheses like any other prosthesis placed in the human body i.e. a replacement hip or knee joint however we would be disappointed if it did fail within 15-20 years
• You eat, chew, smile and talk with teeth. You use them every day. You use them to eat chocolate….but don’t tell your dentist that.
• Diamond rings….no more to be said on this point.

I genuinely believe in dental implants as an amazing option for those people who are willing to afford it. My life partner might need a dental implant done…and I would trust no one else but the Enso team to ensure it’s done in the best way possible.

Enso Dental
Dr. Rahul Reddy