Implant treatment is usually two jobs. Sometimes it is two people. Find out which before you start.
The part of implant treatment people picture is the surgery. The part they live with is the tooth on top. Those are two different jobs, and depending on the practice they may be done by the same provider or by two providers who coordinate.
Placing an implant in the jaw is a surgical procedure. Making and fitting the tooth that goes on it is restorative work. Some offices do both in-house. In other arrangements a surgeon places the implant and a general or restorative dentist does the restoration, sometimes in a different building. Neither arrangement is inherently better and we are not going to tell you one is.
It means you should know, before treatment starts, who is responsible for which stage and who coordinates between them. It also means the quote you are holding may cover only one half of the work. That is a common source of the gap between what people expect to pay and what they end up being asked for.
Ask who is placing the implant and who is restoring it. Ask how many they place in a month. Ask whether they work in the same practice, and who you call if something feels wrong between the two stages. Ask what happens if the two providers disagree about the plan. These are ordinary questions and the answers should come easily.
Ask for the plan written out with each stage attributed and each stage priced. Two documents from two providers is fine and often clearer. What is not fine is starting a long treatment without knowing who owns the finish.
Tell us the situation and we will point you to a practice that can examine you and explain the plan in person.
Request a ReferralA rough description is enough — we will follow up to match you with a practice.