Dental implants and a Test of Time

These days dental implants have become a mainstay in dentistry. They are now a popular and well-accepted treatment to replace single or multiple missing teeth. With so many dental practitioners placing dental implants these days it is hard for consumers/patients to choose which doctor to go to for the treatment.

Unfortunately, what ends up being the decisive factor is the cost/price of the treatment.
Many patients end up calling up a bunch of places to “price shop” for a best deal. That is absolutely fine if what one is after is paying the least amount of money for their treatment. However, here is the question that I would like to ask: Can your dental implants stand the test of time?
In other words, how long will that implant last you? Can your doctor guarantee his/her results for a lifetime? What happens if the implant “falls out” or if the gums begin to recede around it? Will your doctor stand by his/her work and fix the problem?
These are the questions the consumers/patients often forget to ask their doctor, but I think these are very, very important questions. With current implant technologies available, essentially the only limiting factor that determines the long-term success of the implant is the skill and expertise of the doctor who places them.
That is where the experience and clinical knowledge of the surgeon becomes extremely important. There are “easy” implant cases and then there are “hard” implant cases. In easy cases there is plenty of bone available to place the implant, and there is plenty of healthy gum tissue to support the long-term health of the restoration. Even in this case, however, the implant must be placed in a strategic location to ensure long-term success.
On the other hand, in “hard” cases there is either limited amount of bone or limited amount of soft tissue available. Can the implant still be placed? Absolutely!!! But will it last? Will the results stand the test of time? I am not so sure.
Your doctor should be able to distinguish hard from easy cases and be able to tell you what your particular situation is. Placing implants in compromised sites may achieve short term goals of replacing missing teeth, but what will be the situation in a couple of months or a year? How will your teeth look? Will the implant even be there?
When it comes to implants, the old saying still holds true. You get what you pay for. But you don’t get what you don’t pay for.
− Dr. Dmitry Tsvetov

Call us today ☎ Temecula Facial Oral Surgery Phone Number 951-302-9100 and come in for a FREE dental implant consultation—we will be delighted to discuss this with you in more detail.