I have some questions regarding dental implants. First, my dentist wants to add a CT scan to my diagnostic tests. That seems like overkill to me and just a way to get more money. My second question is more on the type of implant fixture to get. I want one where the parts will be easy to replace. Can you advise me on that?
Alice
Dear Alice,
You have asked great questions. Let’s start with the CT scan. This is actually very important. While you will be able to find a dentist who will give you a dental implant without doing a CT scan, you will not want that dentist. They would just be giving you what you want in order to draw in your business without having your best interests in mind.
The reason that you’d want a CT scan is because it gives a 3-dimensional image of the area. This is important because getting dental implants placed is an advanced procedure where many things can go wrong such as perforating your nasal cavity or hitting a nerve. The resulting images from the CT scan can prevent that. Some dentists trying to skimp will use short implants thinking they won’t have to worry about the nasal cavity that way. But, those are not sturdy enough in the long-term.
As for the type of implant, I would not focus on what has easily replaceable parts as much as which manufacturers have the best quality control. Dental implants have to be made to very exacting standards, otherwise you risk dental implant failure. This is another area where some dentists will take the “cheap” road. They can save hundreds of dollars per implant by doing a cheap implant fixture from overseas, but this causes you serious problems in the long run. The implant is much more likely to fail. However, it will fail a year or more down the road so it would be difficult to prove the implant was at fault.
Most excellent implant dentists I know use implants from one of the following manufacturers:
- Straumann
- Nobel Biocare
- 3i
- BioHorizons
- Zimmer
- Astrotech
The key here isn’t for you to know everything there is to know about dental implants and make sure your dentist does them. There is not enough time for you to learn what takes dentists years. Instead, focus on finding a dentist with good post-doctoral training in the dental implant procedure (not just dental school), who has done a large number of cases with a high success rate (no less than 95%).
This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.
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