Dental implants…How Much Do They cost?

For obvious reasons, this one of the most common questions I hear. Dental implants are the best thing that has happened in dentistry. It allows me to save good teeth and provide teeth where the only option used to be a removable denture or a bridge. Dental implants can be affordable.

It is very common for me to replace a whole set of teeth. When you replace a whole set of teeth, you do not need one implant for every missing tooth. Implants are stronger than your own teeth so usually only four to nine implants can replace a whole upper or lower. The new implant teeth may have twelve to fourteen teeth supported by eight dental implants. In general, the more implants you have, the more stable it will be. The last thing you want to do is "under-engineer" the foundation by using an absolute minimum number of implants.

Dental implant treatment can be priced as low as $1600 to as much as $100,000. It totally depends on your situation, how many teeth are missing, how much bone is missing and what you want. There are MANY options.

If you are only missing one tooth, the decision from a cost perspective is easy. A typical dental implant and crown is more of a "final" solution.

Statistically, should you decide to have your teeth ground down for a bridge, your long-term costs will be higher. This is due to the fact that an average bridge last 7 – 10 years. So you will replace the bridge 2 – 4 times in your life. When a bridge fails, most often one of the anchor teeth dies (needs a root canal), fractures, decays or is extracted. Therefore a three tooth bridge replacing only one tooth becomes a four-tooth bridge!

It is a domino effect. Once started, it is continuous. Most people that lose just one tooth and do not replace it, end up losing another, then another…

Much more important than price, is choosing the right implant dentist.  Choose based on experience. This can save you money and a lot of grief.

See this post to view some horrible results by some inexperienced implant dentists.

My office is in Burbank, California and I welcome all second opinions.

18 thoughts on “Dental implants…How Much Do They cost?”

  1. I have upper implant in the top of my mouth. I have a parcial in the bottom. I have one of my own tooth in the on the right side.Every thing that needed doing before the implant was done 6 month ago. I have been giving a price for 2 post and the denture I will be able to remove. My question is can you give me an estatment on the cost

    Reply
    • It depends what your intention is. If you are trying to retrofit it for and overdenture then it is possible but keep in mind you will likely need to keep the palate for stability. I generally only use the denture as a guideline to make the final fixed bridge or as a temp.
      We can assess the bad and the good of the current denture and use that to design the real bridge.

      Reply
  2. Over the last 4 years I have had several (6) teeth replaced with dental implants(approx. $3,600 each not including cap), about 3 on top and 3 on bottom; with a few more coming up. Also need my 4 top front teeth recapped as the ones I have now are 15+ years old; approx. 7,000.

    Now wondering if I should continue getting them done by single tooth or think of whole dental implant dentures as cost is excalating.

    Reply
    • Hello Suzanne,

      Depending on your unique situation, it may be best to link together most if not all of your implants into 1 very solid bridge. If this is appropriate for your case, it would save you time, money, additional surgical procedures and will likely result in a better overall bite and aesthetics outcome. Again, this really depends on your unique particular situation

      He might want to read about full arch replacement with the Prettau dental implant bridge. Oftentimes 6 dental implants can support and entire arch of fixed teeth if they are placed in the right position and depth.

      Attached is a link so that you may learn more
      Prettau Dental Implant Full Mouth Bridge

      case planning for Prettau bridge

      Very Respectfully,

      Ramsey A. Amin, D.D.S.
      Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology /Implant Dentistry
      Fellow-American Academy of Implant Dentistry

      Reply
  3. Dr.amin
    I’m 41 and i have a mouth full of problems. I have 11 teeth left on the top and 10 on the bottom. In total I have 10 teeth that are black and decayed at the gum line. I also have 3 teeth that have broken off and are black all the way through. (These all had root canals. 1 fell out today and had a screw attached to it ). Would i be able to get implants to replace what i have left and would they decay as well. I brush and floss regularly but i never could get it to stop. Do u think implants could help or do u think bridges and crowns r the way to go with this gum issue that i seem to have.. thanks for taking the time to help

    Reply
    • Hi Joe,

      Wow… If most of the remaining teeth have root canals, and you are missing so many already, I would highly suggest that you extract all of your teeth and replace them with a fixed dental implant Prettau bridge for both your upper and lower. They should both be done together.

      I’m sure you have spent thousands of dollars to this point already, and it does not seem like keeping the teeth that you described.

      Read this post on the Prettau dental implant bridge. It will help you tremendously. You need to be in the hands of a very skilled implant dentist. You also need to make sure that medically you’re in good shape (no smoking, controlled diabetes, and many others) affects the way you will heal afterwards and of course your long-term prognosis..

      It is time for a major change in your life.

      Prettau Dental Implant Full Mouth Bridge
      The Process of “Permanent” Fixed Dental Implant Teeth -5 Steps to Replacing All Your Teeth

      Very Respectfully,

      Ramsey A. Amin, D.D.S.
      Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology /Implant Dentistry
      Fellow-American Academy of Implant Dentistry

      Reply
  4. I’m a 15 year old girl. I am TERRIFIED I am about to lose one of my front teeth. I’ve had two root canals done on the same tooth, & now it’s extremely shaky. They stick out extremely far but I’m soon to get braces. I’m in Paintsville, Kentucky & when I had the second root canal done, they found a plastic piece from a dental appliance in the tooth! I’m terrified that I will lose this tooth. Can you tell me what to do?

    Reply
    • I’m Desperate! About a year ago I went to a dentist and had an X-ray done of all my teeth the dentist was nice but I was not excited with the news.. He told me I had a lot bone loss and I would need permanent implants for my problem and no other options were available. You can imagine how I felt. About 1 year prior to visiting the dentist I had a miscarriage and needed a blood transfusion which I never got and was anemic iron was low. Last time I had my blood checked I was no longer anemic. I dont know if all that affected my teeth or if I just have bad teeth period. I fear going to the dentist and I don’t have the funds to go to different dentist for a second opinion or good credit to apply for a loan for permanent implants if that’s why I really need. I can email you my X-rays if your ok with it, please give me your best advise.

      Reply
      • I would caution you that there is no such thing as “permanent implants.” Everything has to be replaced but well done dental implants can last for decades.

        You should consider having all of your work done under IV sedation so you can sleep through it. You can also see a dental school for second opinion. Make sure you are very comfortable with your treating dentist. This is not a decision to make lightly.

        I hope everything works out for you.

        Very Respectfully,

        Ramsey A. Amin, D.D.S.
        Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology /Implant Dentistry
        Fellow-American Academy of Implant Dentistry

        Reply
  5. i am a 75 year old 10years out from a heart transplant. i have a full upper denture and a lower bridge with only 6 teeth left. I have quite a bit of bone loss on the top jaw so I have had MRI and CAT scans done that shows I can support 4 posts on the top if two are inserted radially for the outer support.
    my question is which would work better a full removable or the fixed permanent type? also there is a price differential of @22000 vs $15000 between the two procedures. Is there that much differance between the two? I really dislike the full pallet Inow have. thank you.

    Reply
  6. Dear Dr Ramsey,
    I am an oral and maxillofacial surgeon based in India and I congratulate you for a very well designed website with such a lot of useful information for your patients.
    Your articles and posts and case-photos are of very good quality: it reflects your expertise and concern to give maximum information to your patients

    Reply

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