Parts of Dental Implants
Dental implants cost is certainly one of the most important criteria to check when considering a tooth replacement by a teeth implant for esthetic or medical reasons.
But this superiority has a price as you will find out in this complete guide regarding tooth implant cost per tooth and for full mouth.
Dental implant cost : what is the average cost of dental implants?
Please note the prices indicated from our research may differ from those of your chosen dental specialist based on many factors ( usually regarding the upper range….), however, you will have a pretty good idea of the necessary budget for dental implants.
Single tooth implant cost
In order to understand the cost of implants below, you need to remember each implant is composed of 3 elements: the implant, the abutment and the crown. (check here our 101 guide on implants if necessary)
Dental implant = implant + abutment + crown
So, any price you get is usually the total amount of those 3 parts. A single dental implant will cost you anywhere between $ 1 500 up to $ 6 700 ! Of course, the dental implants cost per tooth depends on many factors such as the nature of the missing tooth: front tooth implant cost is usually higher than the cost of a back tooth implant because front teeth are often trickier to restore due to the small space involved, and because the abutment ( what connect the implant to the crown) for these front teeth is usually more expensive than the standard sized and angled abutments from the implant company.
Single tooth implant cost | |||
---|---|---|---|
Total | $ 1 500 | $ 4 000 | $ 6 700 |
Lower end cost | Average cost | Upper end cost | |
Implant element | $ 900 | $ 2 500 | $ 3 200 |
Abutment & crown | $ 600 | $ 1 500 | $ 3 500 |
Multi teeth implant price or full mouth dental implants cost
Of course, it would cost you much more if you had all your teeth replaced with dental implants—surely, you would have a fortune ( or some say a car ) in your mouth. However, dental implant does not have to be on a one-to-one ratio. You can have just two implants supporting 3 teeth using a bridge, which is often much more cost effective.
Even for full mouth dentures, we usually find 6 implants for each arch ( upper and lower). For a complete mouth restoration by dental implant, it could cost you between $ 36 000 ( 2 dental bridges with 6 implants – $ 18 000) and $ 90 000 ( 2 times $ 45 000)…. I wish there a was a mistake…
Multi teeth implants cost | |||
---|---|---|---|
3 - tooth bridge with 2 implants | $ 2 800 | $ 6 000 | $ 12 000 |
4 - tooth bridge with 2 implants | $ 4 000 | $ 8 000 | $ 15 000 |
Dental bridge with 4 implants | $ 18 000 | $ 25 000 | |
Dental bridge with 6 implants ( a full arch) | $ 30 000 | $ 45 000 | |
Full mouth ( 2 full arches ) | $ 36 000 | $ 60 000 | $ 90 000 |
We also found out bridges for the upper jaw tend to be more expensive than those for the lower jaw because the procedure is a bit more complicated. The reason? the upper jaw bone is less dense than the lower one, which means that implants can sometimes have issues fusing with the lower jaw bone. That would thus require some bone grafting…
Please note, while conducting our research on prices among several dentists or surgeons, we were sometimes chocked by some quotations that were far beyond the “average maximum” limit we indicated in the chart( it was usually in cities like Los Angeles that we got outrageous prices….)
We chose not to indicate them as we consider they are somehow so over the top they would give you a wrong idea of teeth implants cost. But just for information, for one tooth, we found someone quoting $ 9000 (it was probably a gold tooth… who knows…)
The 6 Factors that influence Dental Implants Cost
When people ask you “how much are dental implants”, you can now give the average price for one tooth, for one whole upper or lower jaw and for full mouth with minimum and maximum quotations. But you probably wonder why such a wide range between low end and high end range. It is simply because the cost of tooth implant is heavily affected by many different factors you absolutely need to know.
The 1st factor: dental implant material quality
As you know, each dental implant is composed of 3 parts: implant, abutment, and crown. For each part, depending on your situation, your jawbone size, or the location of the missing tooth, there are a great number of options to choose from, which will of course affect the overall cost.
For the titanium screw part, you can basically have different sizes, and different types of surfaces (more or less porous, which will influence the speed of implant – to – bone integration…)
For the crown, the material chosen will also affect the total price. The most affordable crown is made of resin, but there are other high-quality materials used like ceramic or porcelain fused with metal which are much more expensive. A single crown may cost anywhere from $ 500 (usually resin) to $ 3000 ( ceramic /porcelain fused ).
The 2nd factor: the kind of teeth to be replaced
Among the other factors to take into account, you also need to know that the cost will depend on the type of teeth that you will replace; a back tooth implant will be less costly than a front tooth one.
Front tooth implant price is usually higher than molar implant cost because :
- front teeth are visible, so, because of this esthetic issue, dentist can charge higher fees as a result
- there is less space involved, which makes the procedure a bit trickier
- the abutment ( what connects the implant to the crown) for these front teeth is usually more expensive than the standard sized ones for back teeth.
The 3rd factor: your dentist or dental surgeon expertise, experience, popularity
Any experienced dental implant specialist will charge a pretty high professional fee. You are going to pay for the time and money they spent on being the best in the trade, like minimum of three years of studies and clinical experience. So the more experienced and skilled your dentist is, the higher the bill. If you find that appalling, then you can try a general dentist who spared three months of his (her) time to learn about dental implant surgery but make sure your dentist has has some experience to offset a shorter training.