<p>About 18 months ago, one of my front teeth bridge failed. My trusted dentist of 20 years suggested dental implant and sent me to a specialist. I was quoted close to $6k for what I thought was the “total cost” of the two implants needed. After the two titanium screws was put in place, slowly but surely, I was sent back to my dentist to put the crown on. And I just received a bill of additional $4K for the crown job, for a total of almost $10k! For those of you who have done it, is this the market price in the US?</p>
<p>I was somewhat led to believe that the cost will be $6k. Now my spouse is cursing at me for spending a freaking $10K for two tooth. So much for the euphoria of economic stimulus check…</p>
<p>No clue, but I am surprised for that kind of money that there wasn’t a proposal and/or contract to be signed that spelled it all out. My mother had about 3k in dental work and shopped around with a couple of dentists. One tried to get her to sign a contract, and she walked out. She refused to sign, and then he called her back and told her that it was a “proposal”, not a contract. I think that if she had to sign it, at that point it became a contract. She did find someone that was just pay as you go, but he spelled out costs in advance. </p>
<p>This misunderstanding is huge, and I would feel terrible too, but what did your spouse want you to do? LOL, my grandfather had all of his teeth pulled in his early 40s because he required a lot of dental work and did not have the money to pay for it. He lived with dentures into his 90s.</p>
<p>1) Your general dentist (of 20 years??) should have given you a “rough” estimate of the price of the crowns prior to referring you to the specialist (I’m assuming it was a periodontist or oral surgeon)…Then your specialist gives you the price of the implants. Both should have been clear to you on what their independent fees are.</p>
<p>2) I don’t know what part of the country you are in, but my H is a periodontist in a middle atlantic state…the cost of two implants at a periodontist, without bone grafting, etc is between $4,000 and $4,500. The crowns that are placed 3-6 months later range between $1500-2000/crown…These are averages…If you are in New York City, it could be more…</p>
<p>I signed an implant contract. I actually asked if $6K was the total cost, which I routinely ask whenever I have a major purchase. Of course, I didn’t realize the crown job is not included…</p>
<p>My dentist is charging $1250 per crown. I just got a 4 tooth bridge – and that did include the prep work. We discussed implants, but decided that in my situation implants were not the best choice, essentially because the neighboring teeth would benefit from the crowns. </p>
<p>My dentist would have sent me to the oral surgeon for the implants, and then he would do the crowns. I do not remember the implant pricing however. </p>
<p>I use a dentist in Stamford Connecticut, near New York.</p>
<p>The fees seem to be in the ballpark, but both the surgeon and the restorative dentist should have let you know that the surgeon’s fees were only part of the total. Typically, there are three parts to an implant restoration: the fixture in the bone, the abutment which protrudes out of the gum and the crown which is placed over that. The surgery fee usually only covers the fixture, and the prosthetic fee the abutment and crown. In full mouth implant reconstructions, the prosthetic fee is usually much greater than the surgery fee and the patient needs to be informed of both before making the substantial time & money commitment.</p>
<p>Hmm. I’m facing a decision like this. Congenitally missing the maxillary lateral incisors, and thus needed about 4 years of braces to fix the shifting that resulted. Spent the past 4 years with an Invisalign-type retainer with false teeth because, well, I’m a student and the braces cost my parents enough!</p>
<p>Going to have to replace that retainer sooner or later, though, and am deciding between a bridge and implants. I believe I would need bone grafts as well (I vaguely recall the ortho giving me a prelim consultation about these questions and suggesting that my bone <em>might</em> be too thin to do alone). </p>
<p>Would it be too personal to ask how anyone who’s had this sort of thing done decided on it? I’ve already been given the basic pros/cons list (bridges require some work on the surrounding teeth, implants may require bone grafting and are surgery, etc.) and a basic idea of how long each option lasts, but I admit I haven’t been thinking about it too much because the cost of either – from what I was told, I’m believe that the cost you paid is maybe a little high, but certainly within the expected range – has been a bit beyond reach and the retainer was a fine intermediary.</p>
<p>For a major procedure like this, you have to make sure you put yourself into capable hands. There is a risk of serious infection and adverse effects to this surgery, not to mention disappointing aesthetic & functional outcomes. The surgeon and restorative dentist must work as a team to assure a good result.</p>
<p>My d just had two implants. No bone grafting. There is a new implant that includes both the fixture and the abutment, and then the crown. When my d did it, she left the same day with temporary crowns. The cost? Approx. $10,000 all told.</p>