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Dental Implants
The most expensive thing most people will ever have done to their mouth, and the one where the gap between an excellent operator and an adequate one shows up years later rather than immediately.
An implant is not one procedure. It's a surgical placement, a healing period the surgeon doesn't control, and a restoration that has to look right and bite right for decades. Cases fail at the seams between those stages more often than they fail outright, which is why we review implant dentistry separately from everything else.
What we look for
Documented case volume in the specific type you need — single tooth, multiple teeth, or full arch. Continuing education in implantology beyond the state minimum. Imaging and planning appropriate to the case. For anything complex we look for CBCT rather than a panoramic X-ray, and a stated reason where one was not taken. And documented outcomes that speak to the surgical work, not just to how pleasant the practice is.
Questions worth asking
How many cases like mine have you done? Not implants in general — cases like yours. A hundred single posterior implants is not preparation for a full upper arch on compromised bone.
Do you place and restore, or refer one half out? Either is fine. Not knowing which you're getting is not.
What does the quote include? Implant fixtures, abutments, the final restoration, imaging, grafting, sedation and follow-up are often quoted separately. Ask for the number that covers all of it.
What happens if it fails? Implants fail at a low but real rate. A practice that has thought about this has a clear answer about who pays for what.
Where we've reviewed implant dentists.
No city has completed a review for this procedure yet. Every market is open to nomination.
Nobody is listed for this yet.
We only list dentists where the review has actually been completed. Nominate a dentist and this page becomes the first market covered.
Dental Implants.
What should I ask an implant dentist before agreeing to treatment?
Ask how many cases like yours they have completed, whether they place and restore the implant themselves or work with a surgeon, what imaging and planning they use, what the quoted total actually includes, and what happens if the implant fails.
Does the same dentist place and restore a dental implant?
Sometimes. Some dentists do both, others place the implant and refer the restoration out, or vice versa. Neither arrangement is inherently better, but you should know which one you are getting and who is accountable if something goes wrong.
How long does a dental implant take?
A straightforward single implant is usually three to six months from placement to final crown. Cases needing bone grafting or a sinus lift commonly run nine to eighteen months, because the graft has to heal before the implant goes in.