I am looking into tooth replacement options. I keep hearing that dental implants are the best replacement. Do you know if dental insurance covers them? Is there anything else I need to know?
Carol
Dear Carol,
If you already have insurance, it will cover some of the cost of the dental implants, but will not cover the whole thing. In most cases, your dental insurance will only pay for the least expensive option. In the case of tooth replacements, that is always something removable, such as full dentures or a removable partial denture. If you can avoid those, I would, especially if you are talking about full dentures which hold the risk of facial collapse. We have information on that on our dental implants page. In the best of scenarios, they are the least comfortable of all the restoration options.
If you don’t already have dental insurance, it would not be very helpful at all. Even if you got the insurance policy today, there is a waiting period before you could get something like dental implants.
You asked if there is anything else you need to know. To that, the answer is most definitely yes. Dental implants are not adequately taught in dental school. It is quite an advanced procedure that requires surgery. You will want a dentist who has post-doctoral training in dental implants. Additionally, if they do not do the surgery themselves and send you out to an oral surgeon, it is important that you see the dentist first and that it is the dentist who determines the placement of the dental implant.
Aesthetic Considerations
First, when the implant crown is made, it can match your teeth perfectly. However, you want to make certain that your teeth are the color you want because the color the crown is fashioned to is permanent. If your teeth have aged and are showing stains, you may want to consider having teeth whitening done.
Second, if the implant crown is on a front tooth that will be quite visible when you smile and directly exposed to light, you will want an expert dentist to do your restoration. Placing a crown on a front tooth is a challenge for the best of dentists and that is what you will need. I recommend you look for an AACD accredited dentist.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. Fred Arnold.