A dental implant is an artificial replacement for the root portion of your missing teeth. It is inserted and anchored into your jaw bone, thus keeping the dental crown attached to it firmly in place.
A dental implant is the best replacement for missing teeth.
It does not just provide a replacement for the missing tooth, but also restore the overall oral condition such as the distribution of chewing force, speech, and aesthetic, which improves the patient’s overall quality of life.
The loss of a permanent tooth will not only affect your appearance but also affect your day to day life, such as eating and speaking.
A dental implant is an excellent solution to replace missing teeth. It is a small titanium screw placed into your jawbone, and it serves as the root of your new tooth.
For this to work, there must be sufficient bone in the jaw to support the dental implant.
In certain situations, artificial bone may be added with a procedure called bone grafting to aid in replacing lost bone.
Before the treatment, a comprehensive examination and implant consultation will be carried out. This comes with a full mouth dental x-ray and a 3D CBCT scan, which will be done at the comfort of our dental clinic.
We are well equipped with advanced technologies such as the Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) machine, providing high-quality treatment planning that significantly improves your treatment’s success. In the event of a complicated case, we have our team of regular visiting specialists for consultation and treatment too!
Before starting the dental implant surgery, local anaesthesia will be given to numb up the area so that you will not experience any pain throughout the procedure.
The whole process takes only around 45 mins to an hour. After the dental implant surgery, painkillers, antibiotics, and an antiseptic mouthwash are usually prescribed to help you cope better over the next few days. An ice pack will be given to you immediately after the surgery to minimize facial swelling over the next few days.
You will be given up to 5 days of medical leave to rest well after the procedure. A follow-up appointment will be arranged for you to come back seven days later to review and remove stitches.
After placing a dental implant, it takes 2-6 months for the implant screw to stabilize and fuse well with the bone. The second stage involves a more straightforward procedure, which exposes the implant’s head to place on a healing cap. This cap guides the gum to heal without covering the head of the implant.
In about 2 weeks, an abutment is screwed into the implant, and an impression will be taken to customize an implant crown, which will be ready in another 1-2 weeks’ time.
The average cost for dental implants in Singapore ranges from $4,000 – $6,000 for a routine non-complex case and this excludes any associated cost such as consultation, x-ray and 3D CBCT scan.
The price varies mainly depending on the material chosen for the implant crown. Other factors that affect the total cost include brand (eg Korean vs European brand) and type of implant.
The cheapest dental implants in the market are usually mini-implants, which are reserved for simple cases and not suitable as substitutes for normal dental implants.
At Ocean Dental, our initial dental implant consultation which comes with full mouth x-ray, 3D CBCT scan and diagnostic cast model is at $300. With these, our dentist or specialist will come up with a treatment plan and be able to give you the quotation for your treatment.
Our price range for implant surgery + implant crown is from $3,500 – $4,500, out of which $1,250 can be covered using Medisave during the surgical portion if you are Singapore citizen/ PR. The charges at our clinic includes all medication after the surgery too.
In the event of more complex cases whereby there is lack of bone in the jaw or remaining bone are of poor quality, additional procedures such as bone grafting or sinus lifting may be required and there will be an additional fee of $1,000 – $1,500.
Note: Government Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies.
During this procedure, local anaesthesia will be given to numb up the area so that you will not experience any pain.
After the procedure, painkillers, antibiotics, and an antiseptic mouthwash are usually prescribed to help you cope better over the next few days. An ice pack will be given to you immediately after the surgery to minimize facial swelling over the next few days.
Medisave can only be used for surgical procedures. Hence, Yes it can be used for dental implant surgery if you are Singaporean and PR, covering up to $1,250.
For dental implant surgery, you will be given 5 days of MC.
Dental implants are long-lasting. However, you should take proper care of your dental implants, just like how you care for your natural teeth. It is crucial for regular dental implant maintenance with a dental professional and brush and floss daily to prevent gum infection affecting bone surrounding the implant.
Dental implant failure may occur if an infection occurs around the implant site. Other possible causes may include heavy biting/ grinding, or failure of fusion between the jaw bone and the implant. All these can be prevented with proper treatment planning and aftercare following the dental implant treatment.
Generally the entire treatment takes around 4- 6 months to complete. A huge part of it is actually for resting and healing. After the initial stage of placing the dental implant into your jaw bone, it will be left alone to heal and stabilize over the course of 2 – 6 months. This healing process is important as it allows the dental implant to integrate with the bone.
In stage 2 of the procedure an x-ray will be taken to ensure the dental implant is stable and fully integrated with the bone. After the implant is deemed to be stable and properly fused to the bone, the dental implant is then exposed and fitted with a healing cap. This cap guides the gum to heal without covering the head of the implant. In about 2 weeks, an abutment is screwed into the implant, and an impression will be taken to customize an implant crown, which will be ready in another 1-2 weeks’ time.
The actual duration for each appointment usually doesn’t take too long, ranging from 30 minutes to an hour per visit.
The cost of dental implants are more pricey as compared to other tooth restoring options.
Just like any medical procedures, the success rate of dental implants are not foolproof. The success rate of dental implants depends on numerous factors such as the type of implant and the condition of each patient. Generally, the long term success rate is reported to be as high as 95%.
While the majority of the population are suitable to receive dental implants to restore their smile, certain groups of people may face higher risk of failure. These individuals include patients with diabetes, osteoporosis, vitamin D deficiency, poor oral hygiene and/or smokers. During the initial consultation, our dentist/ specialist will examine and assess any form of potential problems that might result in failure of the treatment.
In the unfortunate event when dental implants fail, it is possible to do the procedure again. However, it is important to determine the cause of failure so it can be remedied before trying again. One important factor that affects the success rate is the ability of individual to keep these implants clean like any other natural teeth.
Don’t hesitate to contact us!
