Ask three practices what an implant costs and you will get three answers, two of which are ranges wide enough to drive a car through. That is not evasion. It is that the question, as asked, does not have one answer.
Here is what is actually going on underneath the number.
The implant is not the whole job
What people call “an implant” is usually three things: the post that goes into the bone, the connector on top of it, and the crown that you can see. Some practices quote the post alone, which makes their figure look lower than a practice quoting all three. When you are comparing prices, the first question to ask is what the quote includes.
Bone is the biggest variable
An implant needs bone to anchor into. If the tooth has been missing for years, the bone that used to hold it has often shrunk, and it may need building up before an implant can go in at all. That is a separate procedure with its own cost, and it is the single most common reason two patients with the same missing tooth get very different quotes.
This is also why the 3D scan matters. A flat X-ray shows the bone from one angle. A cone beam scan shows it in three dimensions, so the plan is built on what is actually there rather than on an estimate. We take that scan here.
What insurance usually does
Some plans contribute to implants and many do not. The ones that do frequently treat it the way they would treat a crown or a bridge, which means a contribution rather than coverage. There is also an annual maximum on most plans, and implant treatment often spans two calendar years, which occasionally works in a patient’s favour.
The practical move is to call with your plan details before you commit to anything. We will check the benefits and tell you what the plan will and will not do.
Why the phone answer is always a range
A quote is a promise. To make one, somebody has to have looked at the tooth, the bone, the bite and the gum. Any practice willing to commit to a figure without that is either quoting the cheapest possible version of the job, or they will revise it once you are in the chair. Neither is what you want.
What you should expect is this: a consultation, a scan, and then a written figure covering the whole sequence, with what your plan contributes already subtracted. If a practice will not give you that in writing, keep looking.
When an implant is not the answer
Sometimes it is not. A bridge is faster and sometimes more sensible, especially where the neighbouring teeth already need crowns. A partial denture is a reasonable answer for several missing teeth in a row. A good consultation covers those options rather than presenting the most expensive one as the only one.
If you want to know where you stand, come in and we will show you the scan and tell you plainly what it says.