Dental Implants in Abbotsford

If you are in good general health, have healthy gums and have enough bone in the jaw to hold an implant, dental implants might be right for you. If your jawbone has shrunk or if it has not developed normally, you may be able to have a bone graft to build up the bone. A bone graft is a way of adding new bone to rebuild your jaw to the way it used to be. 

Initially, you may feel dental implants are expensive.  However, they represent a more permanent and natural solution than dentures and bridges.  Thus, there is a greater initial investment but because they have to replaced less often, they tend to cost less over time than the older ways of replacing teeth.  They should last for many years, in fact a well placed and well maintained dental implant may even last the lifetime of the patient.  Independent surveys of implant patients show that they feel the investment was worth it and they would do it again! 

Total treatment time can take months. In certain situations, implants can be placed on the same day as your tooth is removed, other situations may require additional procedures such as bone or gum grafting and time for adequate healing to have taken place prior to your implant surgery. It is also important to note that while the implant can be placed on the same day, your final restoration will not be placed at that time.

“Teeth in a day” is a marketing term used by some dentists to describe same day implant surgery but they do not tell you that there are many appointments leading up to the surgery and your final restoration is not done that day.

Many prospective dental implant patients gravitate towards dental offices offering a “Special” or advertising “The Lowest Dental Implant cost!” While we all love a good deal, it’s important to remember, that this is surgery. The quality of the surgery should always set precedence over price. In fact, more times than not, choosing price over quality ends up costing you more in the long run. Not just financially, but emotionally as well. A failed surgery often results in a permanent esthetic and functional compromise. 

A good portion of our business is devoted to implant revision or replacement surgery (repairing the work performed at other offices). In these cases, many of the patients were lured by cost and a great presentation. We urge you to do as much research as possible when selecting your dental implant surgeon. Dr. Jonathan Tsang is Board Certified by the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.

Here are just a few points to think about when considering your decision to get dental implants:

• Several visits may be needed until the process is done.

• Checkups will be scheduled during the following year so your dentist can be sure your implants are working properly.

• Implant dentistry is not yet a recognized specialty in British Columbia. There are no implant specialists.