I’ve gotten two quotes from dentists who do dental implants. The second one was more expensive than the first. I asked him about the price difference. He apparently does custom abutments and the first dentist uses premade ones. I need an unbiased opinion on whether or not the custom ones are truly better and worth the price difference. I want to do the best for the procedure, but don’t want to waste money.
Andrea
Dear Andrea,
This is a great question and I’m sure other people getting dental implants will benefit from you asking. Let’s start by breaking down the parts of a dental implant. The first is the root form which is surgically placed into your jawbone. It’s designed to replace the tooth root. Next, comes the abutment. It is a type of cap that allows the crown, which is the third part, to fit properly on the root.
There are two types of abutments, as the dentists demonstrated with their preferences:
Prefabricated Abutments for Dental Implants
These are pre-made which is convenient for the dentist and less expensive for the patients. However, they have two disadvantages. The first being they only come in certain sizes and it may not be the best size to fit each patient. The second being that the crown will have to be cemented to the abutment. No matter how careful and skilled a dentist is, there will be some cement that leaks out. Even with the dentist removing all he or she can, some will be left causing bacteria to get trapped there.
Those are the types of things which lead to infections. Infections are the leading cause of dental implant failure.
Custom-Made Abutments for Dental Implants
These are made to order, designed to perfectly fit with your root and crown. Because of that, it eliminates the risks mentioned above, giving you a greater chance of a successful outcome. The only real downside is they cost more than pre-fabricated ones.
If a pre-fab abutment will fit well in your case, then go with that. However, if you’d get a better fit with a custom abutment, it is worth the additional cost to eliminate unnecessary risks.
This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.