Question 1

What is the experience of the dentist placing your dental implant?

Accepted Answer

Did you know that the placement of dental implants is not taught to dentists at university and they have to undergo further training to learn how to do this? At Perth Dental Implant Centre, our principle dentist, Dr. David Norcross, has completed extensive further training in dental implants and our clinic is dedicated to performing dental implant treatments. When done well, dental implants can be a very successful treatment, but when done incorrectly the results can be catastrophic. It’s important that your dentist has the right qualifications & experience.

Question 2

What dental implant is being used in your mouth?

Accepted Answer

There are hundreds of different manufacturers of dental implants which differ in cost and quality. Some of the implants used overseas are not licensed for use in Australia and some can even be low-quality copies.

Question 3

Will I need a temporary tooth while the dental implant heals?

Accepted Answer

There may be a period of time when we need to leave the dental implant to heal before we can make the final tooth/teeth. We’re able to provide you with a number of different temporary tooth options with different costs.

Question 4

What are the sedation options if I’m nervous or have a complex procedure?

Accepted Answer

Many of our patients have dental implants placed following a simple local anaesthetic injection. However, some patients would prefer to sleep through the procedure. We can perform any tooth extraction and/or implant placement under IV sedation or full general anaesthetic. For those with private health insurance hospital cover, the cost of the anaesthetist and hospital will be fully covered (no gap). You may just have a hospital excess to pay depending on your policy. For those without private health insurance, we have very competitive rates for IV sedation with our visiting GP anaesthetist, some of which may be covered by Medicare.

Question 5

What is involved in the new keyhole method?

Accepted Answer

A new way we are placing dental implants is using computer guided 3D printed guides. This allows us to place dental implants using “keyhole” surgery. This can make the process much less invasive, quicker and safer.

Question 6

How much does a dental implant cost and why is there such a variety in cost?

Accepted Answer

Dental implants are not just something we can pluck off a shelf in a shop that have a fixed price. In the same way that your teeth are unique to you, we have to develop a dental implant plan that perfectly meets your needs, both financially and to give you the very best possible result for the long term. This means that the process and the time that it takes will vary from person to person. Therefore, it can be very difficult for us to provide an “off the shelf” cost. We need to see you in person to assess those factors to then be able to provide you with an appropriate cost.

Question 7

Is your missing tooth at the front of your mouth or the back of your mouth?

Accepted Answer

The amount and quality of bone into which we can place a dental implant is different in each part of the mouth. For example, the bone at the front of the mouth can be much thinner which means a more complex treatment may be required to achieve a successful result. Teeth at the front of the mouth may be much more visible when the patient smiles which can also make the treatment more complex. At the back of the mouth there may be more available bone and less need for an aesthetic outcome, making the treatment far simpler. Following a 3D bone scan we can fully assess your circumstances and come up with a unique treatment plan for the best results.

Question 8

Do you need a 3D bone scan to assess if you are a suitable candidate for a dental implant?

Accepted Answer

To accurately check if you have enough bone available to place dental implants, we take a detailed 3D xray known as a CBCT scan. This is similar to a CT scan but with a much lower dose of radiation. This shows us exactly how much bone you have and where vital structures such as nerves, the sinuses and other tooth roots are. We can then ensure that when placing the implant there is no risk of the implant damaging these structures. We believe that a dental implant should not be placed without first carefully assessing a 3D bone scan. At the Perth Dental Implant Centre, we have in-house 3D scanners at both of our clinics and can tell you on the day of your consultation, saving you time and money.

Dr David O’Dowling

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