About Dental Implants
Q: How much would each dental implant cost in total?
Q: Is it worthwhile to spend so much for an implant?
Q: What are dental implants?
Q: Am I a candidate for a dental implant?
Q: What happens without treatment?
Q: How long can each dental implant last?
Q: What are the associated risks of having a dental implant?
Q: What brands of dental implants do you offer in Singapore?
Tooth Replacement options
Q: What are the benefits of an implant over say, dentures or dental bridges?
Q: What should I do if I have a missing tooth? Bridge or a dental implant?
Dental Implant Surgery
Q: Will it hurt when placing the dental implants in my mouth?
Q: Can I use Medisave for my dental implant treatment?
Q: If I do an implant procedure, how many days MC do I get?
Q: What is the total duration of the dental implant surgery procedure?
Q: Why is there a 3 months waiting period for the dental implant crown to be placed on the dental implant?
Q: Do I have to go without any teeth while I wait 3 months for my implant crown?
Q: After my implant surgery, I can see the metal of the implant protruding out of my gums, is it any cause for concern?
Q: What can I expect 1- 2 days after the implant surgery?
Additional Surgical Procedures
Q: Do I require a bone graft before I place a dental implant in my jaw?
Q: What is the cost for a bone graft?
Q: What kind of bone does Singapore use for bone grafting?
Choosing an Implant Dentist
Q: How do i choose a dental implant dentist?
Success and failure of Dental Implants
Q: What factors contribute to the rate of success?
About Dental Implants
Q: How much would each dental implant cost in total? (back)
A: Between SGD$3700 - SGD$6000.
- The dental implant surgery cost around SGD$2000 inclusive of the dental implant component (titanium root).
- The dental implant crown, or prosthodontics portion (making the porcelain dental implant crown) cost is estimated around SGD$2000.
(see also Ministry of Health’s average cost for institutions)
Q: Is it worthwhile to spend so much for an implant?(back)
Most people find this investment to be worthwhile and consider dental implants to be almost identical to their normal healthy teeth.
Q: What are dental implants?(back)
A: Dental implants are metal (Titanium) “root” placed in the jaw to carry artificial teeth to replace missing teeth.
Q: Am I a candidate for a dental implant?(back)
A: A person with adequate jaw bone is usually suitable for dental implant.
Q: What happens without treatment?(back)
When you lose your teeth, you also start to lose the bone that once supported them as well. As bone disappears, nearby teeth begin to develop increased problems such as lack of support for bridges and dentures. Also, the possibility of jaw fracture rises due to loss of bone structure.
This deterioration spreads to surrounding healthy teeth and in time, through a ‘domino effect’, cause the loss of those teeth. This will affect the ability to undergo implant surgery at a later stage compared to doing the treatment once the tooth is loss. It is better to do the treatment before all these negative effects start to take place.
By waiting, you decrease your chances of doing a simple implant surgery and increase your risk of undergoing additional treatments to prepare the bone at the implant site. Procedures like bone grafting and sinus lift might be required and could have been avoided if treatment was administered in the early stages of bone loss.
Q: How long can each dental implant last?(back)
A: An implant restoration can last a lifetime, provided the oral health is well maintained.
Q: What are the associated risks of having a dental implant?(back)
A: As with any surgery, complications can happen E.g. infection of the implant site. But infection can be treated in most cases.
Q: What brands of dental implants do you offer in Singapore?(back)
A: Singapore offers a variety of implants to meet the patient’s needs. The brands include Camlog, Noble Biocare (Branemark, Replace-select), Osstem, 3I, Bicon and many others that I will be listing as they make their presence known.
Tooth Replacement options
Q: What are the benefits of an implant over say, dentures or dental bridges?(back)
A: Teeth on dental implants are “fixed”, unlike dentures which are removable. Replacing teeth with dental implants does not involve “cutting” adjacent teeth as in a bridge preparation.
Q: What should I do if I have a missing tooth? Bridge or a dental implant?(back)
A: This is one of the most frequently asked questions by patients to dentist.
Let’s look at each option:
Bridge: Your dentist would have to “sacrifice” your 2 perfectly excellent set of teeth and “grind” it down to 2 small stumps so that he can place a 3 unit bridge where the outermost units would be cemented onto the newly renovated ’stumps’ just so that the middle unit can be placed to cover the missing tooth. To get your queen back, you need to sacrifice 2 rooks.
Implant: Your 2 adjacent teeth unscathed and a titanium root is placed exactly where the missing tooth is, thereby “acting as a root”. After 3 months, your implant crown would be placed and you have yourself a perfect set of teeth once again.
The added benefit to this titanium root is that it would lessen bone loss from the missing tooth location as it is acting like a normal root that applies frequent pressure to the bone, and the bone seeing that it still has a purpose in life would continue to exist.
In the case of the bridge, since it is a bridge that “floats” above the gums and bone, there is no pressure to the bone and this lack of pressure causes the bone to regress (bone loss) as there is no purpose for its existence.
Looking at Singapore’s high standards of dentistry coupled with the high success rate of dental implants, we’ll have to go with the dental implants.
Dental Implant Surgery
Q: Will it hurt when placing the dental implants in my mouth?(back)
A: The actual procedure to surgically place a dental implant is done either under local anesthesia or general anesthesia.
Generally, the only discomfort you will feel is when the local anesthesia is administered, after which you should feel any pain or discomfort when the dentist is placing the implants. The anesthesia wears off after 3 or 4 hours and you might expect some discomfort.
Discomfort levels vary from patient to patient and most patients do not have much discomfort due to the painkillers that the dentist prescribes after the operation.
In some cases, patients have varying degrees of discomfort or even pain which may last for several days; in these cases of prolonged pain, you should see your dentist immediately as this is not a good sign. Let your dentist determine the cause of this pain and rectify the problem.
Q: Can I use Medisave for my dental implant treatment?(back)
A: You can use your Medisave (or parents/ sibling’s medisave) for part of the treatment fees. The Medisave claimable ranges from SGD$600 to SGD$1,200 depending on the complexity of the case. All Medisave claims for are subject to CPF’s (Central Provident Fund) approval.
Q: If I do an implant procedure, how many days MC do I get?(back)
A: You get about 2 to 5 days MC.
Q: What is the total duration of the dental implant surgery procedure?(back)
A: The surgical procedure to place the dental implant will take about 60 - 90 minutes. After which, the tooth (implant crown) can be placed 3 months later. In some cases the crown can be placed earlier.
Q: Why is there a 3 months waiting period for the dental implant crown to be placed on the dental implant?(back)
A: This time period is given for the bone around the dental implant to fuse and attach to the dental implant.
Q: Do I have to go without any teeth while I wait 3 months for my implant crown?(back)
A: Now that dentistry is not only about function but also about aesthetics, patients seldom will have to go without any ‘teeth’ as temporal alternatives can be given like dentures or a temporary implant crown to wait out the 3 months.
Q: After my implant surgery, I can see the metal of the implant protruding out of my gums, is it any cause for concern?(back)
A: No. It’s perfectly fine if you can see the implant beneath the gums as the gums would wear thin from pressure caused by food, brushing of teeth etc. If there is no pain, there’s not cause for concern. But it is important to keep the area clean.
Q: What can I expect 1- 2 days after the implant surgery?(back)
A: You might feel some discomfort around the implant site due to swelling around the area. The dentist might prescribe anti-swelling pills that would cause this swelling to subside. In some cases, patients may develop a blue-black discoloration around the cheek area closes to the implant site due to the blood clotting after the surgery.
Additional Surgical Procedures
Q: Do I require a bone graft before I place a dental implant in my jaw?(back)
A: It depends on the amount of bone available at the site for the implant.
Q: What is the cost for a bone graft?(back)
A: It ranges from SGD$200 to SGD$2,000 depending on the complexity of the procedure
Q: What kind of bone does Singapore use for bone grafting?(back)
A: There are 2 kinds of bone that can be used:
1. There is processed bone (cow bone) available commercially or
2. bone taken from the patient E.g. from another site in the jaw or from the hips Post-Operation concerns
Choosing an Implant Dentist
Q: How do i choose a dental implant dentist?(back)
Not all dentists have adequate training and education in this new field of Implantology. They may (unintentionally) discourage this option due to lack of knowledge about this procedure. In majority of cases in Singapore, general dentist prefer to refer difficult cases to an experienced oral surgeon that specializes in dental implantology.
The most common implant dentist is the Oral Surgeon, on top of other invasive procedures he performs (jaw surgery, wisdom teeth surgery, etc) dental implant surgery can be considered a central component of the treatments done.
The most common dentist that does the implant restoration is a Prosthodontist (a dentist that specializes in crowns).
That being said, in Singapore, any qualified dentist (General Practitioner) is able to do implant surgery on a patient. Most training and education to do with implants is done by the Implant companies that hire dentists that are experience in doing implants to give a seminar or course. After attending that course, a certification is given to the dentist.
There are some dentists that perform the surgical portion (Implant surgery) and some perform the restoration portion (Implant crown/ tooth). Our advice is to find a dental clinic that caters to both portions of the implant, this way you don’t have to run around finding different dentist!
So once you’ve decided for implants, choose a dentist wisely and find out:
- What specialty is he?
- How many years experience has he got in dealing with implants?
- Any qualifications or additional education in the field of Implantology?
- What is his success rate of implants?
If you would like a recommendation for an implant dentist, please contact me with your requirements.
Success and failure of Dental Implants
Q: What factors contribute to the rate of success?(back)
There are a few factors that contribute to the rate of success for dental implants
- Surgeon’s skill
How experienced the dentist is at this field and what level of further education has he got related to Implantology.
- Quality and quantity of bone at the site
If the bone located at the implant site has enough mass and if the bone healthy (no infection or bacteria within the bone)
- Patient’s oral hygiene
How well and often that patient takes care of their teeth as dental implants require the same care as normal healthy teeth.
Various studies have found that the success rate of implants can be as high as 95%. Patients who smoke will inevitably experience poorer success rates.
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