The Complete Guide to Choosing an Implant Dentist: Everything to Know

Jun 28, 2022

Studies have shown that nearly 70% of adults ages 35-44 have lost at least one of their permanent teeth. Tooth loss can be due to disease, tooth decay, injuries, and many other causes and can be detrimental to your oral health. Because of this, it is often recommended that you get a dental implant to fill the space from your missing tooth. To get the best results from your dental implant, you need to carefully research your options when finding a dentist to work with. Do you need help choosing an implant dentist?

Keep reading this guide for the top factors you must consider when choosing options for dentists.

Consider Dental Implant Experience

Experience is one of the most important things to consider before selecting a dentist for your implant procedure. Dentists that have plenty of experience and have completed hundreds of dental implant procedures will often provide the best results.

While dental implants are an effective treatment option, there are some things that may cause them to fail. To ensure that you have an effective procedure, you should find a dentist that has done the procedure many times and has a proven success record.

You can ask your dentist how many times they have performed this specific procedure to learn more about their dental implant experience.

Ask About Education

Next, you must learn more about your dentist’s education to ensure that they were properly trained. To become a dentist, they need to have a doctoral or professional degree.

This means it takes about eight years for your dentist to be qualified to practice general dentistry. However, if a dentist specializes in a specific type of dental work, like implant dentistry, they may need to complete a dental residency as well.

What additional education does your dentist have for implant dentistry? Have they taken any additional continuing education courses to stay up-to-date on the best practices in the industry?

To get the best services, you may want to find a dentist with at least 300 hours of continuing education for their implant dentistry experience.

Consider Additional Credentials

Next, you need to consider additional credentials. While your dentist needs the right education to be able to practice, there are other credentials that may make your dentist more qualified.

For example, you need to ensure that they are board-certified. This will prove that they have gone through a vetting process that proves that they are qualified to practice.

You may also want to find a dentist that belongs to other professional organizations, like the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.

Research Reputation

To find a reliable dentist for your implant procedure, you should research their reputation. This way, you can find a dentist that provides high-quality services and the best results for their patients.

One way you can do this is by asking for personal testimonies. Often, reliable dentists will have a list of references for past patients. This way, you can discuss the services with the patient and ensure that the procedure was done successfully.

You can also learn about a dentist’s reputation by reading online reviews. This will show you what past patients have had to say about working with a certain dentist.

If reviews show that patients had a bad experience or their implant failed, you may want to look around for a dentist with a better success rate.

Lastly, you can get word-of-mouth recommendations for a dentist from your local friends or family members. If you know someone that has gotten a dental implant, they may be able to help you find a reliable dentist to work with.

Who Does the Procedure?

To make sure your procedure is done by the most qualified individual, you should ask your dentist for more information about who performs the procedure. Often, patients go to a specialty dental clinic or choose an experienced dental implant specialist only to find that someone else does the procedure.

Sometimes, an experienced dentist will have a junior staff member do the procedure.

Make sure you double-check with your dentist to ensure that they are the ones that will be doing your dental implant procedure.

Ask About Sedation or Anesthesia Options

If you have dental anxiety, you may want to find a dentist that offers sedation or anesthesia options for their implant procedures. There are many types of sedation dentistry, ranging from mild alternatives like nitrous oxide to IV sedation.

Dental anxiety can make even simple or routine dental appointments overwhelming and stressful. Sedation dentistry services can help you relax during your procedure to make your dentist visit stress-free.

Find a Dentist You Are Comfortable With

It is also essential to find a dentist that you are comfortable with. Your dentist will be working very closely with you, so you don’t want to ever feel on edge or stressed around them.

If you have a list of a few dentists that you are interested in working with, you should meet with each of them before making a selection. This way, you can ensure that you feel comfortable with them.

Your dentist should prioritize your comfort and make you feel relaxed during your procedure. This may include discussing the procedure, discussing your concerns, and more.

If your dentist ever makes you feel dumb for asking a question, you may want to find a different option.

What Technologies are Available?

Finding dentists that use the highest-quality technologies will make it more likely that you get the best treatment. This is because the dentistry field is constantly evolving.

There is constantly new technology that makes dental treatments more accurate and reliable. You should ensure that your dentist is technology-friendly and uses the highest quality equipment available for their procedures.

Having new technology will allow your dentist to use the most advanced surgical techniques!

Consider Same-Day Implants

One important advancement in the dental implant field is the ability to do same-day dental implants. Traditionally, dental implants required a few different appointments in a six-month span.

However, new technology and surgical techniques enabled dentists to combine these steps. This creates a one-stage procedure for implants!

Same-day implants provide many benefits. They allow you to improve the appearance of your smile much faster. Plus, they help speed up and improve your recovery from the procedure.

If you want faster results, you should find a dentist that offers same-day implants!

Look at Before and After Photos

To ensure that your dentist provides the best results from implant procedures, you may want to look at before and after photos.

They may have photographs of previous clients on their website or in their office, which can show you the results of the treatment. This way, you can ensure that your dentist provides natural-looking and high-quality results from dental implant procedures.

Ask your dentist if they have a gallery of before and after photos from their patients.

Get a Consultation

Getting a consultation from your dentist can help you feel more prepared for your dental implant procedure. Most dentists offer a free consultation for potential patients to discuss treatment options.

You should come to your consultation prepared with questions for your dentist.

For example, you can learn more about their education. Where did they go to school? What additional training did your dentist complete?

You can also talk about your questions and concerns about your implant procedure.

Compare Implant Costs

Finally, you should compare the costs for dental implants from several different dentists in your area. Comparing implant costs can help you find a dentist that fits your budget.

However, you will get what you pay for when it comes to dental implants. If you choose the cheapest option, you may end up with a low-quality implant that is more likely to fail.

For example, people often go to a foreign country to get less expensive dental care. However, you will get better results when you choose a dentist based on their experience and credentials instead of only considering the cost.

Make sure you find a dentist that offers high-quality dental implants at a price that you can afford.

Choosing an Implant Dentist in Union, KY? We Can Help

When you need a dental implant procedure, you need to find the best dentist to ensure that the procedure is successful. By following each of these tips, you can find a professional and reliable dentist that offers the best results!

If you need help choosing an implant dentist, Toothologie can help! Our team specializes in dental implants and other cosmetic dental procedures and can help you improve your oral health.

Contact us today to learn more about our services or to schedule an appointment with our dental experts.