Is Dental Implant Surgery Really Worth It?

At first, a lot of people have no idea what to do about missing teeth until they find themselves with issues adjusting to how to chew. For example, you start to chew from the opposite side of your mouth. And over time, getting it fixed gets pushed down the list.

For years, the standard available treatments were just dentures or bridges. Many people will still go this route because they do work and allows people to be able to eat comfortably again. Many patients choose these solutions because uncomfortable with surgery, have a short timeline, and they just want something to get on with their life.

 

Another thing that most people are not generally aware of from the start with a missing tooth is that a missing tooth is not just a space in your mouth for the tooth. Over time, everything will start shifting around the space where the tooth was. When you eat, chewing can feel weird and wrong. It happens slowly, changing over time (even if you cannot visibly see this happen day-to-day).

There is a growing trend (most likely due to the number of options becoming more developed) for people to be considering "I am going to fix it, and once for all. And here comes the role of dental implant surgery, which is a lifelong solution for this problem. 

And I am sharing this from my experience. When I was in my college years, I once fell from the stairs and lost my front tooth. Firstly, I thought of repairing it through dentures or bridges. And that’s exactly what I did. I was using them for over 6 years and had to change them every 6 months. And of course, it was time-consuming and also costly. And I think I was done with this schedule of changing them again and again. Now I want to treat it permanently. That’s when I consulted for a permanent solution with my dentist, Dr. Neha, at McCallum Dental (A dental clinic near me). She suggested that I should undergo a proper surgery and get Dental Implants fixed.

And honestly, when she said the word “Surgery”, I was like Oh! Almighty…Surgery means I have to undergo the weird sounds of the equipment, pain, and a sort of discomfort. Then my dentist told me, “Don’t be afraid like this. This is a very straightforward process.” She said it will consist of three simple steps. Starting from the Initial Assessment, Implant placement, and then the final restoration. 

Next, I was worried about the cost of this surgery. I asked her, as this is a surgical process, will it be too expensive? She said that for a single tooth implant, it’s $3,000 to $6,000 CAD, which includes crown, abutment, and implant. And instantly, I decided to have this surgery.

The thing that was most notable to me was that it wasn’t something as dramatic as “I’m so glad I did this." It was  something like, “I wish I had done this sooner.” And now that I’ve experienced it, I get it. 

The experience itself wasn’t something that happened quickly and easily; it took time, effort, and lots of patience to complete. After all, you can’t just do it overnight and then forget about it the next day. But once everything has taken effect, you don’t even think about it anymore, which is, really, the biggest change. 

The whole experience really changed my opinion on these kinds of decisions altogether. Instead of deciding to fix something fast, I want to make a wiser decision based on what I believe will last and not need constant attention. And that's what dental implant surgery did. It’s just a lot easier than you imagined before having done it and going through it all!

And I had this surgery 6 months ago, so stay tuned with me whether this will have positive results for my oral health. I will share my experience in my next writing.