Should the Same Dentist Place My Implant and Make the Crown?

Posted by Sophia Kai

I need to have a tooth removed and replaced with a dental implant. The dentist I normally see said he would send me to an oral surgeon to have the implant placed, then I would come back to his office for the implant crown. My sister had an implant done somewhere else and said one dentist did everything. Does it matter that I’m going to two separate dentists? Could the oral surgeon do the implant?

Melanie

Dear Melanie,

There is nothing inherently wrong with having an oral surgeon place your dental implant and another dentist restore it. Dentists and specialists frequently work together successfully to provide implant treatment. The key part here is that it needs to be the dentist who plans the placement of your dental implant, not the surgeon.

That being said, there are advantages in having a dentist who is trained in both implant surgery and implant restoration oversee the entire procedure.

The Implant Has to Be Planned With the Final Tooth in Mind

A dental implant has several components. The implant itself is embedded in your jawbone and acts as an artificial tooth root. An abutment connects that implant to the dental crown, which is the visible part that looks like a natural tooth.

Where the implant is placed, not only impacts its function, but can also affect how natural the finished tooth looks.

The dentist needs to consider the position and angle of the implant, the surrounding bone and gum tissue, your bite, and where the final crown needs to emerge from the gums.

In other words, the goal isn’t simply to find enough bone to hold an implant. The implant should be placed in a position that allows the dentist to create a beautiful, functional tooth above it.

Why Does Implant Position Matter to the Crown?

Imagine trying to build a house when the foundation has been placed several feet away from where the architect expected it.You might still be able to build something on it, but achieving the original design becomes much more difficult.

A similar principle applies to implant dentistry.

If an implant is positioned poorly, the restorative dentist may have fewer options when creating the crown. The final tooth could potentially look too long, emerge from the gums at an unnatural angle, or be more difficult to keep clean.

Careful planning allows us to think backward: What should the finished tooth look like? Where does the crown need to be? What position will give the implant appropriate support while allowing us to create that result?

What Is the Advantage of Having One Dentist Do the Surgery and Placement?

When your implant surgery and restoration are done by the same person, there is very little chance of a miscommunication. There is no need to transfer records or coordinate treatment between unrelated offices.

You also won’t have to become the messenger between two dental practices if you have questions about your treatment.

This doesn’t mean you should automatically avoid having an oral surgeon place your implant. There are excellent oral surgeons and restorative dentists who work together closely and produce outstanding results.

The important question is whether the surgical and restorative portions of your treatment are being planned together.

Training Matters More Than the Name on the Door

If you choose a dentist who both places and restores dental implants, make sure that dentist has appropriate postdoctoral dental implant training.

Implant dentistry requires knowledge of surgery, bone and gum tissue, bite relationships, restorative dentistry, and aesthetics. A weekend course isn’t equivalent to extensive postgraduate education and clinical experience.

Ask your dentist how much implant training they have received, what technology they use to plan implant placement, and whether they routinely perform both the surgical and restorative portions of treatment.

You should also feel comfortable asking to see examples of their implant work, particularly if you are replacing a visible front tooth.

You don’t necessarily need to change dentists simply because your current dentist works with an oral surgeon. That can be an excellent model of care.

However, there are advantages to having a dentist with advanced implant training plan and perform the entire procedure. What matters most is that your dental implant is planned from the beginning with the final result in mind, and by the dentist doing the restoration.

This blog is brought to you by a top-rated dentist in Naples, Dr. Robert Bracho.
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