If you are thinking about dental implants, it’s important to take your time and find a dentist with training and experience that inspire confidence in his or her expertise. Getting one or more dental implants is a major commitment of time and money. You want your replacement teeth to be effective enough to last a lifetime, and you shouldn’t take your choice of dentist lightly.
Questions to Ask Your Potential Implant Dentist
We recommend that patients who are seriously considering dental implants interview a few different dentists before choosing a provider. Start by looking for recommendations from friends or family, or look for doctors who are highly rated on review sites such as Yelp! and Google. We suggest that you ask each doctor the following questions, to help you get a sense of their qualifications:
- How many years have you been providing dental implants?
- What has changed in the years since you started?
- How many procedures have you performed in total? How many in the last year?
- How do you stay current with the latest techniques in implant dentistry?
- When/where was your initial training with dental implants?
- How many hours of continuing education have you put into your mastery of implants?
- What special technology do you use to make implant procedures more effective and safe?
- What is your success rate with dental implants?
- Have you ever had a patient’s implants fail or require replacement? What were the circumstances.
Don’t feel as though you need to understand every answer that comes from these questions. You don’t need to know everything about implant training to get a general sense of your doctor’s professional expertise. What’s important is that your doctor can answer the questions in a way that makes sense to you and shows that he or she is skilled in the field of implant dentistry. Likewise, don’t hesitate to ask for more explanation if he or she is not clear in his/her answers.
Beware Hasty Promises
A good implant doctor will inquire on your dental and medical history before making a recommendation for implants. While most patients can have implants, there are a number of medical and dental conditions that may require special treatment before implants can be considered. For example, any conditions characterized by inflammation or auto-immune disorders that affect your body’s ability to heal and regenerate tissue may require special consideration—as healing and new bone growth are a crucial step in the implant procedure. Some patients require bone grafting surgery before implantation, especially those who have gone many years without teeth.
A competent doctor will examine his or patient thoroughly, share any concerns, and establish an customized treatment plan as part of the consultation process.
Don’t Be Shy!
Patients who feel awkward asking their doctor about his or her qualifications should take note: we in the dental field expect patients to ask a lot of questions. We know that you have many care providers to choose from, and we welcome the opportunity to share the details of our background and professional training.
A doctor who is not forthcoming with detailed information should be a red flag. If a doctor ever laughs at your questions or fails to give specific answers—this is not the doctor for you! At worst, such a doctor may have deficiencies in his or her background; at best, he or she may not value an open and respectful patient/provider dynamic. Neither scenario is recommended for treatments that have multiple steps and a timeline of several months. You want a doctor who makes you feel heard, understood, and respected.
Meet Our Implant Dentists
If you are considering dental implants in Fresno, CA, visit Fresno Dental Studio to meet our dentists. We provide dental implants for single and multiple missing teeth, full mouth reconstruction, and implant-based dentures. Call our office at 559-297-1294 or email us through our website to schedule a consultation. We look forward to meeting you and answering your questions about dental implants at Fresno Dental Studio!