If you think you can simply walk into walk into any dental office to get your implant dentistry, then you are wrong.
Dental implant procedure doesn’t just work like operations in WalMart or any other retail store.
Prosthodontists, periodontists, maxillofacial, and oral surgeons are all endorsed by the American Dental Association (ADA) as dental professionals who can undertake implant dentistry. These dental professionals have attended extra school to acquire additional knowledge to become ADA certified.
Maxillofacial and oral surgeons normally undertake an additional four years training course after leaving dental school and also a year training on anesthesia. Prosthodontists and periodontists undertake a three-year surgical training program after dental school.
With these, you should know that they’re well-qualified dental implants dentists.
General dentist, though may also be trained and received certification to conduct dental implants, their training is usually nowhere compared to the length and depth of training received by oral surgeons and periodontists.
Before going into how you can find a good dental implants dentist, it is important that you should know why you should choose a dental professional over a general dentist.
Call to schedule an appointment at 832-430-1406
Why You Should Choose a Dental Professional over a General Dentist
When it comes to dental implants surgical procedures, it is recommended to choose a professional who specializes specifically in that field instead of a professional who performs the dental implant procedure as just one of his/her many skills.
A dental professional who has additional training on implant dentistry would be able to provide a better top-notch dental care.
Dental Professional Lowers the Risk of Complications
This should be the main reason for choosing a dental professional specialist a general dentist for your dental implant. The more experienced and knowledgeable the dental professional is, the less likely you are exposed to any risk of complications.
Choosing a dental implant specialist may look expensive. Yes, choosing a general dentist may cost far less than a dental professional. However, with less training, and you may as well end up spending more unbudgeted fund in the long-run.
Dental Professional Offers High-Quality Aesthetics
Implant dentistry professionals normally have better and more advanced dental equipment and technology. This means that, aside from their top-notch training, they have advanced tools to make your artificial tooth or teeth to look more like natural teeth and look more aesthetically appealing.
Dental Professional Can Better Manage Gum Disease
Prosthodontists, periodontists, maxillofacial and oral surgeons are all experts in treating gum disease, should in case any occur. During their training on dental implant procedures, they have learnt the specifics of gum diseases and infections and how the right treatment to give to them.
All these make the dental professional a good candidate for your implant dentistry.
Call to schedule an appointment at 832-430-1406
How to Choose a Good Dental Implants Dentist?
Choosing a good dental implant dentist seems like a tedious task, isn’t it? But with the right focus and resources, it wouldn’t be too difficult. Here are tips that would guide you in choosing a good dental professional:
Verify If they are Certified or Not
Firstly, you need to ensure that they’re certified or not to carry out dental implants, especially by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) and the ADA. Being certified by these dental bodies means that the dentist is a dental professional and not just a general dentist.
You Can Ask the Following Questions
In your bid to choose a good dental implant dentist for your dental implant procedure, it would be a good idea to ask the following questions. It may involve a little research but would be important if you find answers to them.
- Are there long waiting times, either for appointments or while in the reception?
- Do they take good care of the dental office space?
- Does the dentist explain treatments and implant procedures well?
- Can the specialist accommodate me should in case I need a 24-hour assistance?
- Are the dentist and their staff open to, friendly, and helpful with answering questions?
- Is the dental office easy to get to?
- Is their dental equipment and technology of high quality and updated?
- Does the dentist work with your schedule?
- What is the cost of this professional? Are they upfront with their out-of-pocket fees?
- Does the dentist offer emergency services and what type of services do they offer?
- Did the dentist attend any school and how much training did they receive?
After finding answers to those questions, here are further questions to ask, which will help you to determine whether the dentist is well-experienced with dental implant procedures include:
- Did the dentist attend any accredited institution?
- How many surgical training courses have the dentist completed?
- Does the dentist refer overly complex or difficult dental cases to oral surgeons?
- How long has the dentist been placing dental implants?
- How many bone grafting procedures have the dentist completed?
- How many continuing education courses on implants does the dentist take per year?
- How many courses has the dentist taken focusing on managing complications?
- How many implant dentistry does the dentist conduct per year?
- Is the dentist experienced in bone grafting?
How to Find a Good Dental Implants Dentist?
Finding a good dental implant dentist for your implant dentistry should be a difficult task considering the available tools and resources available to you. Here are a few ways to find them.
Use the ADA, AAID Search Tool
Every ADA, AAID certified dental professional should have his/her details on the ADA’s, AAID’s websites. All you need do is to use the search tool to search by zip code or any other parameter. This should present you with a list of certified dental implant dentist and also a map of their offices.
Ask Your Friends or Anyone Who Had Undergone a Dental Implant
Hearing your friends’ experiences with dental specialists and testimonies can be a helpful way of finding a good dental implant dentist. It might also be a good idea if you ask your friends some of the questions listed above.
Make a Visit to Dental Offices
After finding a few dental specialists in your area, it is important that you visit them and their staff in their dental office before you schedule an appointment with them for your dental implant. You can also ask them some of the questions above. More so, take note of the state of their dental office and ask questions about the quality of their dental equipment.
Read Reviews
Finally, read reviews. There are lots of websites where you can read online reviews of dental professionals. A popular one is RealSelf.com with lots of reviews. People who had undergone dental implant procedures posted their experiences – either bad or good – and even pictures of their mouth. This will help you in making the right decision when choosing a good dental implant dentist.
Conclusively, if you need implant dentistry, it is recommended that you choose a dental professional over a general dentist. Though there is nothing against general dentists, just that dental professionals are more experienced and knowledgeable about dental implant procedures.
