Sticker shock!!!

[sharon]

It's been just about a year since I started the whole implant process and yesterday I finally went to have the impression taken for the final crown. I got a real shock when I stopped to make my next appt and pay on my way out - $2200 for 1 crown!!!!!! Yeah, it's my fault for not asking at the start how much it will cost; I really thought it would be about $800-$900 which is about what other crowns have cost. And even if I had known I still would have gone through it but I just didn't expect it to be that much. I thought the most expensive part of this whole thing would be the surgery itself but I guess not.

Is this the norm for a crown on an implant? Are crowns with an implant more costly than just a regular old crown? I still have two more to go through,

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Sharon,

My dental office typical price is around 1000 but there is a slight discount program and I'll get for 922.00 which is yeah about the price range you suspected. That seems super high. i would have never suspected that high myself.

 

[famv5]

Wow...that seems very high. Mine run less than a 1000 for a molar. I just got one and it cost me $360 out of pocket with insurance.

I could never do 2200!

 

[comfortdentist]

it depends
one can make a basic zirconia crown over a stock generic implant abutment pretty cheaply but more likely to have issues with either the health of the implant or loosening of the screw.
next level is use the implant manufacturer's abutment which typically adds 100+ to lab costs and higher for the patient
next level is a custom milled abutment which minimizes problems long term and may give the best aesthetics. This takes much more time and so it results in a much higher fee.
This same process can be carried into splinting several implants then having a specialty lab mill an anatomically correct bar with what looks like prepped teeth where another lab will then prepare individual crowns to fit this bar. Finally the bar may have pink porcelain to mimic the patient's natural tissue that they lost. These are very difficult to fabricate and fit and most dentists have no experience with this technique. Cost will be 2500-3000+ per tooth for the prosthetics alone.

Some times patients present with so much loss of bone,tissue and with occusal issues that until all the disease is gone and I have grafted what I can graft and finally the patient has completely healed only then do I know what prosthetic options are actually possible.
Implant dentistry is a wonderful option but it can become enormously complex and expensive.

 

[sunflower32]

I was told that insurance will cover $800 of my implant crown, but I'm still going to have to pay around $1000 out of pocket.

When I went to the oral surgeon consultation for my implant, the office recommended that I call my dentist (who would attach the crown) prior to getting the implant, so that I would know the full cost from the get-go. Maybe you can recommend this to your office so that none of their future patients get blindsided by the price.

 

[sharon]

Thank you for your responses! I double checked what I paid for my last crown with this dentist and it was almost $1700 (includes everything, post, core, build up, crown, etc) so I guess I was a little off when I wrote $800-$900 up above . Must have been my previous dentist who did it for the lower amount. My dental insurance will cover 50% of what they consider a reasonable cost, it will be interesting to see what they consider "reasonable." I have a $2000 limit and was planning on using that for my next two implants but I guess my plans will have to change a little. Oh well!

Dr. Comfort - thank you for your detailed explanation. Sounds like there are different factors that go into this and it isn't one cost for all. I sure hope this isn't the cheap zirconia crown I'm getting. I'm a little concerned because after the surgeon inserted the post he had to drill a little of the flipper away (near the gum line) and if I smile big it looks like I have a big cavity there, not at all pretty looking (it's a front tooth). I mentioned this to my dentist and asked if the final crown will look like that and he said "probably not" but he can't guarantee it, something about the crown being too close to the tissue, I don't remember exactly what he said, but geesh, I better not be spending $2200 just to get a crown that looks like that.

I will definitely get a pre-treatment estimate before the next 2 crowns and I'll also ask him why so expensive. The other two implants are on back teeth so I'm hoping maybe they won't be as costly because they don't have to be perfect looking.

 

[comfortdentist]

If possible best way on back teeth is a screw retained implant crown.