The Cost of Dental Implants in Canada

Thousands of Canadians each month are considering dental implants to replace a missing tooth, to replace their ill-fitting dentures or to improve their smile and oral health. Part of their quest to recreate their smile is to research the cost of dental implants. Their search for the price of dental implants includes Internet search engines, talking to friends and family and visiting a few dentists to get a handful of professional opinions and quotes.

During this quest, Canadians have a multitude of research tools at their disposal to determine the best dentist for tooth implants. Shopping around based on price is typical in other industries like cars and products, but when it comes to professional services, consumers need to approach their research differently.

In Ontario, most dentists follow the standardized Ontario Fee Guide distributed each January by the Ontario Dental Association. The annual guide outlines fee ranges for each dental treatment and generally dentists don’t vary much from those rates. So, what does this mean for the consumer? It means that it may not have been the quality indicator that they thought it might have been. Instead, we recommend that they utilize these types of questions when they are meeting with the dental providers that they are considering for their treatment:

1. How many dental implants has the dentist placed in the past year?
2. How many cases like yours have they treated?
3. Review the dentist’s qualifications and training they have acquired to offer dental implants.
4. Find out all of your possible treatment options. Some offices have more than one doctor on their team which can create built-in ‘second opinions’.
5. Inquire whether their quote includes traditional or mini implants. The introduction of mini implants has created some confusion on the prices of implants, so we recommend clarifying what your treatment plan would entail.

As your research evolves, we hope that these suggestions help you align yourself with a dental provider that is the best match for you and what you’re looking for. Working with a dental professional is a very personal choice especially when you’re making a long-term commitment such as implants. If you have any further questions or would like a second or third opinion, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.