Implants Gdańsk

You find out that a tooth cannot be saved. Or the gap after an extraction has been there for a long time and the neighbouring teeth have started to tilt into it. Or the denture you wear moves when you eat. The question is then always the same: what will go in that place, how long will it take and how much will it cost. If you are considering dental implants in Gdańsk, below we break the treatment down into stages, items in the quote and known risk factors.

What a dental implant is and where the misconceptions come from

An implant is a root, not a tooth. The technical term is a dental implant, an endosseous fixture: an element placed in the bone that takes over the job of the lost root and transfers chewing forces to the bone. The implant itself is not visible in the mouth. What you see and bite with is a crown fitted on it later, through an intermediate element. Most misconceptions about dental implants come from this shortcut: the word “implant” is used for both the fixture and the finished, restored tooth.

Implant, abutment and crown: one piece of work, three elements

Restoring a single gap consists of three separate parts. The first is the fixture in the bone. The second is the abutment, which sits above the gum: a ready-made standard one or one milled individually for the specific tooth. The third is the crown. Each of them is priced separately and each is chosen at a different stage: the implant on the basis of the plan from the scan, the abutment and crown only once it is clear how the tissues have healed. That is why the amount you see in an advert next to the word “implant” usually covers only the first of the three items.

A mini-implant is not a dental implant

In price comparison sites the lowest item in the table often does not concern the restoration of a missing tooth; it may be a mini-implant or the price of the consultation alone entered in the service price field. A mini-implant is a different procedure: a thin fixture that serves as an anchorage point in orthodontic treatment or as support for a removable replacement. It does not restore a missing tooth and does not take a crown. If you compare its price with the price of an implant that restores a tooth, you get a reference point that is half too low, and then the impression that someone at the practice has raised the price. Before you compare two amounts, check that the same procedure stands behind them.

Who dental implants in Gdańsk are for, and who they are not for

The assessment is individual and is preceded by an examination; it cannot be done over the phone or from a phone photo. Some obstacles are temporary: they are not a verdict, just a question of order. A patient who lost teeth to gum disease is not automatically excluded from treatment. Their treatment simply does not start with the implant.

Typical indications for a dental implant

• You are missing one tooth and do not want healthy neighbours ground down to support a bridge.
• A tooth has been qualified for extraction, and you want to know in advance what will go in its place.
• The gap has been there for a long time and the teeth next to it have started to tilt towards it.
• You wear a denture that moves, and you are looking for stable support for it.
• There are no teeth left in the arch, and you are considering fixed work instead of a removable replacement.

Contraindications to dental implants and situations to sort out first

We qualify for implant placement after decay has been treated and gum inflammation brought under control. The mechanism is simple: the implant goes into the same mouth and the same bacterial flora, and it does not gain an immunity the lost tooth did not have. An implant does not replace gum treatment and fails more often in untreated surroundings. Inflammation of the tissues around an implant is caused by the same factor the World Workshop consensus report identifies as causal: bacterial plaque. The risk of failure is raised by uncontrolled diabetes, bisphosphonate treatment and smoking. A separate matter is the amount of bone: with too little volume, placing an implant may be impossible without first rebuilding the base.

How implant treatment works, step by step

It is not one visit but several stages spread over months. We go through the order at the consultation, so from the start you know what happens between visits and what you are waiting for in the breaks.

Stage 1: consultation, 3D scan and intraoral scan

We start with a medical history, a 3D scan and an intraoral scan. The CBCT scan shows the bone volume and the course of the structures that must be avoided. From this data a digital plan is made, and a surgical guide transfers it to the mouth. Treatment at our practice is led by Patryk Kononowicz, DDS, and we work with two implant systems: Straumann and MegaGen.

Stage 2: preparing the mouth before the procedure

Before setting the date of the procedure we treat the teeth and settle gum inflammation. The condition of the tissues decides whether the implant will heal in calm surroundings, so the order is always the same: first a calm base, then surgery.

Stage 3: surgical visit, 30–60 minutes under local anaesthesia

Placing a dental implant usually takes 30–60 minutes and we perform it under local anaesthesia: we prepare the site in the bone, place the implant and close the wound with stitches. Sometimes the extraction of a tooth can be combined with implant placement during one visit. Immediate implant placement, however, requires no active inflammation, enough bone and primary stability achieved once the implant is placed. The last of these cannot be seen on a CBCT scan; it only becomes known at the moment of the procedure.

Stage 4: healing and fusion with the bone, 3 to 6 months

After a few days we see you for a check-up and remove the stitches, and then comes the break for the implant to fuse with the bone, called osseointegration: 3 to 6 months. This is biology, not a queue. We do not load a healing implant with temporary work, because movement transferred to an implant that has not integrated makes fusion harder. In the visible area a temporary crown or bridge can be planned for this time to make the gap less noticeable; for back teeth there is usually no such need. In the first days the area may be swollen; cooling the cheek and a cool, soft diet help.

Stage 5: prosthetic restoration: healing screw, abutment, crown

The prosthetic stage starts with a healing screw, which shapes the gum around the future crown. Then comes a scan or impression, the choice of abutment and fitting of the work. We set the date after checking that the implant has fused with the bone; the result of the follow-up examination decides. It is worth knowing where digital planning ends: it reduces the number of unknowns but does not eliminate them. The reaction of the soft tissues and the final line of the gum margin cannot be read from a CBCT scan.

How long a dental implant lasts and what durability really depends on

This needs to be said plainly: an implant is not a maintenance-free solution and no one can guarantee that it will last a specific number of years. The data do, however, show what usually happens and what affects the outcome.

Survival versus implant health: two different things

A systematic review with meta-analysis published in the “Journal of Dentistry” reports a ten-year survival of dental implants of 96.4%, and 93.2% in a sensitivity analysis accounting for patients lost to follow-up; age 65 and over turned out to be a significant predictor. These are data with a stated time horizon and a clear definition of what was counted as implant survival. Survival does not mean healthy tissues, though: an implant can remain in place while losing bone around it. It is also worth separating two scenarios: lack of integration in the first months and loss years later due to bone loss. They have different causes, a different moment of detection and different management.

Peri-implantitis: what it is and how to recognise it

The World Workshop consensus report defines peri-implantitis, inflammation of the tissues around an implant, as a plaque-associated condition with inflammation of the mucosa and progressive loss of supporting bone. The earlier stage, peri-implant mucositis, is recognised mainly by bleeding on gentle probing. A meta-analysis published in “BMC Oral Health” estimates the frequency of peri-implantitis at almost 20% of patients, that is about one in five. An implant does not hurt the way a tooth with pulpitis does, so the problem can grow unnoticed. The signal is the gum around the crown: bleeding when brushing, tenderness, swelling. The same report recommends taking baseline radiographic and probing measurements once the prosthetic work is completed; without a reference point it is impossible to show later that bone has been lost.

Smoking, diabetes and hygiene: what increases the risk

Of this list, smoking and hygiene are the factors you have direct influence over. A meta-analysis covering almost three hundred publications reports more than twice the odds of implant failure in smokers (odds ratio 2.4) and on average 0.58 mm more marginal bone loss, and a separate review in the “Journal of Clinical Periodontology” shows a dose relationship: above twenty cigarettes a day the risk rises further. Alongside smoking are uncontrolled diabetes, untreated gum disease and neglected hygiene. That is why around the procedure we ask you to take a break from smoking and intense exercise, and after the treatment is completed, to come for regular check-ups and maintenance hygiene visits.

Dental implant, bridge or denture: what to choose for a missing tooth

A comparison only makes sense when it shows both sides. A systematic review in “Clinical Oral Implants Research” compared fixed work on natural teeth and on implants: the five-year survival of a single crown on an implant was 94.5%, and of a conventional bridge 93.8%, practically the same. The number of surviving restorations alone, however, does not say how much work they needed. In the same follow-up, some complication was recorded in 38.7% of patients with an implant-supported bridge versus 15.7% of patients with a conventional bridge; for a single crown on an implant the review does not give a separate complication rate. It is worth remembering this when you compare two quotes: with work on an implant, what counts is not only the day the crown is fitted, but also years of check-ups and minor adjustments.

• What an implant gives: the teeth next to it stay untouched, without grinding for abutments, and chewing forces return to the bone where the tooth is missing.
• What an implant takes: more time, a higher cost and more maintenance in the following years.
• A bridge on natural teeth can be sensible when the neighbouring teeth need restoring anyway; we cover this on the crowns and bridges page.
• A denture remains an option for extensive gaps; it can also be supported on implants, although removable work gives less stability than fixed work.

Dental implants in Gdańsk: price and what affects the cost

At Smile Bonding Studio placing an implant costs from 3 500 PLN. This is the starting price for the implant placement procedure alone, not for a restored tooth. As a rough guide, in Gdańsk the placement alone usually falls within 2 400–3 800 PLN, and a finished single tooth, counting the implant, abutment and crown, is often priced at about 5 000–8 000 PLN. These are market ranges from a review of publicly available price lists, not our price list. It is also worth knowing that for standard indications dental implants are not covered by the Polish National Health Fund (NFZ): neither the consultation, nor the surgery, nor the prosthetics; the exception is a narrow range of services for patients after surgical treatment of head and face cancers.

What the cost of one restored tooth is made of

In the treatment plan you will see separate items: the implant consultation with a scan, the placement procedure, the abutment (standard or individually milled), the crown and, in unfavourable conditions, also preparation of the bone base. We price the prosthetic stage separately, after the integration has been assessed, because only then is it clear what the work will be supported on. The position in the arch also affects the quote. In the aesthetic zone the work is more demanding, because not only function counts but also the line of the gum around the crown; the final amount is given in the treatment plan. A meta-analysis on implant location also indicates that inflammation of the tissues around implants is found more often in the front than at the back, so in the visible area later check-ups matter all the more.

Instalments and a written treatment plan

Payment can be spread into instalments of 12 to 48 months. The pricing calculator shows the instalment and APR for the chosen period, and the credit decision is made by the lender. Price list prices are starting prices; you receive the final amount in the treatment plan emailed after the consultation, broken down into stages; once it is approved, the amount does not change. You pay after each visit, not in advance for everything. We do not run time-limited promotions; the price follows from the work involved and the materials used.

What to look for when choosing an implant practice in Gdańsk

It is worth basing your choice on things that can be checked and compared. Ask about a 3D scan taken before planning, a written plan broken down into stages, which implant system and which abutment will be used, and the schedule of check-ups after the treatment is completed. A practice that plans maintenance in advance thinks about the work over years.

Questions worth asking at the consultation

1. Which implant system will be used and why this one?
2. Is the plan made from a 3D scan and will there be a surgical guide?
3. Which items apart from the implant itself will be in the quote?
4. After the crown is fitted, will a baseline examination be done as a reference point?
5. What happens if the implant does not integrate?
6. If a success figure is quoted, what follow-up period does it come from and what was counted as success?

Key takeaways

• A dental implant replaces the root, not the whole tooth: the finished work is the implant, the abutment and the crown, and each item is priced separately.
• The lowest price on a comparison site often concerns a procedure other than restoring a missing tooth; it may be a mini-implant or the consultation alone.
• The 3 to 6 month break between the procedure and the crown follows from the pace of bone healing.
• Ten-year survival is high, but it does not mean the tissues around the implant are healthy.
• Inflammation of the tissues around an implant affects about one patient in five and usually develops without pain, which is why it is often noticed late.
• Smoking and untreated gum disease are risk factors you have real influence over.
• An implant spares the neighbouring teeth, but needs more check-ups and maintenance than a bridge on natural teeth.

Summary

If you are missing one tooth, an implant lets you restore it without touching the neighbours, at the cost of longer treatment and more visits. If several teeth are missing or there are no teeth left in the arch, the restoration is supported on several implants, and a temporary replacement is planned for the healing period. In both situations the starting point is the same: a scan, an assessment of the teeth and gums and a plan that breaks the treatment down into stages with dates and amounts.

In fairness, we should add what this method does not give. It is not maintenance-free: it needs hygiene, check-ups and sometimes adjustments, and the tissues around the implant can become diseased even when the work holds well. In unfavourable bone conditions placing an implant may be impossible without first preparing the base, and some people will hear that their teeth and gums need treating first. The prognosis depends on the starting condition and on what happens after treatment, which is why we talk about ranges and probabilities.

A sensible first step is an implant consultation with a 3D scan and a written treatment plan. You then know how many stages lie ahead, what each of them covers and which items will make up the final amount. If you are considering dental implants in Gdańsk, come with the questions from this text; we see patients at ul. Obrońców Westerplatte 32B in Gdańsk Oliwa, Monday to Friday, 9:00–20:00.