You Finally Found The Place To Discover Everything you need to know about getting full mouth dental implants including costs, payment plans, insurance, and more...
Tom is a patient of ours from Salt Lake City. For many reasons he let his oral health decline. He was a caregiver and each time he got some money saved up, he would unselfishly pay for his kids and their needs. His wife ended up getting really sick and it turned everything upside down for him and their family.
His wife unfortunately lost her battle to her health condition and passed away.
It was devastating for Tom. For years he had unselfishly put all his resources into her health. He sacrificed his own confidence, ability to eat, and embarrassment for the love of his life.
Below is a side by side picture of Tom. The picture on the left is Tom the day of his dental implant surgery at Nuvia Dental Implant Center. That picture on the left is the Tom who was very worried about going out in the world. He would not smile. He would hide his smile behind his hand and even dreaded going to work every day.
He had lost himself.
It took him three years after his wife passed away to decide he was going to do something about it. He realized he didn’t want to be alone for the rest of his life and the first thing he needed to do was fix his smile.
The the picture on the left is him on his dental implant surgery day and the picture on the right Is him literally 24 hours afterwards with a new permanent set of teeth fixed to dental implants.
That is the new Tom. He can be confident. He can go out on dates. He can eat food again. He can laugh without embarrassment and FINALLY be himself again.
Before we look into the different types let's back up a minute and show you what we’re talking about. Take a look at the picture below. We’re talking about a full set of upper teeth, lower teeth, or both combined.
Do you see how there are four dental implants placed in the jaw bone (it looks like 3 but there is a 4th behind the one on the left) and a set of teeth attached to them? That’s what we’re talking about.
You may only be missing a few teeth or don’t know how good all your other teeth are right now so we’ll go over how to know if you’re a candidate for this procedure later.
But if you have had any thoughts that most of your teeth are “going” that would be a good indication this procedure would be right for you.
Alright, now we’re on the same page of what it is we’re talking about, let’s go over the different types of solutions to replace ALL your teeth on the upper jaw, lower jaw, or full mouth. (By the way, we refer to the upper or lower jaw as an “arch” of teeth. So the upper arch would mean the upper set of teeth etc.)
Okay, so regular dentures obviously do not have any dental implants to attach to. They actually use suction to stay in. On the upper set (as show below) the entire top of the palate is covered so the dentures have more surface area to “stick to.” This is why some patients report to us that they have lost some of their ability to taste.
There are three main reasons why so many denture patients seek out the different types of dental implant solutions.
1. They're made of a hard plastic
2. Many patients cannot eat or laugh because their dentures are loose
3. Without "roots" the jawbone continues to "shrink"
The scan above shows almost all of the jawbone on the upper is gone and the jawbone on the bottom is about as low as it can go as well. There should be jaw bone where the pink square is but there is none. This patient is stuck in dentures for the rest of their life even though the dentures will fall out all the time.
DO NOT let the worry of whether or not you have enough bone keep you from getting it checked.
We go into more detail on those issues on our website but for the sake of this guide let’s assume someone has now decided they don’t want to deal with the hassle, issues and bone loss that come with dentures and they want a more permanent solution.
Snap In Dentures, also referred to as implant supported dentures, add some stability to your existing dentures. There is generally a noticeable difference in patient satisfaction levels from regular dentures to snap-ins. Patients report feeling more confident that their teeth will not fall out at important times.
You can see in the video above that you do have to take snap in dentures in and out every day like you do dentures. The dental implant provider would place either 2 or 4 implants for your denture to snap in and out of.
Snap in dentures generally cost less than the fixed options we’re about to describe next but there are many reasons why people choose fixed over removable.
1. In this study patients with snap-in dentures had DOUBLE the likelihood to have issues with their teeth or implants over a 4 year period compared to a fixed option.
2. We (Nuvia) actually used to provide snap-ins but we’ve stopped because of patient satisfaction issues. While they do provide higher patient satisfaction than dentures, there are still MANY patients that continue to have problems for all sorts of reasons:
a. Rubbing their gums
b. Some movement
c. Wear and tear
d. Still didn't feel secure enough
For those reasons and many more we decided to only offer permanent solutions, meaning teeth that DO NOT come out unless a professional takes them out.
Many people think Nuvia does “Teeth-In-A-Day” but we actually don’t. We do permanent teeth in 24-hours. Now, Teeth In a Day or the traditional all on 4 method is one way to get a fixed new set of teeth. Fixed means the teeth don’t come out unless they’re taken out by a dental implant professional, but the road to your permanent teeth is much different.
Let’s first look at how teeth in a day is done by bringing back this image of the jaw bone. All of the teeth would've been extracted on the bottom and the posts or implants placed into the jaw bone.
Then with the teeth in a day protocol, they take a plastic denture, shave it down, and then attach it to those posts the same day as your surgery. That's why they call it teeth in a day. Basically, this is how they drill the holes in it. It ends up looking something like this. You can see how big the holes they drilled in here.
These silver cylinders are what actually attach to the posts in the jawbone the same day as the surgery. So you get teeth in a day, but it's a very temporary set. This temporary set has several names such as, temps, conversion dentures, or provisional.
So you might be thinking, "Okay. Well, I didn't know that. It sounded like teeth in a day and you’re done. If that’s just a temporary set made of dentures, when would I get my real fixed set?”
Well, what ends up happening to get your real fixed set of teeth is after four to six months of being in that temporary denture, you have to go back to the provider and start trying in teeth set in wax (see the image below).
This is called a wax try in. These fake teeth are in a set of wax. The provider would just have you bite down, look at the bite, take them back out, heat the wax up and manually adjust the teeth. After the manual adjustment they would then send the adjusted set back to their laboratory. The lab will then make a new set of wax teeth. The new set of wax teeth will be sent back to the provider. You'd then have to go back into the provider, where they'll try in a new set of wax teeth, manually adjust them, and go back and forth like that until they get the teeth right.
And that's why it takes up to 6 to 10 months or maybe even longer to get a permanent set of teeth with the teeth in a day methodology. Does that make sense?
Now you know it could take up to 10 months to get a permanent set of teeth with teeth in a day, it should make a lot more sense when we say, "Here at Nuvia, you get a permanent set of teeth in just 24 hours."
Does that make more sense now?
To make it easier to visualize the difference i’m going to tell you about one of our patients named Butch. He’s from a tiny island in Alaska. The Island is so small in fact they don’t even have a dentist there. As you can see from the picture below, Butch needed a brand new set of teeth in his entire mouth.
By utilizing digital technology we are able to plan his surgery in advance. Check out this video:
Here's the full 24-hour smile transformation
Pretty incredible right?
This is so important, the concepts are in here twice.
But this section is different - please don't skip ahead.
DO NOT let the worry of whether or not you have enough bone keep you from getting it checked.
Have you ever heard the phrase “are you a candidate for dental implants?” If so, just know the question could also be phrased, “do you have enough good bone for dental implants?” Good bone for dental implants is like the foundation of a building. With it you get a house, without it… you don’t. It’s the same for teeth.
This is the danger of waiting too long in dentures or with other teeth missing because as soon as a tooth is removed the bone starts to shrink like in the video below.
If you’re wondering about your unique situation, here is a run down of what we’ve seen. We’ve seen people who’ve had their teeth removed 6 months ago not be candidates for implants. At the same time, we’ve seen people who had their teeth removed 15 years ago have enough bone and CAN get the procedure done.
The only way to find out if you have enough good healthy jawbone for dental implants is to go in and get a CT scan at a complimentary consultation. Many patients have expressed anxiety over this appointment because of past dental trauma. Maybe they went into the dentist and were really embarrassed or had a tooth pulled without getting numb first. Whatever the reason, dental trauma is real which is why we want to show you what it’s like at a dental implant consultation.
Really we just sit down and talk about your hopes and dreams and you also get a CT scan. No, this is not a full body CT scan where you lay down for a long time. You simply stand there while the CT machine slowly and gently moves around your head like this…
It ends up building a scan that looks like the image below and our surgeons can take a look and determine if you’re a candidate. This is the only way to find out.
There are two pieces of information you cannot get in this guide and your actual candidacy is one of them. The other is the payment plan information below. Those two pieces of information are very unique to you and require a consultation.
This is Tony. He is a patient of ours in Denver and dresses up like Santa every year for us and talks to our patients about permanent teeth in 24-hours. He told us, “I paid more for root canals, crowns, veneers, and other dental work than I paid for my dental implants. It all failed anyway…
Duncan posted this in a random Facebook group online. It brings a very fresh perspective from a patient's point of view. Essentially he’s saying…
I’m going to paraphrase what Duncan said one more time to begin this section because it’s such a great perspective.
“You have to pay for teeth over the course of your lifetime no matter what. The difference with dental implants is that you get funding up front and pay monthly with the true blessing being that you don’t have to deal with lingering problems..”
This is the before picture of Sharanna, one of our amazing patients from Dallas. She had the same questions you have as you are reading this right now.
How much do dental implants cost?
How do most people pay for them?
Why do they cost so much?
How can I afford them cause I need them?
She first wondered about how dental insurance would help and she found out that for a full mouth of dental implants it would most likely only help a little. From our experience it’s only about $1,000 - $2,000. And the patient needs to bill them directly and get reimbursed directly.
Then she wondered what health insurance might help with? Discovering the answer to this question also answered the question for her about why dental implants cost what they cost. See, getting a full set of dental implants requires surgery. It is NOT regular dentistry. We are used to surgeries like Hip Replacements or Knee replacements costing around $50,000 dollars. At the same time we’re used to health insurance kicking in to help but health insurance companies won’t help with this because they see it as a “cosmetic procedure.”
This is a surgery. It’s a FULL replacement of your teeth that needs to last as long as possible.
So after discovering that information Sharanna knew she needed to find out about the affordable monthly payment plan options.
Essentially, there’s two things you need to know that you can only discover at a consultation.
1. Are you an actual candidate for this procedure (which we'll talk about how to find out later)
2. What will the financial situation look like for you!
She discovered the following information about how to get an affordable payment plan.
1. You need a Decent Credit Score (675+) or know someone who does have that.
2. Which may result in monthly payments for a single arch at around $250-$450/mo
3. And approximately $450 - $900/mo (Full Mouth)
Luckily for her she found out she WAS a candidate, that's the first hurdle. Then she found out she COULD definitely make that payment and BOOM! For the cost of 2 Starbucks coffee’s per day or a lunch salad at Chick-fil-A (around $10/day) she could get her smile back!
And look at her after picture! She used this procedure as a catalyst to change her entire life! She’s now lost well over 40 lbs and says everything about her life has changed.
Doesn't she look awesome???
Look at this review from a patient who received a temporary set of teeth made of acrylic the same day as their surgery:
Makes sense why you’ll want to ask that question right?
Many people who hear the term “teeth In a day” actually think they will be getting their permanent set of teeth the same day as their surgery. As you’ve learned above that is actually not the case.
Did you know it’s possible for providers to take a week long course and then just start doing full mouth implant procedures? There is no board level certification or anything like that when it comes to implants. At Nuvia we don’t even do single implants or bridges. The only thing our doctors, staff, and lab do all day every day is FULL MOUTH Dental Implants.
This is a picture of one of our anesthesia providers. Please note that he is not the doctor. One thing we do believe in at Nuvia is having someone other than the Surgeon keep you safely sedated. We will always have someone else keeping you safely asleep so our surgeon can focus 100% on your surgery. Ask this question because other providers may make you pay extra for sedation or do both the anesthesia and the surgery at the same time.
In order to do that, our surgeons need to know a few things that we just can't get from you over the internet...
For example, we need to know if you have enough bone available for implants.
Because when you start losing teeth, often the jawbone starts to shrink like this:
If the bone shrinks too much, it makes placing dental implants very difficult and they can run the risk of failing.
So, in order to continue your journey towards a beautiful new smile...
...you need to get a simple 3D CT Scan.
This allows the surgeon to determine if you have the jaw structure that will support your new permanent teeth in 24hrs...
...and anything else that is needed for your unique situation.
It's "seamless and comfortable"
Some folks worry that the scan and consultation will be like an uncomfortable dental appointment.
That couldn't be further from reality at NUVIA.
First of all, the 3D Scan is simple.
No mouth equipment to gag you...
The machine just circles around your head a couple times like this:
Second, there's no poking and prodding inside your mouth from the staff or Doctor...
And lastly, there's no judgment or criticism of your dental situation (we're here to help, not to scold).
But you don't have to take our word for it. Check out what others are saying:
Doesn't sound so bad right?
Once that scan is done the surgeon and staff will be able to take a look...
Then we can get you a price along with details on affordable payment plans, insurance, and any other questions you will undoubtedly have.
And the best part is...
...we're going to cover all the cost for you to make it as easy as possible to take the next step.
That means the 3D Scan along with a No-Obligation, Non-Invasive, Judgement-Free Consultation where you can get all your questions answered...
...Is completely FREE to you!
(whew that was a lot of hyphenated words! 😃)