Questions to Ask Before Getting Dental Implants
A written list is the most useful thing you can bring to a conversation about dental implants. Each question below comes with a short note on the background behind it, so you can see why it is worth asking, and a few related questions you might add. The answers are your dentist's to give.
Am I a candidate for an implant?
The main requirement for an implant is enough healthy bone in your jaw for the implant to take hold, and a dentist is the only person who can tell you whether you're a candidate. Implant surgery will also be personalized to you (Cleveland Clinic).
If you want the groundwork first, two companion articles cover it: what a dental implant is and who can get dental implants.
- Do I have enough bone where the implant would go, and how would you check?
- If I don't, what are my options?
- What else would you want to look at before deciding?
Why might treatment take several stages?
The implant-supported denture process usually requires multiple steps, and exact treatment depends on your specific situation; generally, it takes about three to six months for the implants to integrate, or fuse, with your jawbone (Cleveland Clinic).
- How many appointments would my treatment involve, and what happens at each one?
- How long would you expect the gaps between them to be in my case?
- Is there anything in place while I wait?
What might need replacing later?
The restoration part of a dental implant might need to be replaced at some point. Most crowns and bridges last around 15 years and most dentures last at least seven years, but this timeline varies (Cleveland Clinic).
- Which parts of this might need replacing later?
- What would replacing one of them involve?
- What should I be doing to look after it in the meantime?
What should prompt a call to the dentist?
Call your dentist any time you notice a loose or wobbly implant, bleeding gums, fever, pus (infection) around the implant, or swollen gums (Cleveland Clinic).
- Which of these would you want to hear about, and how should I get in touch?
- What is expected in the first days afterward, and what isn't?
- Who would I speak to if something changes?
Questions only your dentist's office can answer
Some of what you want to know isn't clinical, and no general patient information can answer it. Ask these where you are being treated:
- Would any part of the treatment happen somewhere other than this office?
- What would the whole course of treatment cost, and how is that broken down?
- What would my insurance cover, and what would I pay myself?
- Who would I be seeing at each stage?
We're Dental Associates of Lodi, in Lodi, New Jersey, and Dr. Steven Liao is our dentist. Our dental implants page is on this site, and so is our first-visit page. Take your list with you.
Sources
- Cleveland Clinic. "Dental Implants." Updated 2026-06-11. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/10903-dental-implants
- Cleveland Clinic. "Implant-Supported Dentures." Updated 2022-10-18. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24303-implant-supported-dentures
