Frequently Asked Questions

1.How many days/weeks advanced notice do you need before beginning my treatment program?
2.How many hours each day will I be at your facility? How many days are required to complete the treatment?
3.Why do you recommend the high noble metal porcelain crowns to restore my teeth?
4.What is a sinus lift? How long a period of time should I wait for the implant placement after the sinus lift?
5.Who is a candidate for dental implants?
6.What is the difference between two stage and one stage dental implants?
7.How the treatment proceeds?
8.What are the steps to follow after I make the decision to visit your clinic?
9.What are the options to replace the missing teeth?
10.What is a dental implant?
11.What material is used for dental implants?
12.How is the treatment?
13.What is the surgical phase?
14.How is the post-operative stage?
15.When will the new teeth be placed on the dental implants?
16.Is it a painful treatment?
17.Could there be a failure?
18.What does it happen if a dental implant fails?

1. How many days/weeks advanced notice do you need before beginning my treatment program?
We need to be notified at least 2 weeks before you come to Costa Rica, in order to prepare for you a “day by day” itinerary and confirm your appointments.

2. How many hours each day will I be at your facility? How many days are required to complete the treatment?
Most of the dental treatments need 12 days for completion. During these days our lab technicians will be preparing the permanent crowns that will cover your teeth.

The hours during each appointment depend on the process; however, most of the time it takes between 2 and 3 hours.

3. Why do you recommend the high noble metal porcelain crowns to restore my teeth?
Grinding your teeth, an improper bite, age, fillings and tooth decay can all be contributing factors in the wearing down, cracking or breakage of your teeth. Dental crowns cover the entire visible surface of your affected tooth and add strength, durability and tooth stability.

4. What is a sinus lift? How long a period of time should I wait for the implant placement after the sinus lift?
Sinus lifts, sometimes called a sinus augmentation, is surgery that adds bone to your upper jaw in the area of your molars and premolars. Once the procedure has been done, you will need to wait about 6 to 8 months in order to be able to place the implants.

5. Who is a candidate for dental implants?
Candidates for dental implants need to have healthy gums and adequate bone to support the implant. This is the reason why we request your dental records and panoramic x-rays.

If your answer is affirmative to some of the following questions, you can be considered an ideal candidate to be treated with implants: •Have you lost one, some or all of your teeth?
•Do you have difficulties with your removable denture (bad retention, pain, etc)?
•Do you feel insecure when you smile, when speak or eat?
•Has a dentist told you that you have teeth in very bad shape?
•Is there an area in your mouth where the corresponding tooth never showed up?
6. What is the difference between two stage and one stage dental implants?
a) Traditional: Using the traditional implant process, placements in the lower jaw need about three months to heal while placements in the upper jaw need about six months to heal. Traditionally, the procedure has been performed in two steps. The dentist begins by installing the implant, which was left for three to six months to heal and integrate with the jawbone. During the healing period, the patient was given a temporary prosthesis until the permanent crown could be put into place. Traditional dental implants required patients to sacrifice much of their time and money to achieve the look and feel of natural-looking teeth.

b) One Stage Dental Implant: Osseo (bonding with your natural bone) integration begins immediately. No long wait for the bone to heal before placing the implant. There are no missing teeth in the mouth because we place your temporary crowns immediately on the post. The tooth looks natural while the implant is healing.

Although the integration of bone tissue and the implant device takes place normally, the physical characteristics of the implant device itself creates the solid infrastructure that enables immediate use.

7. How the treatment proceeds?
FIRST APPOINTMENT: The first step is to place the implants, once the implants have been placed, an impression is made. A very accurate model is made from this impression from which the lab will make the permanent bridge or the crowns. (Bridges and crowns are usually made of porcelain with a metal substructure. The porcelain gives it esthetics and durability and the metal underneath allows for strength and a good fit). When the impressions have been taken, a temporary tooth is made and it will be similar to the final bridge and / or crown, though not as durable. It is cemented with temporary cement for the days that the lab technicians will be making the permanents. The temporary keeps the teeth comfortable and keeps the teeth from drifting.

Be careful not to eat hard or sticky foods with the temporaries, since they are not as durable as your permanent bridge or crowns. If your temporaries do come off, it is important to have them re-cemented to prevent teeth from drifting.

SECOND APPOINTMENT: Once the bridge or crown is done (7 days after the first appointment), it is fixed with a permanent cement.

FINAL APPOINTMENT: Between 12 to 24 hours after the permanent crowns placement, you will be scheduled for the final appointment for final adjustments and where the doctor will make sure there are no problems.

8. What are the steps to follow after I make the decision to visit your clinic?
First of all you should decide on the date you wish your procedure to begin, bearing in mind our two week notice policy period. We will then prepare a preliminary day by day itinerary, you will then have the dates needed to purchase your airline tickets.

9. What are the options to replace the missing teeth?
The first option is place an artificial titanium root (dental implant) that will support a porcelain crown. The next option is the bridge, which consists on trimming the neighbor teeth, to make porcelain crowns on them fixed to another crown that will replace the lost tooth. The third is a removable denture, which is retained by hooks, and stabilized by a plastic or metallic structure that covers the palate or the tongue zone. The patient can remove it from the mouth.

10. What is a dental implant?
Dental implants are small titanium cylinders that work as artificial dental roots, once they are placed inside the jawbone. This way the artificial teeth can be anchored in these new roots contributing to recover a beautiful smile, as well as a comfortable speaking and chewing. Dental implants will allow us to chew with total comfort, and to smile and speak with the same security than with our own teeth. With the use of the dental implants, there is no need to touch, trim or injure the neighbor teeth, to replace the missing tooth.

11. What material is used for dental implants?
Along the history of dentistry and medicine, many materials have been used. At the present time, the only material considered valid for dental implants is titanium.

12. How is the treatment?
The treatment consists on two stages:
a. Surgical phase
b. Prosthetic phase.

13. What is the surgical phase?
The surgical treatment consists on the placement of the artificial roots or implants inside the jawbone. It is performed with local anesthesia, and is painless. Sedation and general anesthesia are options for nervous patients. The duration of the intervention is from one to two hours.

14. How is the post-operative stage?
It is not painful. The following day of the intervention the patient will have a slightly inflamed area in the face. Painkillers, antibiotics and anti- inflammatories are prescribed for a short period.

15. When will the new teeth be placed on the dental implants?
The time between the surgical phase and the placement of the crowns varies depending on the case.

The range varies between seven and ten days, to give time to the implant to integrate or fix to the bone. More time could be waited if the patient asked so (i.e. because of a trip).

16. Is it a painful treatment?
No, it is not. A treatment with implants demands a surgical intervention, but pain and all the other implications can be perfectly controlled.

17. Could there be a failure?
In spite of the excellent clinical results obtained with implants (93 to 97% success rate) there is a 3 to 7% rate for failure. No other dental treatment has such a high success rate for long terms.

18. What does it happen if a dental implant fails?
If an implant fails, it is possible to substitute it for another one to solve the problem after the jaw has healed.