Dental Implants in Coffs Harbour
A fixed tooth that looks and works like your own
A dental implant replaces a missing tooth with a small titanium post in the jaw and a crown on top that looks and works like your own tooth. At Ethical Dental a single implant, custom abutment and crown is $4,500, and the crown is made in our own laboratory on Edinburgh Street.
Dr Sam Rosehill plans, places and restores implants himself at our Coffs Harbour practice.
Our fees are published below, and a $95 consultation will tell you whether an implant is the right choice for you, or whether a denture or a bridge would serve you better.
Missing a tooth? Your options, side by side
When a tooth is lost there are four ways to replace it, and leaving the gap is a fifth. The right choice depends on how many teeth are missing, the condition of the teeth beside the gap, the bone underneath it, and your budget. Here is how they compare at Ethical Dental.
Single implant
What it is: a titanium post in the bone with a crown on top. It stands on its own, and the neighbouring teeth are left untouched.
Fee: $4,500 including the crown
Visits: 4 to 6 over 4 to 8 months
Lifespan: the post can last decades; the crown 10 to 15 years or more
Cleaning: brush and floss like a natural tooth
Bridge
What it is: a false tooth joined to crowns on the teeth either side of the gap. Fixed in place.
Fee: quoted per tooth on your plan
Visits: 2 to 3 over 2 to 3 weeks
Lifespan: 10 to 15 years
Cleaning: floss threaders or interdental brushes under the bridge
Partial denture
What it is: a removable plate carrying one or more teeth, held by clasps attached to your existing teeth.
Fee: $1,800 to $2,500
Visits: 4 to 5 over 4 to 6 weeks
Lifespan: 5 to 10 years, with relines
Cleaning: taken out to clean
Implant-retained denture
What it is: a full or partial denture that clips onto implants. A full denture usually clips onto two or more; a partial denture can clip onto a single implant and clasp your existing teeth as well. Still removable for cleaning, but far more stable.
Fee: $2,400 per implant, plus the denture at $1,800 to $2,500
Visits: 5 to 8 over 4 to 8 months
Lifespan: implants for decades; the denture 5 to 10 years
Cleaning: denture taken out to clean; implants brushed
Full arch on implants (All-on-4 or more)
What it is: a complete fixed arch of teeth carried on implants. Four is the minimum for a full arch; five or six are often indicated.
Fee: $17,000 to $35,000 per arch
Visits: 6 to 10 over 4 to 8 months
Lifespan: implants for decades; the fixed bridge 10 to 15 years
Cleaning: brushed, and cleaned underneath with floss or a water flosser
As a rule of thumb: an implant is the best choice when the teeth beside the gap are sound, or when the gap is at the back where a denture is hard to tolerate. A bridge makes sense when the neighbouring teeth already need crowns. A partial denture suits several missing teeth in different places, or a budget that rules out implants for now. An implant-retained denture is the answer for a lower denture that will not stay put.
Leaving the gap has consequences of its own. Over time the teeth on either side can drift and tip, the tooth above or below can grow down into the space, and the bone under the gap shrinks, which may make an implant harder to place later.
Five ways to replace missing teeth: single implant, bridge, partial denture, implant-retained denture and a full arch on implants.
Can you have a dental implant?
Most healthy adults can. At your consultation Dr Sam checks:
Bone. The implant needs enough height and width of bone to hold it. A 3D scan shows this precisely. If the bone is a little short, a small graft placed at the same time as the implant usually solves it. If an upper back tooth would need more bone than that, we will tell you and refer you to a specialist.
Gums. Gum disease is treated first. Implants placed into inflamed gums fail.
General health. Well-controlled diabetes is fine; uncontrolled diabetes is not. Some osteoporosis medicines and any condition that affects healing or immunity need to be discussed, so tell us everything you take.
Smoking. Smoking roughly doubles the risk of an implant failing. We will ask you to stop, at least around the time of surgery.
Age. Implants are for adults whose jaws have finished growing, so 18 and over. There is no upper age limit; health matters, not age.
Time since the tooth was lost. Bone shrinks after a tooth goes, so an old gap is more likely to need a graft. It is rarely too late.
What dental implants cost at Ethical Dental
Consultation about your tooth replacement options: $95
3D scan for implant planning: included in the consultation, no extra charge
Single implant, custom abutment and crown (back tooth): $4,500
Provisional (temporary) crown, when one is needed: about $400 to $500
Bone graft at the time of placement, when needed: $200 to $500 depending on size
Implant-retained denture: $2,400 per implant including the attachment, plus the denture at $1,800 to $2,500
Full arch on implants (All-on-4 or more): $17,000 to $35,000 per arch, depending on the number of implants and the materials
What the $4,500 includes. The implant itself, the surgery to place it, a custom abutment shaped for your tooth rather than a stock part, the ceramic crown designed and made in our own lab, and the review visits. It is the fee for an integrated, restored implant. In the small number of cases where an implant does not bond with the bone, we remove it and place another at no charge to you.
What can add to it. Removing the tooth if it is still there. A bone graft. A provisional crown where a front tooth has to look right during healing. A front-tooth implant is quoted individually, mainly because of the provisional tooth it usually needs during healing.
Health funds and payment. The implant fee is usually paid in two parts: about half when the implant is placed and the rest when the crown is fitted, several months later. That spreads the cost, and because the two parts often fall in different health-fund years, it can also increase the rebate you receive. We process HICAPS claims on the spot. Rebates for implants vary a great deal between funds and levels of cover; many major dental policies contribute to the crown but not the implant, so check with your fund using the item numbers on your plan. Payment plans are also available; ask us. You will have a fully itemised written plan before anything starts. See our full fee schedule.
What happens, visit by visit
Consultation and scan (about 30 minutes, Coffs Harbour, $95 including the 3D scan). An examination of the gap and the teeth around it, photographs, a 3D scan of the jaw, and a conversation about what you want. Dr Sam tells you whether an implant is the right option and what the alternatives would cost.
Your plan. A written, itemised plan with the fees, the number of visits and the timing. Nothing starts until you are happy with it.
Placing the implant (60 to 90 minutes, Coffs Harbour). Under local anaesthetic, the implant is placed in the bone, usually through a small opening in the gum, and closed with a few stitches. If the tooth is still there, it can sometimes be removed and the implant placed at the same visit. Most people are back to normal activities the next day, with some swelling and tenderness for a few days that ordinary pain relief manages.
Healing (3 to 6 months). The bone bonds to the implant. Lower jaws usually heal faster than upper. A temporary tooth can be arranged for a front tooth so you are never without one.
The crown, made in our lab (two visits, one to two weeks apart). A digital scan of the implant, then our laboratory designs and mills the abutment and crown, matched to the shade of your own teeth. At the second visit it is fitted, the bite is checked and you leave with a finished tooth.
Looking after it. Brush and floss it like any other tooth and keep up your regular check-ups. We review the implant at each visit.
Types of implant treatment we provide
A single tooth. The most common case: one implant, one crown. This is the closest thing to replacing a natural tooth like for like, and the neighbouring teeth are not touched.
Several teeth. Two or more implants can carry a bridge of three or four teeth, so not every missing tooth needs its own implant. This is a good step up for people who wear a partial denture and would prefer something fixed.
Implant-retained dentures. One or more implants with clips that a full or partial denture snaps onto. A full denture usually needs two or more implants; a partial denture can clip onto a single implant and clasp your remaining teeth as well. The denture still comes out for cleaning, but it no longer moves when you eat or talk. This is often the single biggest improvement we can make for someone struggling with a lower denture.
A full arch on implants (All-on-4 or more). A complete fixed set of teeth carried on implants, for people losing all the teeth in one jaw or who cannot manage a denture. Four implants is the minimum for a full arch; five or six are often indicated. Fees run from $17,000 to $35,000 per arch depending on the number of implants and the materials used, and we will explain at your consultation what moves the figure.
Who places your implant, and where the crown is made
Dr Sam Rosehill is the principal dentist at Ethical Dental. He graduated with first-class honours from the University of Queensland in 2009 and completed a Master of Clinical Dentistry in Fixed and Removable Prosthodontics at King’s College London with distinction, where he now tutors. His clinical focus is prosthodontics: crowns, bridges, dentures and implant restorations. Sam plans, places and restores your implant himself, so the same person sees it through from the first scan to the final crown.
Our on-site laboratory. The abutment and crown are designed and milled in our own lab in Coffs Harbour, using zirconia and ceramics, with 3D printing for planning and models, and hand finishing. Because the lab is on site, shade and fit are checked with you in person rather than posted back and forth. All of our lab work is done in Australia.
Our guarantee. The real risk with an implant is not the hardware breaking, which is rare, but the implant failing to bond with the bone in the first few months. Between about one and three in every hundred implants do. If yours does, replacing it is at our cost, not yours: our fee is for an integrated, restored implant, not for a placement attempt.
Where. Implant consultations, planning, surgery and the fitting of the crown all happen at our Coffs Harbour practice, where the 3D scanner and our laboratory are. Patients from Dorrigo and the plateau are welcome; the treatment itself is done in Coffs Harbour.
Related reading
We have a transparent fee policy. Every fee on this page is on our published fee schedule, so you can make a fully informed decision.
A case from our practice
The slides below follow one patient from a cracked upper premolar to the finished implant crown, treated by Dr Sam in Coffs Harbour: the crack, the implant in place, the provisional crown while the bone healed, and the final crown made in our lab.
1 of 4. The cracked upper premolar that could not be saved, seen from above.
2 of 4. The implant in place, seen on an x-ray, while the bone heals around it.
3 of 4. A provisional crown shapes the gum while the implant integrates.
4 of 4. The final zirconia crown on a custom abutment, made in our own lab.
Book a consultation
Call (02) 6652 3185 or use the form below. Coffs Harbour: 166 Edinburgh Street, Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm. Dorrigo: 8 Hickory Street, Wednesday to Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm.
Please note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risk. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
Questions people ask about dental implants
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At Ethical Dental a single back-tooth implant with a custom abutment and crown is $4,500, usually paid in two parts: about half when the implant is placed and the rest when the crown is fitted. A bone graft, if needed, adds $200 to $500, and a temporary crown about $400 to $500. You receive an itemised written plan before treatment starts, so the figure you are quoted is the figure you pay.
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In healthy non-smokers, implants have success rates above 95 per cent at ten years, and the titanium post can last for decades. The crown is the part that wears; expect 10 to 15 years or more. Early failure, where the bone does not bond to the implant, happens in the first few months to roughly one to three implants in every hundred. If it happens to you, we remove the implant and place another at no charge. Late failure is almost always peri-implantitis, gum disease around the implant, or overloading from heavy grinding. Smoking and uncontrolled diabetes raise the risk. Good cleaning, regular check-ups and a night guard if you grind are the best protection.
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No. There is no upper age limit. What matters is general health, healing and being able to keep the implant clean. Many of our implant-retained dentures are for people in their seventies and eighties who have struggled with a loose lower denture for years.
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Typically four to eight months from consultation to finished crown. Most of that is healing time while the bone bonds to the implant; the lower jaw usually heals in about three months and the upper takes longer. If a tooth is being removed, placing the implant on the same day can shorten the process.
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Only if the 3D scan shows the bone is too thin or too short to hold the implant. A small graft placed at the same time as the implant costs $200 to $500 and adds little to the timeline. A sinus lift for an upper back tooth is a larger procedure that we refer to a specialist.
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Usually, yes. Bone shrinks after a tooth is lost, so the longer the gap has been there the more likely a graft is needed, but it is rarely too late. The scan tells us exactly what is there.
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The implant is placed under local anaesthetic and most people say it is easier than having a tooth out. Expect some swelling and tenderness for a few days, which ordinary pain relief manages. Most people are back at work the next day.
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An implant, if the teeth beside the gap are sound and there is enough bone, because it leaves those teeth alone and is easier to clean. A bridge, if the neighbouring teeth already need crowns or you would rather avoid surgery. A single implant is $4,500; a bridge is quoted per tooth. We will show you both on your plan.
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Yes. A full fixed arch on implants is $17,000 to $35,000 per arch. Four implants is the minimum for a full arch and five or six are often indicated, so the range depends on how many are needed, whether the final bridge is acrylic or zirconia, and whether provisional teeth are fitted on the day. We compare it honestly with an implant-retained denture, which does a similar job for a fraction of the cost if you can accept a removable denture.
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Implant consultations, planning, surgery and the crown are all done at our Coffs Harbour practice, where the 3D scanner and our laboratory are. Patients from Dorrigo are very welcome; the treatment itself happens in Coffs Harbour.