Dental implant costs
How much do dental implants cost in Melbourne?
At Y3 Smiles Dental in Broadmeadows, a single implant with its crown is from $4,000. Implant-supported dentures and full-arch treatment are quoted after your assessment, because the number of implants and any groundwork decide the figure. You get a written, itemised quote before anything is booked.
What are you actually paying for?
An implant is not one thing, and that is why quotes vary so much between clinics. There is the surgical part, placing the post in the bone. There is the part made in a lab and fitted on top, which might be a crown, a bridge or a denture. And for some people there is groundwork first: a tooth out, gum treatment, or a graft to rebuild bone that has already been lost.
A quote that looks unusually low has usually left one of those out, or is priced for a case with no complications. Ours is written down, itemised, and given to you after the assessment rather than over the phone. What the treatment involves is on the dental implants page.
What do the options cost?
These are starting fees at Y3 Smiles Dental. The figure for your case is confirmed in writing after the assessment.
| Option | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single implant and crown | From $4,000 | One missing tooth, where no groundwork is needed |
| Implant-supported denture | Quoted after your assessment | Quoted from its parts: the implants, plus the denture that clips onto them |
| Full-arch implant treatment | From $14,000 | A starting point only. The figure for your case follows the assessment and the scan |
| Bone graft | From $500 | Where there is not enough bone to place an implant |
| Complete denture | From $2,000 | For comparison, and the starting point if a denture is clipped onto implants |
| 3D scan | Billed by the imaging provider | Referred out. Y3 does not set this fee |
Prices are a guide and shown as a starting point. Your final fee depends on your clinical needs and is confirmed in a written quote before treatment begins.
What moves the total?
- How many teeth you are replacing, and whether they are in a row. Two implants can carry a bridge of several teeth, so the count of implants is not the count of teeth.
- Whether there is enough bone. A graft adds a fee and several months before the implant can go in.
- Whether a tooth has to come out first, and whether the site is left to heal before placing.
- What goes on top. A crown, a bridge and a denture that clips on are three different laboratory jobs at three different fees.
- Whether an anaesthetist is involved. Sedation is arranged with a visiting anaesthetist, booked in advance, and they bill their own fee.
- Imaging. A 3D scan is usually needed for planning. It is taken at an imaging provider, who bills you for it.
How does an implant compare with a bridge or a denture?
On the day, an implant is the most expensive of the three and a denture the least. Over a longer horizon the gap narrows, because a conventional bridge means cutting down the healthy teeth either side and those teeth then carry the load, and a denture needs relining and eventually remaking as the jaw changes shape underneath it.
That is a reason to compare properly, not a reason to assume the implant wins. For a single missing tooth with healthy neighbours, an implant usually is the better long-term answer. For a whole lower jaw on a tight budget, a denture clipped onto a couple of implants often does more for daily life than anything else at that price. Our dentures page covers the alternatives.
Which item numbers will be on the quote?
Your written quote names the exact item number for every step, which is what your health fund needs in order to tell you what it pays. Implant treatment is billed as a sequence of items rather than one, which is why the quote runs longer than you might expect and why it is worth reading before you ring your fund.
A lower denture secured on four implants, which is one of the more common plans, is billed roughly like this:
| Stage | Item | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | 011 or 013, 037, 022 | The examination, the wide x-ray of the jaw and any smaller images |
| Clearing the way | 311, 314, 324 | Removing remaining teeth, simple or surgical depending on the tooth |
| Stage one | 684, per implant | Placing the first stage of each implant |
| Stage one | 712 or 714 | The denture you wear while the implants heal, including laboratory fees |
| Healing | none | Usually three to six months. Nothing is billed for waiting |
| Stage two | 691, per implant | Uncovering each implant once it has bonded |
| Stage two | 661, per abutment | Fitting the abutment each implant clips to, including laboratory fees |
| Stage two | 665 | The finished denture that attaches to the implants, per arch |
| Stage two | 735, per attachment | The clip itself, one for each implant |
| Later on | 755, per attachment | Replacing the clips as they wear, which they do |
A single implant with a crown is billed differently, and full-arch treatment differently again. Ask us for the list that applies to your plan and we will write it down before you ring your fund. See health funds at Y3 Smiles Dental.
One thing worth noticing in that table: the clips are a consumable. They wear and get replaced, which is an ongoing cost after the treatment is finished rather than a fault.
Is it worth staging the treatment?
Often, yes, and not only for the cost. Implant treatment already runs over months because the bone has to integrate with the implant before the final teeth go on, so the natural stages line up with the payments. We can also sequence the work so the most useful part happens first: for many people that is getting a lower denture to stop moving, rather than starting at the most expensive end. Before you commit, it is worth reading what the appointments involve and what the healing asks of you, because both are longer than most people assume.
Tell us what you can manage and we will plan around it. Our dental costs page explains how quotes and staging work generally, and the payment options page covers Afterpay, humm and TLC.
Other questions people ask
Why is there no single price for a full arch?
Because the number of implants, the state of the remaining teeth and the amount of bone all change the work. From $14,000 is where it starts. Anyone who quotes a whole arch before seeing your scan is quoting the easy version of your case.
What does the single implant fee include?
The implant and the crown that goes on it. It does not include an extraction, a graft, or the 3D scan, which the imaging provider bills. Those appear as separate lines on your quote if you need them.
Is an implant-supported denture cheaper than a full-arch bridge?
Usually, yes, and often by a good margin, because it needs fewer implants and the denture still comes out for cleaning. It is quoted from its parts: implants from $4,000 each, and a denture from the complete denture fee of $2,000. Your dentist works out the combination after the assessment.
Can I pay it off?
Afterpay Pay in 4, humm and TLC are available, each subject to its own approval and terms. humm and TLC arrange credit, so fees apply and interest may apply. For treatment of this size, most people also stage the work, which spreads the cost over the months the healing takes anyway.
Will my health fund pay for it?
Some policies pay towards implants under major dental, usually with a waiting period and an annual limit well below the total. Medicare does not cover implants for adults. Ring your fund with the item numbers on your written quote before you commit.
Is a cheaper implant overseas worth considering?
We can assess work done overseas, but we cannot guarantee we will be able to fix it if something goes wrong, and with implants the loss is often irreversible. The follow-up, the adjustments and any repair are the part that is hard to arrange from another country.