ClearChoice Dental Implants: Pros & Cons | RealSelf (2023)

ClearChoice dental implants replace missing teeth with prosthetic teeth. Titanium screws are implanted into the jaw, and connectors (called abutments) connect them with a set of prosthetic dental crowns that function and look like natural teeth.

Implants can replace just one tooth or a full mouth of teeth. For patients who need to replace all their upper and/or lower teeth, ClearChoice offers All-on-4 implants, a full arch attached to just four implants.

Dental implants are a good choice for people with decayed or missing teeth, or other severe oral health issues. One study from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons reports a 95% success rate with dental implant procedures.

Pros

• The implants look, feel, and function like natural teeth, giving you more than just a new smile.
• The screws eventually fuse (or "osseointegrate") to the bone cells in the jaw, which makes the implants strong and secure.
• Bone fusion also helps protect against future bone loss in the jaw.
• While other fixes, like dental bridges and dentures, last 10–15 years, permanent dental implants last much longer: typically 25 years (though ClearChoice claims its implants can last a lifetime with proper maintenance and care).
• Dental implants don’t compromise the health of surrounding healthy teeth, which can be the case with dentures and other tooth replacement options.

Cons

• RealSelf members give ClearChoice implants an unusually low Worth It Rating: just 31%.
• ClearChoice dental implants can be extremely expensive, especially compared to traditional dental implants.
• There are some reports about ClearChoice dental implant centers upselling patients to get more implants than they actually need. Get an outside opinion from a prosthodontist who's not affiliated with ClearChoice, if you have doubts about your proposed treatment plan—for example: you go in to have one or two teeth replaced, but All-on-4 implants are recommended.
• If you suffer from jawbone loss or deterioration (which can be caused by too many tooth extractions, gum disease, tumors, and other conditions), you may need a dental bone graft before any dental implants can be placed. A bone graft means more surgery and more healing time, but implants may still be an option.
• Improperly placed implants can be uncomfortable or painful.
• Possible complications include infection, gum damage, or nerve damage.

RealSelf Tip: Make sure to choose an implant surgeon with years of experience and strong patient reviews. “ClearChoice dental implant experiences vary so widely between regions and dentists that it’s important to research your dentist,” says Dr. Sarah Thompson, a dentist in St. Louis. “Look for real patient testimonials and actual before and after photos of patients the dentist has treated."

Dental implants can cost tens of thousands of dollars, especially when you need to have more than one tooth replaced. The price can vary widely, depending on your location, how many implants you need, and if there’s other dental work involved.

ClearChoice Centers (part of the ClearChoice network) don’t accept dental insurance, but they do offer payment plans so you can pay over a period of time.

In some cases, medical insurance may cover a portion of the cost of dental implants, especially if you have medical complications as a result of tooth loss—but you’ll have to coordinate that with your insurance provider yourself.

You can finance your treatment with CareCredit.

See our complete guide to ClearChoice dental implant costs

Dental implants of all kinds are recommended for people who:

• Have one or more missing teeth
• Aren’t satisfied with their removable dentures
• Need extra support for their removable partial dentures

Most people can safely get dental implants, provided:

• They’re old enough. Facial growth and development need to be completed to ensure long-term success. That’s usually around age 16 (for girls) or 18 (for boys).
• They have healthy oral tissues.
• They’re in good general health. Some conditions will affect bone healing. If you’re a heavy smoker, suffer from uncontrolled chronic disorders like diabetes, or have had radiation therapy to your head or neck area, you’ll need to be evaluated on an individual basis by your dental provider.
• They have enough jawbone. If you’re missing the necessary amount of supportive bone for a dental implant, you may need a bone graft.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to your treatment plan:

Evaluation

• The first step is a free consultation at a dental office or ClearChoice dental implant center. During this initial meeting, you’ll meet your ClearChoice team. They’ll explain how teeth implants work and answer any questions you may have about the procedure. They’ll also provide a ballpark cost estimate.

Pre-procedure preparation

• If you decide to move forward, you’ll have a pre-procedure meeting with a restorative dentist or prosthodontist. A dental assistant will take a 3D CT scan of your mouth, to help create your treatment plan and a more detailed estimate of your cost.

Day of surgery

• On the day of your implant surgery, you’ll be given either local or general anesthesia. “It all depends on what type of anesthesia the patient wants to have,” says Dr. Michael Ayzin, a dentist in Costa Mesa, California.
• The surgeon will insert the titanium-screw implants into your jaw, to serve as artificial roots for your new teeth. After all the screws are placed, the surgeon will add abutments, to support your replacement teeth, and then install temporary crowns on the abutments.
• You’ll be moved to a recovery room to rest until the anesthesia wears off. Have someone there to get you home, since you will be sleepy from the anesthesia.

Permanent crowns

• About six months later, once your implants have healed, your temporary crowns will be replaced with your permanent teeth, which are usually made of porcelain in a dental lab.
• “You have to wait for your jaw to heal from the implant surgery before permanent prostheses can be attached, and it also takes a while for permanent prostheses to be made,” says Dr. Ayzin.

You shouldn’t feel any pain during the procedure because you’ll have local or general anesthesia. Postoperative pain medicine can be prescribed, to keep you comfortable as you recover.

“The placement of dental implants are virtually painless,” says Dr. Brian Dorfman, an oral surgeon in Anthem, Arizona. “Local anesthesia is always used, but in my practice, we use general anesthesia or IV sedation so that the patient is asleep for the procedure as well. This ensures a pleasant experience, and postoperative discomfort is usually minimal, with the use of pain medication.”

Your recovery depends on your dental implant surgery: whether you had more than one implant procedure or if you need bone grafts. Here are some general guidelines:

Discomfort

• Like with any type of dental surgery, you may experience some mild jaw soreness and swelling, says Dr. Ayzin, but nothing major—and the surgery does not usually require time off from work or normal activity.
• Your dentist will provide pain medications and antibiotics (to prevent infection) after surgery. Over-the-counter pain medications are usually adequate for alleviating any discomfort.
• For most people who have a single tooth replaced, recovery time is only a day or two. However, in more complex cases, recovery time is around 1-2 weeks.

Diet

• For the first month, and for three months if you get the All-on-4 implants, “it’s important to follow a soft-food diet,” says Dr. Ayzin. This will allow the surgical site to heal.
• A soft-food diet basically means eating pureed fruit, soup, canned fish and poultry, white rice, noodles, white bread, mashed potatoes, mushy cereal, well-done veggies, yogurt, etc.—and avoiding hard, crunchy, or chewy foods, like candy, pretzels, chips, nuts, raw veggies, steak and other tough types of meat, crusty bread, and so on.

Healing Process

• Your jaw will take about as long to heal as it would if you had a bone fracture—about three months, says Dr. Juan Arroyo, a dentist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• He explains the healing process: “When an implant is placed in the bone, the primary stability comes from the bone that the implant is placed in. As time goes by [at month one], the bone surrounding the implant softens up and behaves more like a fracture [the bone softens up at the line of fracture], to help form a callus. As this callus hardens, the implant gets integrated into the bone, therefore reaching ‘osseointegration.’”
• The minimum time needed for an implant to heal is three months.
• Depending on your situation, it may take up to five months for the lower jaw—and up to seven months for the upper jaw—to heal. Once your jaw is fully stabilized, you’ll return to ClearChoice and the surgeon will install your custom-made, permanent crowns.

Thanks to the temporary crowns, you’ll see results immediately. Your permanent crowns will be installed three to seven months after your initial surgery, depending on how long it takes for your jaw to heal.

Dental implants can last 25 years—or even longer—with proper oral care.

See ClearChoice before and after photos

A majority of RealSelf members rate their ClearChoice implants “Not Worth It,” for reasons that include having temporary crowns or permanent teeth break or getting uncomfortable, improperly placed implants.

There is also the possibility of the implants themselves breaking. “Reasons an implant may break include improper placement of the implants, gum conditions, smoking, or if the bite is off,” says Dr. Ayzin.

Because dental implants require surgery, there can be complications, including infections, gum damage, and nerve damage.

Dental implants require no special care or maintenance; you’ll brush and floss your implants just as you do your natural teeth.

You should also plan on regular dental care, including twice-annual cleanings and check-ups.

Just like with your natural teeth, you should avoid chewing on hard items, like ice, candy, or pencils, or using your teeth as tools. These habits can cause your crown to crack or chip, and lead to bone damage around the implant, causing it to loosen and even fail.

• You can also get dental implants from your dentist. ClearChoice is the name brand of a facility, not a procedure, so you don’t necessarily have to go to a ClearChoice location. RealSelf members give non-ClearChoice dental implants a far higher Worth It Rating.
• Fixed dental bridges are another option. They are made up of two crowns on either side of a missing tooth, with a false tooth (aka a pontic) in between. The bridge is cemented in place.
• Removable complete or partial dentures are the least permanent tooth replacement alternative. Replacement teeth are fixed to a plastic base that closely matches the color of your gums. The dentures have a clasp that attaches to your existing natural teeth and can be unclasped so the dentures can be removed to clean.

“Dental Implant Surgery.” The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

Babbush, C.A., et al. “Patient-related and Financial Outcomes Analysis of Conventional Full-Arch Rehabilitation Versus the All-on-4 Concept: A Cohort Study.” Implant Dentistry, April 2014.

Roehling, Stefan, et al. “Zirconia Compared to Titanium Dental Implants in Preclinical Studies-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Clinical Oral Implants Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2019.