Which dental implant manufacturer should I choose?

Choose either Astra Tech or Straumann. Both are excellent implant. Just as important or even more so to have excellent surgical implant placement and restoration of the teeth. Long term maintenance and monitoring of the implants also key to success.

Is it not absurd that the decision about which implant to use is being put on to you, the patient. Cost is but one factor. Maybe you decided on "going overseas" to reduce the costs. Surely, more important is the experience and confidence the person placing the implant has with the implants being placed. That is not the only factor, the restorative protocol used for the implants can have a great effect on the survival of the implants and on the function and aesthetics of the final result. These days there are some excellent implantologists all around the world, but with all due respect, if problems arise in the healing process then you are going to be left in Tampa wondering where to go to get help. Maybe you will need to return to Hungary to get it sorted out. Maybe multiple visits will be needed. There are some very highly skilled operators in your region. Perhaps you could get some opinions closer to home before committing to traveling to Hungary for your therapy. If nothing else then you would be better informed and able to participate in the some of the decisions that need to be made in your particular situation.

It seems like you are shopping for the cheapest solution to your problem. Would you shop for a cheap heart surgeon? A cheap facelift? Someone is implanting a medical device in your body. You should be shopping for the most experienced surgeon, not the cheapest. In your case, definitely go for the cheapest surgeon, cheapest implant in the cheapest country you can find. You are asking ridiculous questions in a medical forum. If you want quality, find someone in your home country that can handle problems if they arise. Are you going back to your cheap surgeon when problems arise? Or are you going to your local quality surgeon for answers? Please, think through your question and realize you are making a medical decision, you are not buying a TV and looking for the best price. I wish you the best but quit asking for cheap. Dr. J

You seem pretty unhappy with the Doctors in the US. Doctors in Europe have similar training and their could be a lot of difference in experience and services in Europe. But, I think the standards are different in the US. I had several patients getting their dental treatment in Europe and had to redo the work in the US again, They paid twice as much to redo the work. As a general rule, in my practice, I don’t accept patients ( anymore) From out of the area because of time constraints, stress, lab, changes ( color, shape..) parts not fitting properly... the need of follow ups, too many issues. The advice you have been given here is because we have been there and we know that issues can arise regardless of the facility or the training of the doctor. The bottom line you need to get the best treatment not just any treatment, it is your health after all. About the cost, yes, it cost a fortune here. But, please ask your doctor about his expenses and compare it to our expenses here before you make assumption about the excellent US doctors. If you are going back and forth regularly, then I think it may be a good idea to get it done in Eastern Europe in case you need follow ups. by the way, I would use either Strauman or Zimmer. Good luck, hope you are making the right decision.

Suggesting that you are doing implants overseas, always brings out interesting comments. Nevertheless, it is true that prices for implants in the US are outrageously expensive. But, that has nothing to do with the dentists here. It's just part of our ridiculous healthcare system, where prices for everything are sky high relative to anywhere else in the world. The one big problem with doing implants overseas, though, is that there is a restorative aspect to all implant cases, and it is not always easy to do surgery in one country and restoration in another. The US restorative dentist, may not feel comfortable interacting with a surgeon overseas, and vice versa. So unless you can do both the surgery and restoration overseas (meaning you will be staying or visiting the country continuosly for around a year or so), I'm not sure it's a good idea and/or if you really save much, considering travel costs. It's a complicated question actually for which every case is unique. Now in terms of implant manufacturers. All of the manufacturers you were recommended are well-known and respected worldwide. It won't matter which brand you choose of those three. The important thing is just finding the right surgeon and restorative specialist for those brands, and make sure they can all work together as a cohesive team on your treatment plan. Good luck.

David, I'm British so I'm not biased in favour of either Budapest or Tampa! There are many excellent implant clinics in Budapest and towards the Austrian border, because traditionally many Austrians and Germans have travelled to Hungary for their dental treatment. Their dental fees back home are almost (but not quite!) as ridiculous as your medical/dental fees in the USA. I would have no qualms about being treated in Hungary, particularly if you travel there regularly. However, I would tend to go for either Astra Tech or Straumann implants merely because these are available worldwide and both have a strong research base. If you run into long term problems and are no longer visiting Hungary you should have no difficulty finding a dentist in Tampa who could help you out. Megagen are a fairly new entry to the market and not widely used. Also their research base is negligible. Incidentally, when you have had your treatment make sure the dentist gives you all the details of your implants - manufacturer, dimensions, catalogue reference number, etc. You would be surprised how many patients pitch up with an implant problem several years down the line and have no idea what brand of implant they have had stuck in their head. A bit like buying a car but not knowing the make!

I have used the HiTech system from Israel and have had as good a luck with it as I have with Stryker Mis-7 and others. They use a universal group of tooling and hardware which works on several other systems. The Implant body is only 79.00 and abutments and attachments are priced le$$ a lot le$$. I use the Logic , Logic plus mostly, and self thread. All are clones of big names, that use the same tooling drills and hardware. Same day service and 5 star service. Leonard Linkow once said " the brand doesn't matter as long as they're threaded and you put them in right, they'll work!" We pass the savings on to the patient which tends to open up more implant opportunities.