Q: I have insurance that would cover a tooth extraction. However, I am considering getting a dental implant shortly thereafter from a specialist who is not covered by my insurance. Is it okay to save a few hundred dollars to get the tooth extracted by my current dentist, possibly wait a few months, and then the specialist would only need to do the implant?
A: We generally extract the teeth that we replace with dental implants. This gives us the option of an immediate implant placement or at the very least, the time to laser the socket and bone graft the extraction site for a future implant. On the rare occasion another specialist extracts a tooth before I place an implant, I instruct them to bone graft the socket and send the case over to our office ASAP so we can laser the area for bio-stimulation to create the environment for faster healing.
