Frequently Asked Questions

It’s the everyday name for immediate loading. In the morning the implants go in, and on the same day — once we’ve measured that each one has gripped firmly enough — a provisional bridge is screwed onto them. It’s fixed, not removable, and you walk out of the clinic with it in your mouth. That evening you’re already eating something soft. The provisional bridge is reinforced acrylic and is meant for the healing months, usually 3–6, until the implants fuse with the bone. Then we scan the jaw and make the permanent bridge, in zirconia or hybrid. Worth knowing in advance: “the same day” depends on the stability we measure during surgery. In most cases it works out; in a minority we don’t load, and you get a different temporary solution. We tell you that at the consultation, not on the day of surgery.

The network team at the clinic you chose — the implant surgeon and the restorative dentist — carries out the implant surgery and the restoration to the protocol, on the same plan approved at the planning centre. In other words, the person placing the implants and the person building the teeth on them work on the same CT and the same plan, and the one building the teeth decided where the implants would sit before anyone drilled. The network’s medical management follows the complex cases at every clinic. The warranty is the network’s, not one dentist’s — if you’ve moved house or your dentist has changed, the warranty stays. Its terms are in the document you get with the quote.

The cost of the consultation, and exactly what it includes, is something the call centre tells you when you book — it isn’t a sum we hide, it’s simply given over the phone. What you get: a meeting of about 45 minutes with a clinical exam, a reading of your CT scan (if you have a recent one, bring it; if not, we give you a referral to an imaging centre and you come with the scan) and an explanation of the options. You leave with a written quote for the treatment itself. That quote is itemised and final: a stage that’s been priced doesn’t get more expensive along the way, and if surgery reveals something that wasn’t in the plan, we tell you before we continue. There’s no pressure to decide on the spot. Plenty of people take the quote home and come back a week or two later with questions.

Seven clinics: Tel Aviv (the main clinic, 158 Menachem Begin Rd.), Bnei Brak (7 HaRav Kook St.), Rishon LeZion (1 Altalena St., 8th floor), Kfar Saba (119 Tchernichovsky St.), Netanya (4 HaTzoran St.), Haifa (1 Sokolov St., Hadar) and Beer Sheva (12 Yitzhak Ben Zvi St., Heichal Kinor David building, 1st floor). They all work to the same protocol, and you have the first consultation at the clinic nearest you — the surgery and the check-ups too. Booking for all of them is through one call centre, +972-52-592-6961, by phone or WhatsApp; say which city and you get an appointment there. Opening hours differ between the clinics, which is why they’re given when you book rather than on the site. And if you started at one clinic and it’s easier to carry on at another — your file, CT and plan are shared across the network, so that’s possible.

Yes, and it isn’t a slogan — it’s what the network is built on. Every clinic works to one clinical protocol written by the medical management: the same criteria for immediate loading, the same stages, the same patient instructions and the same check-up schedule (one week, one month, three months, then yearly). The planning and scanning equipment is identical. Complex cases are planned at the network planning centre, and from there the surgical guide and the provisional bridge come to the clinic — so what’s done in Haifa is planned in the same place as what’s done in Tel Aviv. The medical management follows those cases at every clinic. The quote is uniform too: same treatment, same price, in every city.

No. Age on its own doesn’t rule anything out, and patients in their 70s and 80s have immediate loading with us as a matter of routine. What does decide: general health and the bone. At this age we ask more about medication — blood thinners, osteoporosis drugs, diabetes control — and sometimes we coordinate with your GP first. Bring a list of your medication to the consultation. As for bone, anyone who’s worn a denture for years has usually lost some of it, but that’s exactly what tilted implants are for; the CT will tell us what’s there. There’s another side too: at 75, living with a denture that moves isn’t something you have to put up with “because it’s not worth it any more”. The surgery itself is under local anaesthesia, and most older patients go through it just like the younger ones.

Please do — it’s a good idea. A partner, a grown-up child, a friend — someone who’ll remember what you forget. The meeting is about 45 minutes with a lot of information: what the CT shows, what the options are, what each one includes, timetable, price. Most people get home and can’t remember half of it, and that’s natural. The person with you can sit in the room, ask questions and take notes. You get the summary and the quote in writing either way, so you can go back to it at home. On the day of surgery a companion is no longer optional but a necessity — you don’t drive yourself home after surgery, even without sedation. And if you need an adjustment — a plain-language explanation, extra time, another language — say so when you book.

Hebrew — always. Any other language — Russian, English, French, Spanish, Yiddish — depends on who’s on shift and on arranging it in advance with the call centre; if we can, we will. There are people on the team who speak various languages, but they aren’t at every clinic at every hour, so we can’t promise it for a particular clinic in advance. What does work: tell us when you book which language suits you, and we’ll fit the consultation in where we can — sometimes that means a different day or a different time. You can also bring someone to translate; it’s common and perfectly fine. The quote and the summary come in Hebrew, and if needed the team goes through them with you. The whole site is in six languages too, so you can read up before the meeting.

Yes, when the implants have measured stable — and that’s most cases. The bridge you leave with is provisional but fixed: screwed to the implants, not removable, and you can’t take it out at home. It’s reinforced acrylic in the shade you chose, it looks good, and nobody who doesn’t know can tell. You eat soft food with it and don’t bite into hard things. It’s meant for the healing months, and once the implants have fused with the bone (3–6 months) we replace it with the permanent bridge, in zirconia or hybrid. One caveat we always give: the decision is made during surgery, with the stability gauge in hand. If an implant hasn’t gripped firmly enough, we don’t load it that day and you get a different temporary solution. That happens in a minority of cases, and we tell you about the possibility in advance.

The first evening — soft and cold: yoghurt, pudding, mash, a smoothie. From day two, soft pasta, eggs, fish, cooked vegetables, soups, rice. Within a week most people are eating almost everything, except what needs a hard bite. And that’s the rule for all the healing months: no biting into hard things — nuts, crusty bread, steak, a whole apple, ice — until the dentist clears it, usually once the permanent bridge is in. The reason isn’t the provisional bridge, it’s the implants: during these months they’re fusing with the bone, and a hard bite could shift them. You can cut an apple into slices and eat it, just don’t bite into it. If you’re unsure about a particular food, ask at the check-up — that’s exactly what it’s for.

Then we don’t load that day. The implants stay in the bone and heal quietly for 3–6 months, as in the “standard” protocol, and you get a different temporary solution for the period — usually a temporary denture adjusted so it doesn’t press on the implants. After healing we go on to the permanent bridge as planned. We always keep that decision open, because loading an implant that hasn’t gripped firmly enough is the surest way to lose it. It happens in a minority of cases — more often in an upper jaw with soft bone — and we tell you about the possibility back at the consultation, so you don’t hear of it for the first time in the chair. The price doesn’t change because of it; what’s changed is the order, not the treatment.

Between two and four hours for one jaw. That includes the anaesthesia, extractions if you still have teeth, placing the implants through the guide, measuring stability, and fitting and adjusting the provisional bridge. The implant part itself is relatively short; what takes time is the extractions and getting the bridge right in the bite. There are breaks along the way. Two jaws — usually on two dates about a week apart, and only people coming from far away do both in one long day, six or seven hours. Plan on a full day: come after a meal, with someone to accompany you, and don’t go back to work that day. If you’ve chosen sedation with an anaesthetist, add time to come round — and then you certainly don’t drive home.

During the surgery — usually not. The anaesthesia is local, and what you feel is pressure and vibration, not pain. If you’re anxious you can choose sedation with an anaesthetist, and then you remember almost nothing. Afterwards — yes, there are two or three days of swelling and discomfort, sometimes a bruise on the cheek too. It’s controlled with ordinary painkillers on prescription, with cold on the first day. The swelling peaks on day two or three and comes down after that. Most patients tell us at the one-week check-up that it was less than they’d feared; the extractions, if there were any, are felt more than the implants. Pain that gets worse after day four, or a temperature, is something you call about rather than wait.

The provisional is reinforced acrylic. It’s light, a little thicker on the inside, easy to repair if something breaks, and meant for the healing months — to absorb the period while the implants fuse. It’s also a trial version: with it we check chewing, speech, bite height and tooth shape, and whatever we change on it carries over to the permanent one. The permanent bridge comes after 3–6 months, from a digital scan of the implants. It’s either zirconia — strong, thinner, doesn’t stain, colour-stable — or hybrid (a titanium frame with acrylic or composite teeth), which suits grinders and especially long bridges. Zirconia lasts 15 years and more; on a hybrid the teeth are renewed after 7–10 years and the frame stays.

When the stability on the day allows loading — which is most cases — zero. The extractions, the implants and the provisional bridge are done in the same chair, on the same day; you come in with the old teeth and leave with the provisionals. In the minority of cases where the implants haven’t gripped firmly enough, we don’t load, and then you get a different temporary solution — usually a fitted temporary denture — until the implants fuse and the bridge can be attached. Even then you don’t go home without teeth; we tell you about that possibility back at the consultation. Anyone telling you about “two weeks without teeth while the gums settle” is describing a different protocol, where the teeth are extracted first and the implants placed later. With us that isn’t the default, and if there’s a reason to do it that way in your case, you’ll hear it in advance.

Yes, but not like the permanent one. It’s acrylic, in the shade we chose together before surgery, with a tooth shape designed for your face, and anyone who doesn’t know sees no difference. People go to weddings in it. There are two things you do notice: it’s a bit thicker on the inside, and the tongue feels that for a day or two and then stops; and your speech is a little different for the first couple of days, mainly the S and SH sounds. It passes. The permanent zirconia, which comes after healing, is thinner, less shiny, and looks more like a “tooth”. And the provisional is also a trial run — whatever you don’t like about it (shape, shade, length) you say at the check-up, and it’s corrected in the permanent. That’s what it’s there for.

You can, and we do it — but it’s a long day: six or seven hours with a break in the middle, and at the end of it you have swelling in both jaws at once. Most people prefer two sessions about a week apart, and recover from the first before the second. The bite for both jaws is planned together either way, so there’s no difference in the result. Who a single day does suit: anyone coming from far away or from abroad, anyone who’s chosen sedation and doesn’t want to go through it twice, and anyone who simply wants to get it over with. If you live ten minutes from the clinic — why rush? We decide at the consultation, by the extent of the extractions, your health, and what suits you.

We take it out — it’s quick, under local anaesthesia — let the bone heal for two or three months, and place a new one. What happens with the bridge in the meantime depends on how many implants there are: with six, the bridge usually keeps working on the five that are left, and you barely notice the difference. With four — sometimes it has to come off temporarily, or you switch to another temporary solution until the new implant has taken. That’s why we plan more support points than you’d need “on paper”, and why we suggest six in the upper jaw. It happens to us rarely, mainly in smokers and in soft bone. The replacement is covered by the warranty under the terms of the agreement — check-ups and hygiene. If the bridge starts to feel loose, call; don’t wait.

Yes, when they’re positioned correctly and joined by a rigid bridge. The idea isn’t “four instead of eight” but spread: two straight at the front, two at the back tilted at up to 45° so they reach far back and use the bone that’s left at the front. With all four joined in one bridge, force on one implant is shared among them all, and none moves on its own. The method has existed and been documented since the 1990s, with high success rates over the years. Where we’d prefer six: the upper jaw, where the bone is softer; people who grind their teeth; anyone who wants a longer bridge further back. In a lower jaw with good bone, four hold like six. The CT decides, and you’ll see why on screen.

Usually 10–12 teeth per jaw — from the front teeth to the first molar on each side, sometimes the second. A full natural mouth has 14 per jaw (without wisdom teeth), so two to four are missing at the back. You don’t notice it when chewing: the rearmost molars contribute little and load a lot, and they’re the ones that would create a long lever on the back implants. You don’t see them when you smile either. What does decide how many teeth go in is where the back implants sit — the further back they reach, the longer the bridge can be. That’s one of the considerations when we suggest six implants rather than four for someone who wants a bridge up to the second molar.

In most cases no, and that’s really the main advantage of the method. Bone resorbs over the years mainly at the back — in the upper jaw the sinus drops, in the lower the nerve is close — and instead of building new bone there (months of healing and another operation), the back implants are tilted to use the good bone that’s left at the front. So someone who was told “you’ve no bone” on the strength of a panoramic X-ray doesn’t necessarily need a bone graft. When you do: when the bone at the front is very thin as well. Then we talk about preparation — a bone graft, extra-long implants — or an alternative such as an implant overdenture. That’s measured on a 3D CT, not on a hunch.

Not exactly. It’s the name of a method a Portuguese dentist developed in the 1990s together with one implant manufacturer, which registered the name as a trademark. Since then the method has become a generic term for any bridge on four implants with two of them tilted — like “Jeep” for a 4×4. The medical idea belongs to no one: implants tilted at an angle, a rigid bridge joining them, and loading on the same day. The implants we use come from established manufacturers with a long clinical record — not necessarily that one — and the method is the same. What is worth asking, at any clinic: which manufacturer, where you get spare parts in ten years’ time, and whether you get an implant passport. You’ll have our answers in writing.

No. That’s the big difference from an upper denture: the bridge sits on the implants only, as a slim arch along the ridge, and the palate is free. People who’ve switched from a denture talk about that more than about chewing — the taste and warmth of food come back, there’s no foreign-body feeling, no gagging, and you speak as before. Even the provisional bridge you leave with on the day of surgery has no palate. When part of the palate is covered: with a removable implant overdenture in the upper jaw — there the surface is needed for stability, though far less than with an ordinary denture. That’s one of the considerations when choosing between the two. And if you have a strong gag reflex — say so at the consultation; it affects the choice and how we scan.

Zirconia — 15 years and more, and usually what gets replaced before that isn’t the bridge but what’s under it: a screw that loosens is tightened at the yearly check-up, a worn component is replaced. The zirconia itself doesn’t stain and doesn’t change colour. A hybrid bridge — a titanium frame with acrylic teeth — behaves differently: the teeth wear and are renewed after 7–10 years, the frame stays, and the renewal is done in the lab without touching the implants. What shortens a bridge’s life: grinding without a night guard (a crack in zirconia usually starts there), poor cleaning that causes inflammation around the implants, and skipping the yearly check-up where a loose screw is found before it breaks. All three are in your hands.

Safety and load distribution — when there’s a reason. Six implants reduce the load on each one, allow a longer bridge further back, and leave a safety margin: if one implant out of six doesn’t take, the bridge usually keeps working on the five until it’s replaced. With four, losing one is a quarter of the support, and sometimes the bridge has to come off temporarily. When we’d suggest six: the upper jaw, where the bone is softer; people who grind or chew hard; a bridge facing strong natural teeth in the opposite jaw; anyone who wants teeth up to the second molar. When not: a lower jaw with good bone — there, two extra implants are two more drill holes and more money for no real benefit.

Yes. With four, the back implants are tilted and use the bone at the front; with six, the two extra implants go further back, and there has to be bone there — enough height and width, and in the upper jaw a reasonable distance from the sinus floor. If it isn’t there, the options are a sinus lift (closed, when 2–4 mm are missing, usually at the same visit; open when more is missing, which adds months), or simply four tilted implants with no preparation. So “six” isn’t always just the more expensive option — sometimes it’s the longer one too. The CT shows it in millimetres, and at the consultation you see on screen where there’s room and where there isn’t.

Because every implant is another drill hole, more bone that has to be there, more surgery time and more money — and in a lower jaw with good bone, four hold exactly like six. Two implants “for safety” where they aren’t needed are two unnecessary small operations, and sometimes an unnecessary sinus lift to make room for them. We suggest six when there’s a reason we can show you on the CT: an upper jaw with soft bone, grinding, a long bridge up to the second molar, or an opposite jaw with strong natural teeth. Not as a default, and not to pad out a quote. If we suggest six, you’ll see why on screen; if we suggest four, it’s because that’s enough.

Technically yes; in practice it isn’t worth it. The bridge is designed for a particular number of anchor points and their positions, and it’s made as a single unit. Adding two implants after healing means a new bridge — planning, scan, manufacture — and that costs more than two implants placed from the start in the same operation. The bone too: the spot where the extra implants would have gone keeps resorbing during the healing months, and what was possible on the day of surgery isn’t always possible a year later. So we decide at planning, on the CT, once. If there’s any doubt — borderline bone, grinding — we’d rather go for six from the start. What does happen in practice: an implant that doesn’t take is replaced with a new one, and that’s covered by the warranty. But that’s a replacement, not an addition.

Controlled diabetes — yes, with no special protocol. Uncontrolled diabetes — control first. The reason: high sugar slows wound healing and raises the risk of infection and of an implant that doesn’t take. What we ask for: a recent HbA1c, and we look at the range your treating doctor approves, usually up to about 8%. If you’re above it, we’ll ask you to work on it with your GP or endocrinologist before we set a date for surgery; the consultation and planning can happen now. On the day of surgery you take your medication as usual and eat breakfast — don’t come fasting. Bring your medication list and your latest result to the consultation; it saves a round trip.

It doesn’t rule you out, but we’ll say it straight: smoking lowers implant success rates and slows healing, and in the first days after surgery it’s the most common cause of a wound infection. What genuinely helps is stopping, even temporarily: at least two weeks after surgery, and a month if you can manage it. Cutting down around the surgery and the months of fusing improves the odds too. A heavy smoker who has no intention of stopping — still possible, but we’ll talk about it honestly at the consultation, and sometimes we’ll prefer six implants instead of four, or the delayed protocol. If you know you won’t manage to stop, tell us before, not after. There are things we can do about it.

Almost never. Our first question will be: based on what? A panoramic X-ray shows height roughly and doesn’t show width at all, and people are told “there’s no bone” without a 3D scan. Only a CT measures. And the second question: where is it missing? Thin bone at the back is the normal state after years without teeth, and that’s exactly what the tilted implants of All-on-4 are for — they use the bone that’s left at the front. There are also short implants (6–8 mm) and narrow ones, and a closed sinus lift that adds 2–4 mm at the same visit. A large bone graft is kept for the places where there’s genuinely no alternative. We’ve seen “no bone” jaws get a fixed bridge. Bring your CT, or take a referral, and we’ll look together.

It depends which drug, in what form, and for how long. Bisphosphonate tablets (Fosalan, for example) for a short period — usually possible, with care and follow-up. After many years on tablets, or when the drug is given intravenously, or with denosumab injections (Prolia) — a thorough work-up is needed: the risk of a healing problem in the jawbone is higher, and sometimes we coordinate a pause or the timing around the injection with your treating doctor. It isn’t decided over the phone. What you shouldn’t do is stop a drug yourself before the consultation. Bring the full medication list with doses and start dates, and a letter from your endocrinologist if you have one. The consultation and planning can go ahead regardless; only the surgery date waits for the work-up.

You’re not alone — a good share of the people who come to us came precisely because of years of putting it off out of fear. A few things help. First: the protocol itself is short — one operation instead of a series of treatments, and for many people that’s already half the solution. Second: sedation with an anaesthetist, arranged in advance; you sleep, you wake up when it’s all over, and you don’t remember. Third: the explanation. At the consultation we go through exactly what will happen, step by step, and in the room we tell you before every single thing what we’re about to do. You can raise a hand and stop. You can bring someone with you. And if you’d rather just come for a talk with no exam the first time — that’s fine too; tell the call centre.

Blood pressure controlled by medication — no. On the day of surgery you take your pills as usual, eat breakfast, and we measure before we start; if the reading is too high that morning we sometimes postpone, so it’s worth sleeping well the night before. Blood thinners (Coumadin, Eliquis and the like) — in most cases we don’t stop them; with Coumadin we check the INR a day or two before, and with the others we sometimes arrange skipping a single dose with your treating doctor, and control any bleeding locally. Never stop a blood thinner on your own before surgery. Bring an up-to-date medication list to the consultation, and if you have a cardiologist, a letter from them too.

Less than there was, for sure. The jawbone exists to hold teeth, and when there are no teeth it resorbs — up to half its width in the first year, and more slowly after that. A denture speeds that up, because it presses on the ridge without passing any load into the bone, and after 20 years the lower jaw is sometimes very thin. But: the loss is mainly at the back. At the front, between the two openings of the nerve, there’s almost always bone left — and that’s exactly where the tilted implants of All-on-4 go in. We’ve seen jaws described as “no bone” get a fixed bridge. There’s also an overdenture on two implants, which needs even less. What we won’t say without a CT is exactly how much is left. Bring the denture to the consultation — it tells us a lot.

Then we wait. Not because of the implant itself but because of three things around it: the CT scan, the anaesthesia, and the medication afterwards — painkillers and sometimes antibiotics. None of them is done in pregnancy without urgent need, and an implant isn’t urgent. What can happen now: a consultation. If you have a CT from before the pregnancy, bring it and we plan on that; if not, we have a conversation and a clinical exam without a scan, and complete the CT after the birth. That way the plan and the quote are ready, and after the birth, in coordination with your doctor, we set a date. A tooth that hurts or is infected in pregnancy is another matter, and that does get treated; for that, go to your dentist — don’t wait.

An implant that has fused well and is looked after — decades, sometimes a lifetime. The implant itself is a titanium screw inside the bone, and there’s nothing in it to wear out. What does get replaced is what sits on it: the crown may be replaced after 10–20 years, a screw that loosens is tightened at a check-up, and on an implant overdenture the nylon inserts in the attachments are changed every year or two. The things that shorten an implant’s life are known and hold no surprises: smoking, poor hygiene, untreated gum disease, uncontrolled diabetes, and an implant placed at the wrong angle — the last is solved by guided planning. What’s down to you: daily cleaning under the crown or bridge, and an exam and professional clean once a year. Keep those two up and the implant generally forgets it’s an implant.

A clear device, a bit like a night guard, printed from the digital plan and seated on the gum or on the remaining teeth during surgery. Inside it there’s a metal sleeve for each implant, and the drill and the implant pass through it — so the position, angle and depth planned on the CT reach the mouth without guesswork. In practice that means three things: the dentist doesn’t need to open the gum wide to see the bone, so the incision is small and there are usually no stitches; the implant sits where the crown needs it, not where it was convenient to place it; and the surgery is shorter, because the decisions were made beforehand. The guide is made individually for each patient, and you see the plan it’s based on, on screen, before surgery.

In suitable cases, yes — we extract and place the implant at the same visit, and it goes into the socket of the tooth that came out. That saves a whole operation and months of waiting, and keeps the bone and gum where they were. Two conditions: a clean socket with no active infection, and enough bone beyond the tip of the root for the implant to grip firmly. The second we see on the CT beforehand; the first we confirm finally at the moment of extraction, when we can see the socket. If there’s pus or the bone has been destroyed, we clean it out, let it heal for two or three months, and place the implant afterwards — sometimes filling the socket with bone material (socket preservation) so the bone doesn’t resorb in the meantime. For a front tooth, when conditions are good, we fit a provisional crown the same day so the gum shapes itself around it.

Titanium implants from established manufacturers — the kind with many years of clinical documentation and spare parts you can still get a decade from now, in Israel and abroad. The exact model, diameter and length of each implant are chosen for the case at the planning stage, not by package. Why it matters to you and not just to us: a screw or abutment that needs replacing in 12 years, with another dentist in another city, has to be something that can be ordered. That’s why at the end of treatment you get an implant passport — with the manufacturer, model, dimensions and position of every implant. If you have a question about a particular manufacturer, ask at the consultation; we’ll name it. What we don’t do: an undocumented implant just because it’s cheap.

CT — yes, MRI — no. The scan you need is a dental CT (CBCT): low radiation, a few minutes standing or sitting at an imaging centre, and you get a disc or a link. We give you the referral, and we read the result at the consultation on screen, together with you. The clinics themselves don’t take CT scans. If you have a CT of the jaws from the past year, bring it — there’s a good chance we won’t need a new one. An ordinary panoramic X-ray isn’t enough: it shows height roughly, doesn’t show width, and doesn’t show exactly where the nerve or the sinus is. People are told “you’ve no bone” on the strength of a panoramic — and on the strength of a CT they find out they have. Best to have the scan a few days before the consultation, so it’s with us at the meeting.

No. It has no nerves and it’s inside the bone — like the root of a tooth, which you don’t feel either. What you do feel at first is the crown: it’s slightly different from the tooth that was there, maybe half a millimetre higher or a touch wider, and the tongue finds it. After two weeks you forget that too. One thing, though: an implant doesn’t warn you when you bite something too hard the way a natural tooth does, which is why we say not to bite ice or seeds. Our patients can’t say which tooth is the implant without looking.

Yes. Dental implants are titanium, and titanium isn’t magnetic — it doesn’t move, doesn’t heat up and isn’t pulled by the MRI’s field. Tell the technician before the scan that you have dental implants (it’s a question on their form anyway), they note it, and that’s it. What can happen: a small distortion in the image around the mouth if the scan is of the head — the radiologist knows how to allow for it. A removable implant overdenture comes out for the scan, like any denture. You won’t set off airport security either. If the doctor ordering the scan wants to know exactly what’s in your mouth — the implant passport you received answers that.

Because for a bridge, two healthy teeth on either side of the gap are ground down to hold it, and in ten years you have three problems instead of one — the ground teeth weaken, sometimes crack or need root canal treatment, and the bridge itself lasts 10–15 years on average. An implant doesn’t touch the neighbours, and it preserves the bone in the area because it keeps passing load into it; under a bridge the bone keeps resorbing. Cleaning too: an implant is cleaned like a tooth, a bridge needs special floss underneath. When a bridge still makes sense: when the neighbouring teeth need crowns anyway, when there’s no bone and you don’t want to build it, or when a medical condition rules out surgery. It’s a short treatment — two or three weeks — and it has its place. Just not as the default.

A card you get at the end of treatment with the manufacturer, model, diameter and length of every implant, and its position in the mouth — sometimes with the serial-number stickers that come in the implant’s packaging too. Why it matters: an implant is a screw with an internal thread specific to the manufacturer and model. If in 15 years another dentist in another city needs to replace a screw, an abutment or a crown, they have to know what to order — and without the card it’s guesswork, sometimes with an X-ray, sometimes without success. The card also answers the questions of a doctor ordering an MRI. Keep it with your important documents, and photograph it onto your phone. If you lose it — the details are also stored in your file across the network, so you can ask for a copy. Your family dentist gets a copy of it in the summary letter.

It depends what matters to you, and what’s in your mouth. A fixed bridge (All-on-4 or 6) feels closest to natural teeth: it doesn’t move, doesn’t cover the palate, and you clean it in your mouth. It needs 4–6 implants and bone to hold them, and it costs more. An implant overdenture is a denture that locks onto 2–4 implants with attachments: it doesn’t move when you eat, needs no adhesive, and comes out in the evening for cleaning. It’s cheaper, needs fewer implants and less bone, and gives better support to the lips and cheeks — a real advantage for someone whose face has “sunk”. The downside: in the upper jaw it covers part of the palate, and the attachments need maintenance. Quite a few patients who could technically have had a bridge chose the overdenture, and rightly so. We decide together, on the CT, by your habits and budget.

Usually we combine, by area. Monolithic zirconia — a crown or bridge from a single piece — is the strongest, so it goes on molars, long bridges and anyone who grinds. The newer generations already look very good, but they’re still a little less translucent than a natural tooth. Porcelain on zirconia — a layer of porcelain over a zirconia core — is the most aesthetic, for front teeth and the smile zone; it’s a bit more delicate, so it doesn’t suit every position. E.max (lithium disilicate) gives a very natural translucency and suits a single front crown or veneers. Porcelain fused to metal still exists, but we hardly use it — because of the grey line that can show at the gum. You’ll see the recommendation on the provisional bridge before the permanent one is made.

Without implants — a few weeks to two months: diagnosis, a provisional restoration on the teeth, adjustments, then the permanent. With implants — 4–9 months, because after surgery we wait for the implants to fuse with the bone: two to four months in the lower jaw, four to six in the upper, and that can’t be hurried. With a bone graft or an open sinus lift — up to a year. What’s important to know: you have teeth the whole way through. You never walk around without; there are provisionals that work and look good, and with immediate loading they’re screwed onto the implants on the day of surgery. The number of visits itself isn’t large — most are short, and the long ones are the surgery and the fitting of the provisionals. The full timetable is written into the quote.

We give the teeth back the length and the bite height they’ve lost — and protect the result. When teeth wear down over years, the face “shortens”, the front teeth disappear from the smile, and sometimes the jaw aches. The rehabilitation: crowns or veneers that bring the height back up, sometimes on the whole mouth and sometimes on the back teeth only with a light adjustment at the front — depending on how much has worn and where. First we do it in provisionals: you live with them for a few weeks, we check chewing, speech and looks, and adjust. Only then do we copy to zirconia. And then the part without which it all comes back: a night guard. The grinding doesn’t go away because of the rehabilitation, and the guard is what protects the new crowns. If you know you grind, say so at the consultation — it changes the choice of material too.

Without implants: usually 6–8 visits over one or two months — diagnosis and scans, approving the digital preview, preparing the teeth and fitting the provisionals (the long visit, a few hours), a check-up or two on the provisionals, try-in and approval, and delivery of the permanent. With implants: you add the surgery and the healing months in between, but the number of visits itself doesn’t grow much — the one-week, one-month and three-month check-ups are short, about a quarter of an hour each. The long ones are two: the surgery, and the fitting of the provisionals or the try-in of the permanent bridge. All the visits are at the clinic you chose, with the same team. You get the full visit schedule, with an estimated length for each one, in writing with the quote, so you can plan work and holidays around it.

Sometimes, yes. When the wear is moderate and mostly on the back teeth, we can raise the bite with crowns or veneers on the back teeth only, and adjust the front teeth with light reshaping or composite. It depends how much has worn, where, and how the jaws meet. When the wear has already reached the front teeth, when the face has “shortened” and the lips are drawn in — it’s the whole mouth, and there’s no way round it: a partial raise would create an uneven bite, and all the force would go onto the teeth that weren’t treated. So our rule: test it in provisionals first. We raise the bite on provisional teeth, you live with it for two or three weeks, and we see whether the jaw agrees, whether you speak comfortably, whether it looks right. Only then do we decide how many teeth really need touching, and make the permanent.

Our provisionals are your new teeth in a trial version: same shape, same shade, same height — in a different material, acrylic or composite instead of zirconia. They’re made to the digital plan, not shaped by hand in the chair, so they look the way the result is meant to look. People go to weddings in them. The differences there are: they’re a bit less glossy, they pick up stains if you drink a lot of coffee, and they can break if you bite something hard — and then we repair them in the chair. They exist precisely to test things in real life: chewing, speech, how it looks in photos, what bothers you. Everything you tell us about them — “the front ones are too long for me”, “the shade’s too light” — goes into the permanent. Once it’s copied to zirconia, changing it means a new bridge.

Well, and without giving either of us up. We do the rehabilitation — implants, bridges, crowns, implant overdentures. Your family dentist carries on with what’s outside our field: routine cleanings, fillings, root canal treatment, whitening, and any natural tooth that was left out of the rehabilitation. At the end of treatment we send them a summary letter with what was done, which implants (with the implant passport), and how to clean around them. If they want to talk to us directly — gladly, and sometimes it helps, before root canal treatment on a tooth next to an implant, for instance. The yearly check of the implants and the bridge is done with us, because you need to know the bridge to take it off and clean underneath. A routine clean at theirs doesn’t clash with that.

Most people after 2–4 days. The swelling peaks on day two or three and then comes down; if you work at a computer and don’t mind looking puffy — sometimes as early as day three. A job with a lot of talking, meetings with clients — better to allow a week, partly because the provisional bridge still feels foreign to the tongue and you speak a little differently for the first couple of days. Heavy physical work, lifting, sport — after a week, roughly after the first check-up, because exertion raises blood pressure and can start bleeding. Plan to spend the day of surgery and the day after at home, with cold on the cheek and your head raised. If you had sedation, no driving the next day either.

Three things, once a day, and none of them takes long. An ordinary or electric toothbrush on the teeth and along the gum side, as always. An interdental brush or special floss (superfloss) under the bridge, where the bridge meets the gum — that’s where food gets stuck, and that’s where the trouble starts. And a water flosser (Waterpik) to rinse under the bridge; most of our patients buy one and say it’s what makes the difference. Once a year — an exam and professional clean at the clinic, and then sometimes we take the bridge off, clean it outside and put it back. You get hands-on instruction with the bridge in your mouth, not a leaflet. And if you don’t clean — the warranty doesn’t cover you, and that’s in the agreement, because inflammation around an implant isn’t bad luck, it’s a consequence.

You call and come in, usually the same day, and the repair is generally quick — an acrylic tooth that’s broken off is glued or replaced in the chair. The provisional bridge is made of acrylic for exactly this reason: it’s designed to absorb the period, and whatever breaks on it doesn’t harm the implants. It’s also why we say not to bite hard things in these months. If a large piece breaks, sometimes the bridge goes to the lab for a day and comes back, and you get a temporary solution in the meantime. What you do need to watch for: if the bridge starts to move or “click” — don’t wait for the check-up. A loosened screw is tightened in five minutes; a bridge moving for two weeks on healing implants is another story. You get a direct phone number on the day of surgery.

Three during the healing period, and then the scan for the permanent bridge. One week after surgery — we check the wound, take out stitches if there were any, and make sure the bridge isn’t pressing. One month — a check of the gums and the screws, and a move to a soft-to-medium diet. Three months — we check whether the implants have fused; in the lower jaw we can usually start the permanent, in the upper we wait another one to three months. All the check-ups are at your clinic, with the same team, and all are included in the quote. Once the permanent bridge is in: an exam and professional clean once a year. And in between, if something doesn’t feel right, you call — you don’t wait for the date. The check-ups are also a condition of the warranty, and that’s in the agreement.

Yes — on the implants and on the restoration, and it’s the network’s, not one clinic’s or one dentist’s. That means it’s honoured at every clinic in the network, even if you’ve moved house. The conditions: coming to the check-ups (one week, one month, three months, then yearly) and keeping up the hygiene as you were shown. That isn’t small print — an implant that fails through inflammation in someone who hasn’t come for an exam in two years isn’t a warranty case. What’s covered, for how long, and what happens with an implant that doesn’t take or a bridge that cracks — it’s all set out in writing in the warranty document you get with the quote, before you start. Read it. What’s on the site is a general description; the document is what’s binding.

Something soft and cold: yoghurt, pudding, mashed potato or sweet potato, avocado, ice cream without bits, a smoothie. Three “don’ts” for this evening: nothing hot — heat widens the blood vessels and can start bleeding; nothing spicy — it stings the wound; and no straw — the suction creates negative pressure in the mouth and disturbs clotting. Drink from a cup. The next day, soft pasta, scrambled eggs, fish, noodle soup. Within a week — anything you don’t have to bite into: rice, minced meat, cooked vegetables, soft bread without crust. What stays off the menu for all the healing months is a hard bite — nuts, steak, a whole apple. The written instructions you get on the day of surgery include all this, and more: don’t rinse your mouth vigorously on the first day.

Better not for at least two weeks, and a month if you can manage it. The reason isn’t a general one: smoking in the first two or three days is the most common cause of a wound infection and an implant that doesn’t take. The suction on the cigarette acts on the wound like a straw, the heat and smoke burn the stitched gum, and the nicotine narrows the blood vessels that healing depends on. If you know you won’t manage it, tell us before the surgery, not after: we can plan differently — sometimes six implants instead of four, sometimes the delayed protocol. What you can’t do is lie to yourself and to us, because the implant doesn’t know how to lie.

Yes, that’s exactly the peak. Swelling rises for 48–72 hours after surgery and then starts to go down; sometimes a blue-yellow bruise joins it on the cheek or neck and drifts downwards over the days — that’s normal too. What helps: cold on the first day (a bag of frozen vegetables in a cloth, 20 minutes on, a break, again), warmth from day three to disperse it, sleeping with your head raised on two pillows, and keeping up the painkillers by the clock rather than only when it hurts. What isn’t normal, and then you call instead of waiting for the check-up: a temperature above 38 °C, swelling that grows after day four instead of going down, a bad taste or a discharge that doesn’t clear. The direct number is on the instruction sheet.

Yes — especially then. The one-week and one-month check-ups look for things you can’t feel: a screw that’s loosened slightly, a pressure point on the bridge that will cut into the gum in two weeks’ time, a stitch that hasn’t dissolved, gum that isn’t closing around an implant. Five to ten minutes that save an hour of repair, and sometimes an implant. The three-month check-up isn’t a formality either — that’s where we check whether the implants have fused and decide when to start the permanent. After the permanent: once a year, an exam and professional clean, and then sometimes we take the bridge off and clean underneath. And what’s in the agreement: if you don’t come to the check-ups, the warranty doesn’t cover you. Not as a punishment, but because nobody can vouch for an implant no one has seen in two years.

Because there’s no single price. The sum follows from the number of implants (four or six per jaw, or two for an overdenture), the type of restoration (fixed bridge, implant overdenture, single crown), the material of the permanent one (zirconia, hybrid), and any preparation that might be needed — extractions, a sinus lift, a bone graft — and all of that is only known after an exam and a CT. A number we wrote here would be right for some people and misleading for the rest. What we do promise: the quote you get at the end of the first consultation is itemised, written and final. It lists every stage and what’s included in it, and you’d get the same quote at any clinic in the network. You can take it home and compare. And if you want a rough idea over the phone before you come — ask the call centre; they’ll tell you the range honestly.

Yes, in two ways that can also be combined. The first is spreading it over the stages of treatment: part at planning, part on the day of surgery, and the balance when the permanent bridge is delivered — so the payment is spread over the healing months anyway. The second is credit-card instalments on each part. You don’t pay everything up front. Worth knowing: the quote is locked to the approved plan, and a stage that’s already been priced doesn’t get more expensive along the way. If a need comes up mid-surgery that wasn’t in the plan — bone that needs building up, say — we tell you before we continue, not on the bill at the end. The exact split, and any other option, is settled at the consultation with the quote in hand.

Sometimes. The health funds’ supplementary plans and private dental insurance reimburse part of the cost of implants and crowns in certain cases — how much, and for what, depends on your policy, so it’s worth calling the insurer before the consultation and asking what’s covered and what they need to receive. What we provide: an itemised quote with the treatment codes, medical certificates, a signed treatment plan, and receipts for every payment — everything the insurer asks for. If the insurer requires its own form, bring it and we’ll fill it in. The refund comes to you from the insurer, not through us, so the payment to the clinic is in full and you claim the refund afterwards. Ask the call centre; it comes up in almost every conversation.

Usually the difference isn’t the price but what the quote describes. Three questions to check in every quote. One: what’s included — the CT referral and who pays for the scan, the surgical guide, the provisional bridge, all the check-ups, the permanent bridge, a night guard, and a written warranty. A quote where the check-ups or the provisional are “extra” is cheap on paper and expensive later. Two: who carries out each stage, and who’s responsible afterwards — a single dentist, or a clinic that will still be there in five years. Three: what the permanent bridge is made of. An acrylic bridge called “permanent” isn’t the same product as zirconia, and in a few years you’ll feel the difference. Bring us another quote; we’ll go through it together and tell you where the real difference is.

Not necessarily, and sometimes the comparison simply isn’t like for like. A cheap offer from abroad is often an offer for a different product: an acrylic bridge called “permanent” instead of zirconia, without the check-ups in the year after, and without a warranty you can actually use from here. Add flights, a hotel, days off work — twice, because the permanent bridge comes months later — and what happens if an implant doesn’t take or a screw breaks the week after you get back. The right comparison is on the same product: zirconia, all the check-ups, a written warranty, someone you can reach by phone in the first week. Bring the offer from abroad to the consultation; we’ll go through it line by line, and if it really is the same thing — we’ll say so.

No. In stages: part at planning, part on the day of surgery, and the balance when the permanent bridge is delivered — so the payment is spread over the healing months anyway. Each part can be split into credit-card instalments. The quote is locked to the approved plan: a stage that’s already been priced doesn’t get more expensive along the way, even if a few months have passed. If surgery reveals a need that wasn’t in the plan — a socket that needs bone material, say — we tell you before we continue, not after, and you decide. You get the document setting out the stages and the sums in writing before you start, and it’s also what the insurer asks to see. If something in the payment structure doesn’t work for you, say so at the consultation; there’s room for flexibility, and it’s better discussed before than halfway through.

Three months. After that we update it if the prices of materials and lab work have changed — in practice that happens about once a year, and not by much; usually the quote you get after six months is identical. If you decide after a year or more, we re-examine, and sometimes a new CT is needed, because the mouth changes: bone resorbs, a borderline tooth has gone, and sometimes the plan changes with it — usually not in the cheaper direction. That’s not a way of pressuring you; it’s a fact about bone. If you need time to decide, say so; the quote doesn’t disappear, and even after three months you can call and ask for an update without coming in. And what stays valid with no time limit is your file, the CT and the plan — they’re kept across the network.

Yes. Your medical record, CT scan, digital scan and plan are stored across the network, not at one clinic, so you can start with a consultation at the clinic near work and have the surgery and check-ups at the one near home. It happens to us quite a lot — someone works in Tel Aviv and lives in Kfar Saba, say. The quote doesn’t change, because it’s the same across the network. One thing we do recommend: have the check-ups after surgery at the clinic where you were operated on, simply because the team there saw your mouth on the day. If that’s not convenient, tell the call centre and we’ll sort it out. Say when you book where you’d like each stage.

The network dentist at the clinic you chose — not someone who comes in specially, but the person who works there and knows the protocol. They don’t start from scratch: the plan is made at the network planning centre, on your CT, and approved before a date is set. The surgical guide and the provisional bridge are printed to that plan and arrive at the clinic ready. On the day, the dentist works through the guide, so the position and angle of every implant were settled beforehand. Complex cases — very little bone, both jaws, a particular medical condition — are followed by the network’s medical management. If you’d like to know in advance who’ll be operating, ask the call centre — they’ll tell you by name.

No. The quote is built around the treatment, not the address: the number of implants, the type of restoration (fixed bridge, implant overdenture, single crown), the material of the permanent bridge, and whatever needs doing beforehand — extractions, a sinus lift, a bone graft. The same mouth with the same plan gets the same quote in Haifa and in Tel Aviv. What’s included is the same too: the CT referral, guide, provisional bridge, check-ups, permanent bridge, warranty. What can change is the plan itself, and only after an exam: if a dentist at one clinic saw a reason for six implants rather than four, the price will reflect that. The quote is given in writing, and you can compare it line by line.

You carry on in the same network, at the clinic nearest your new address. Your file, CT, plan and the provisional bridge already in your mouth — every clinic recognises all of it, because they all work to the same protocol and on the same system. The warranty moves with you too, because it’s the network’s, not the clinic’s. What you need to do: call the call centre, say where you’ve moved to, and book the next check-up at the new clinic. The team there will have your file before you arrive. There’s one case where we’d still ask you to go back to the old clinic — when the surgery was only days ago and the dentist who operated wants to see the wound themselves. After the one-week check-up, it no longer matters.

Call the call centre — +972-52-592-6961 — or send a WhatsApp to the same number, or fill in the form on this site. Say which city you want, and if you have a preference for a particular dentist, say that too. We get back to you the same working day with an appointment. Things worth mentioning in that call: whether you have a recent CT scan (then you bring it), whether you’d like the consultation in a language other than Hebrew (it depends on who’s on shift and on availability, so we arrange it in advance), and whether you need any adjustment — a lift, someone to accompany you, extra time. The form on the site is a request for contact, not an appointment; the appointment is fixed only once the call centre confirms it by phone.