What Is a Dental Implant? The Process, the Timeline and the Real Price

What an implant is, every stage from the 3D scan to the final crown, how long each one takes, and a price breakdown where the crown, the scan and the grafting are listed separately.

Written and kept up to date by the CureBooking medical travel team · Last updated October 2026

The short answer

An implant is a titanium post placed where a tooth root used to be. Bone grows onto its surface over three to six months, and it then carries a crown that works like a natural tooth without touching the teeth next to it.

The process is two visits, not one: placement and healing, then the permanent crown. Each visit is about five days. Anyone promising a finished implant and final crown in a single week is either fitting a temporary and calling it final, or loading the implant before the bone has fused to it.

Price with us starts at €500 per implant (Neodent, Straumann Group) or €700 for premium Straumann systems, plus the crown on top from €160 for zirconia. The 3D CBCT scan is €250, bone grafting €250 and a sinus lift €300 where the anatomy needs them — listed separately on purpose, because a single all-in number hides which of them you actually need.

Stage by stage, with real timings

Stage	What happens	Time
Assessment	Photographs or X-rays reviewed before you travel; written plan and price	Before booking
Examination and CBCT	3D scan showing bone height, width and where the nerve and sinus sit	Day 1, about an hour
Placement	Local anaesthetic, a small gum incision, the implant placed, the gum closed	30–60 min per implant
Healing (osseointegration)	Bone fuses to the implant surface. You go home with a temporary where needed	3–6 months
Abutment and scan	The healing cap is replaced by the abutment, the final crown is scanned or impressed	Second visit, day 1–2
Crown fitted	Made in the clinic laboratory, tried in, bite adjusted, cemented or screwed	Second visit, day 3–5
Follow-up	Hygiene visit every 6 months, for life	Ongoing

Why the 3D scan is not optional

A panoramic X-ray is a flat picture of a three-dimensional problem. It cannot tell the dentist how wide the bone is, exactly how far below the sinus floor the drill can safely go, or where the nerve canal runs in the lower jaw. A CBCT scan shows all three.

That is why the two serious complications of implant placement — nerve injury in the lower jaw and sinus perforation in the upper — are largely avoidable complications. They are visible before they happen. If a quote does not mention a 3D scan, ask whether one is taken; the answer tells you how the clinic plans.

The price, broken down

Item	Our price	When you need it
Examination	€70	Always
CBCT 3D scan	€250	Always, before placement
Implant (Neodent, Straumann Group)	€500	Per implant
Premium Straumann Group implant	€700	Per implant, where the case calls for it
Zirconia crown on the implant	from €160	Per implant, at the second visit
Monolithic zirconia	€250	Back teeth, grinders
Bone graft	€250	Where bone width or height is short
Sinus lift	€300	Upper back jaw with a low sinus floor
All-on-4 full arch	€3,000 per arch	Full-arch rehabilitation

Hotel and airport transfers are included in full-mouth and multi-implant packages; a single implant is quoted treatment-only with the hotel arranged at cost. Your exact figure comes in writing after a photo or X-ray review, before you book.

What you are actually buying at this price

A traceable implant system. Straumann Group (Neodent), with an implant passport issued in your name recording the system and reference numbers — the document any dentist at home needs to order a matching part years later.
Ivoclar ceramics for the crown, from an on-site laboratory, so fit and shade are adjusted in the building with you there.
Ministry of Health health-tourism authorisation at the clinic (lead clinic licence ST-0974), and treatment by licensed dentists and oral surgeons.
A written warranty: up to lifetime on premium implants, 5 years on zirconia crowns.
Four cities — Kuşadası, Antalya, Alanya, Istanbul — with the same plan, materials and warranty in each. You choose for flights and holiday, not for quality.

What makes a quote go up — and what should make you suspicious

Legitimate reasons your price rises after assessment: grafting or a sinus lift where bone is short, an extraction that has to heal first, treating gum disease before placement, a premium implant system in a demanding site, or a tooth next door that needs its own treatment.

Reasons to ask harder questions: a number quoted before anyone has seen an X-ray; a full mouth promised in one visit; an unnamed implant "equivalent to Straumann"; a price that includes PRP, vitamin drips and a laser treatment you did not ask about; and an all-in figure with no itemisation, which makes it impossible to see what was left out.

Questions people ask

Is an implant painful?

Placement is under local anaesthetic and most people find it easier than an extraction: pressure and vibration rather than pain, 30 to 60 minutes per implant. Soreness for a few days afterwards is managed with ordinary painkillers. Sedation is available for dental anxiety.

Why two visits?

Because bone biology does not negotiate: osseointegration takes three to six months. The first visit places the implant, the second fits the permanent crown. Where appearance matters in the meantime, a temporary is fitted.

How long does an implant last?

Published long-term studies put survival around 95% at ten years in healthy non-smokers who attend check-ups, and many implants last decades. The crown on top is the part more likely to need replacing, typically at 10 to 15 years.

Can I get an implant immediately after an extraction?

Sometimes, in a clean site with good bone, and it saves months. In an infected socket or where the bone wall is lost, the site is allowed to heal first. The CBCT and the examination decide this, not the calendar.

What if I have no bone left?

Options are grafting, a sinus lift in the upper jaw, shorter or angled implants where anatomy allows, or a different plan such as a bridge or an All-on-4 arch. What is not an option is placing an implant into bone that cannot hold it, and a clinic that offers to is not protecting you.