Fountain Valley patients drive 10 to 15 minutes west on Warner or Heil to have dental implants placed by a periodontist rather than a general dentist. Safari Dentistry and Implants does the CT scan, bone grafting, implant surgery and crown at its Goldenwest and Heil office in Huntington Beach, with oral sedation available and the full fee quoted in writing at the consultation.
How the implant process works at Safari
Getting a dental implant takes three to four visits over three to six months: a consultation with a CT scan, the surgery to place the post, a healing period, and the visit where the crown is attached. For Fountain Valley patients every one of those visits happens at Goldenwest and Heil, because the periodontist who places the implant also restores it.
- Consultation and CT scan. The scan shows bone height and width, the nerve and the sinus. You look at it with the periodontist and get a written plan and fee.
- Bone grafting if needed. Thin bone is built up first, or at the same visit as the implant when the scan allows it. Sinus lifts for upper back teeth are done here too.
- Implant placement. About an hour for a single implant, under local anesthetic. Oral sedation is available. Most patients are back to normal in two days.
- Crown. After healing, an intraoral scan is taken and the ceramic crown is made and fitted.
Why a periodontist rather than a general dentist?
Periodontists train for three years after dental school in the gum and bone around teeth, which is exactly where an implant lives. The long-term failures of implants are almost all gum and bone problems, and a periodontist is the specialist who prevents and treats them. Having that specialist do the placement and the follow-up is the difference between an implant that lasts twenty years and one that needs rescuing.
Why Fountain Valley patients choose Safari for implants
A lot of Fountain Valley patients are second opinions: a group practice near Mile Square Park recommended an implant, a graft and a sinus lift, and they want a specialist to say whether all three are needed. The periodontist reads the scan with you and prices only what the bone requires. The office is close enough that healing checks are a short trip rather than a morning off work.
Cost, insurance and payment plans
You leave the first visit with the fee written down: implant, abutment, crown, any grafting, and the follow-up visits. That number does not change once you are in the chair. The front desk checks your PPO or HMO benefits first, tells Fountain Valley patients on Medi-Cal Dental what the program will and will not pay for, and sets up monthly payments for the balance if you want them.
What to bring to your first visit from Fountain Valley
- Any recent X-rays or a treatment plan from another office, for a second opinion.
- Your insurance card or Medi-Cal Dental member number; benefits are checked before the scan.
- A list of medications, especially blood thinners and osteoporosis drugs.
- A driver if you would like oral sedation for the surgery visit.
Getting to the office from Fountain Valley
Safari Dentistry and Implants is at 16511 Goldenwest St, Unit 101, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, about 4 miles from Fountain Valley and usually 10 to 15 minutes by car. From Fountain Valley take Heil Ave or Warner Ave west across Newland, Beach Blvd and Gothard to Goldenwest St. The office sits at the corner of Goldenwest and Heil. From the Mile Square Park side, Brookhurst north to Heil and then west is the simplest route.
- Hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 AM to 4 PM. Same-day emergency time is held each open day.
- Parking: free, in the lot at the door, with a level entrance.
- Patients come from: the Mile Square Park neighborhoods, Green Valley, the Talbert Ave corridor near Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and the Brookhurst and Warner area.