“Dedicated to Enhancing Your Smile with Exceptional Care and Expertise”.
“Dedicated to Enhancing Your Smile with Exceptional Care and Expertise”.
“Dedicated to Enhancing Your Smile with Exceptional Care and Expertise”.
“Dedicated to Enhancing Your Smile with Exceptional Care and Expertise”.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Angela Leung, DDS – Last reviewed August 19, 2026
If you’re dealing with missing teeth and want a plan you can trust, our implant dentistry team helps patients near San Francisco choose dental implants that fit their bite, bone, and long-term goals. In our office, we explain options today in plain language, so you can replace teeth comfortably and regain a confident smile with more confidence.
At Angela Leung DDS PC – The Endodontics Implant Center, patients from San Francisco and nearby communities can get tooth-saving specialty care and dental implants in one place so your plan stays coordinated. When patients near San Francisco are weighing treatment choices for missing teeth, the right plan often combines modern dentistry with conservative decision-making, not rushing into surgery or repeating short-term repairs.
Randy Alvarez (00:00:00.00)
Let’s talk about single-tooth implant. Let’s just suppose they’re sent to you as an endodontist, and you can’t save the tooth. Why a dental implant over a traditional bridge? What are the advantages?
Dr. Angela Leung (00:00:11.02)
The advantage of an implant, nowadays, you could literally remove the bad tooth and put the implant in on the same day. You don’t have to cut down your adjacent teeth that will damage them because in the long run, you’re going to be having a bridge that will have problems, that will have decay underneath, that you may eventually need a root canal. With single-tooth implants, you don’t have those issues at all. You put the implant in, a few months later, you put the permanent tooth in, and you’re done.
Randy Alvarez (00:00:37.10)
So your own family members. I think you said that. I’ve interviewed you where you said, I mean, if they were missing just one tooth, you would never do a traditional bridge.
Dr. Angela Leung (00:00:45.11)
I haven’t yet, really.
Randy Alvarez (00:00:46.00)
Really?
Dr. Angela Leung (00:00:46.11)
Yes.
Speaker 1 (00:00:47.03)
So always a single implant, that’s the case.
Speaker 2 (00:00:50.07)
Well, most of my family members that have come to me when they have a missing tooth, I have been replacing the implants only and exclusively.
Question (00:00:04.14)
How much do dental implants cost and what changes the price from patient to patient?
Dr. Leung (00:00:10.23)
Average implant costs from start to finish, and when I say start to finish, I include the implant itself with the abutment and crown. I would say somewhere in the 4,000 to 5,000 range. In terms of what will change the price, it’s really about whether the site that receives the implant, whether there’s sufficient bone. If there’s insufficient bone, then you have to do some type of bone graft to create the volume of bone in order for the implant to be placed successfully. Bone graft fees can change anywhere from very simple, like a socket graft, to building out the whole ridge. So that could change the price significantly.
Question (00:00:55.04)
Am I a candidate for dental implants if I have bone loss or gum disease?
Dr. Leung (00:01:00.16)
If you come in with sufficient bone, then yeah, we can plant it and can do the implant without any further additional graften. But if, let’s say, you don’t have sufficient bone, you can always do the bone graft prior to implant placement. I can’t say that nobody is eligible until you really see what we have to work with.
Question (00:01:25.04)
How long does the implant process take from consultation to final tooth?
Dr. Leung (00:01:30.23)
It could be as quick as about 4-5 months. Let’s say the patient has sufficient volume of bone, and so we’re pretty much ready to go to have the implant placed. And the integration time for the average patient, it’s about 3 months. And if they come back to do the impression, the leeway to give the lab a couple of weeks to fabricate the abutment and crown, I would say about 4 months will be the average time from start to finish.
Question (00:02:04.13)
Does getting a dental implant hurt and what is recovery like?
Dr. Leung (00:02:09.07)
With every procedure, any surgical procedure, the patient will get numb. There are different ways to get the patient to be numb, but the most common is, of course, local anesthesia. There are other ways for the patients that are phobic. We do a lot of sedation with patients, and that’s a way of putting the patient either to sleep completely or partially based on what type of technique that we use. It’s pretty routine nowadays with having implant placed and having minimal discomfort or pain afterwards.
Question (00:02:45.17)
How long do dental implants actually last and what makes them fail?
Dr. Leung (00:02:50.19)
Now, where there are a lot of patients that are bruxers, grinders, clenchers, when there’s an overload of excessive occlusal or lateral forces, that’s what implants don’t like. If you put excess force on implants over time, the tooth, the crown can potentially fracture, the bump and screw that pulls the implant in place can potentially break, and or even the implant itself. This is why regular hygiene and showing up for regular recalls really matter, because if things like that were to happen, we can catch it during its early onset, so it can easily be addressed rather than waiting for the whole implant to completely fail before the patient shows up for their recall visits.
Question (00:03:40.24)
Can I get a tooth pulled and an implant placed on the same day?
Dr. Leung (00:03:45.07)
Yes. It really depends on the patient’s bone anatomy. In a lot of our cases, this is what they call an immediate placement. The way you describe it, where you remove the tooth and put the implant in and grapple at the same time, yes, it’s possible. But it really depends on the site and the bone availability for that particular case.
Question (00:04:11.02)
Does insurance cover dental implants? What payment options do you offer?
Dr. Leung (00:04:16.28)
It really depends on the plan. Nowadays, most insurance plans will cover it. But again, it’s based on what the patient’s policy, what policy that they have purchased and whether they have implant coverage. As the patient base comes in, what we really have to do, like any dental office, is we will help the patient find out if their particular policy will cover dental implants. If, let’s say, whether there’s partial coverage on implant or if their insurance policy does not cover implant at all, we do offer in-house payment plans, but typically, our policy is by the time the procedure patient is completed, their payment has to be paid in full. If a patient needs an extended payment plan, we do work with third-party health care financial-related agencies that can give them the option of paying with more extended time or a lower monthly cost. So yes, those are options that are available.
We start with a clear assessment of natural teeth. When your own teeth can be predictably treated and restored, we prioritize that and we treat infection early when it threatens the tooth. When a tooth can’t be saved, we plan dental implants so you can replace teeth with a stable, permanent solution that supports function and oral health.
We recommend replacement when saving a tooth won’t be stable long term or creates repeated infection risk. If a tooth is fractured beyond repair, has severe structural loss, or repeatedly fails despite good dentistry, it may be time to replace it with dental implants that are planned around your bite, bone, and long-term maintenance.
For patients near San Francisco who want fewer surprises, this “save or replace” framework keeps decisions consistent. It also helps patients understand when a replacement is truly the more permanent solution, instead of an expensive cycle of retreatment.
When you have gaps, you may be replacing missing teeth in one area or across an arch. The best choice depends on your goals, your bone levels, and how you want your teeth to look and work.
Dental implants can replace a single tooth without preparing neighboring teeth for a bridge. We design the final dental crown so it looks natural; after healing, the implant is capped and finished with the dental crown so it feels like a complete tooth. For many patients, this is the closest match to a real tooth rather than an artificial tooth.
For larger spaces, we can use dental implants to replace two or more teeth. We also discuss single tooth multiple teeth planning, because sequencing changes when you’re replacing one site versus rebuilding an arch section. In some cases, individual implant crowns are best; in others, a shared design can be simpler to clean.
If you’re missing teeth across an arch, implant dentures can improve comfort and stability compared with traditional dentures. Dental implants help secure the denture so patients can speak and eat with less movement.
For extensive tooth loss, a fixed arch bridge supported by dental implants can restore appearance, aesthetics, and function, supporting the form of your bite. Many patients see this as a highly viable solution when they want fixed teeth again. It can also reduce the considerable impact that multiple missing teeth can have on daily comfort.
Dental implants restore chewing efficiency and help protect the jaw and support the jaw by reducing shifting of remaining teeth. For many patients near San Francisco and South San Francisco, dental implants are a predictable way to replace teeth and support daily life and a well-planned approach can feel closer to a real tooth than an artificial tooth.
Replacing missing teeth with durable artificial implants.
Specialized care for complex dental procedures.
Specialized dental care treating tooth pulp and roots.
Specialized care for gums and supporting structures.
Repairing teeth for function, health, aesthetics.
Enhance smiles with aesthetic and dental treatments.
Precise evaluation of bite alignment and jaw function.
Clear, precise guidance for safe and effective surgery.
Wisdom teeth don’t always affect implants, but impacted wisdom teeth or chronic infection near wisdom teeth can influence bone health. If wisdom teeth removal is needed, we coordinate timing so you can heal and protect the jawbone often within a few months.
Dental implants work best when planning is measured, not guessed. We assess bone volume, gum health, and bite forces, then place implants in positions that support the final restoration. Bone grafting is sometimes recommended to rebuild bone and improve long-term support and overall stability.
During the process, we check implant readiness at key checkpoints. That guidance helps us decide when we can restore the implant with a temporary tooth and when we should wait several months for full integration. This approach helps dental implants heal predictably.
Your consultation includes imaging, a clear sequence, and treatment options today. The process may include extractions, grafting, implant placement, and restoration. Most dental implants require a healing phase; some cases are completed relatively quickly, while others take several months depending on bone quality and the number of implants.
Once completed, we place the final dental crown and overall restoration and confirm bite and aesthetics. We review how to maintain implants and surrounding teeth, so you can protect oral health long term and feel confident about your smile. This is also when many patients feel their smile is “back” again.
For clarity, many plans are completed in stages: imaging completed, surgical steps completed, and final restorations completed. With the right services and follow-up services, those steps can be completed smoothly.
We’ll give you a written plan with costs before treatment begins, then help you choose a realistic path forward.
Often, yes after evaluation. Some cases need grafting or staged planning first.
Not necessarily. Many full-arch cases can be planned with temporization so you’re not walking around toothless during treatment.
A screw-retained bridge is designed for retrievability by the clinician for maintenance—while still feeling fixed day-to-day.
We can match sedation depth and comfort support to your needs, including specialist sedation and general anesthesia.
Yes. That’s a core reason patients come here—so the plan is conservative when it should be, and decisive when it needs to be.
Angela Leung DDS PC – The Endodontics Implant Center
1131 Mission Road, South San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: 415-681-2697
Hours: Monday–Friday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm (Saturday & Sunday closed)
If you’re dealing with missing teeth, failing dental work, or full-mouth breakdown, the fastest relief is clarity.
