Craig from Invercargill — 4 Osstem dental implants for lost molars

Real patient story, shared with permission. This patient has consented to Picasso Dental Clinic publishing their experience to help other New Zealand patients. Treatment, material, NZD price, and timeline are accurate to the case archive. Reviewed by Dr. Tran Thanh Phong, Head of Implantology.

Craig is 55, a farmer near Invercargill, and he had been chewing on one side of his mouth for years. Four molars — two on the lower left, two on the upper right — had been lost to cracks and old failed fillings, pulled out one at a time over a decade rather than replaced. By the time he got in touch he was avoiding tough cuts of meat at his own table and the remaining teeth on his good side were starting to wear.

An Invercargill private clinic had quoted him around NZD 26,000 to restore the four sites with implants and crowns. For a working farm that number simply parked the problem. He found us through the dental implants pillar while looking up what implants actually cost overseas, and read the brand and warranty terms before he ever sent a message.

The first quote conversation

He sent a panoramic X-ray from his Invercargill GP referral and a set of photos showing the four gaps. We returned a written, itemised NZD quote within 24 hours: 4 Osstem implants at NZD 1,667 per implant = NZD 6,668.

His first question was whether the bone was even there after years of empty sockets. From the panoramic the upper right sites looked the most likely to be tight on height near the sinus, but we were clear that nothing could be promised until a CBCT 3D scan on arrival. If a site needed minor grafting we would flag the additional cost on the day and not before — no surprises buried in the quote.

Choosing the implant tier

Craig asked, reasonably, why Osstem and not one of the European names he had seen advertised. We explained the tiers honestly. Osstem is a high-volume Korean system with a strong clinical record and a 5-year crown warranty in our list; the premium European fixtures sit at a higher price point with a 10-year crown warranty. For four implants the difference added up quickly. He weighed it up and chose Osstem across all four sites, partly on cost and partly because he liked that the same well-proven system would be used consistently rather than mixing brands.

Dr. Tran Thanh Phong reviewed the case and the staged plan before Craig booked his flights.

The two trips

Trip 1 — placement (8 days)

Four-month healing window

He flew back to Invercargill and got on with the season. We sent a remote check-in at six weeks and again at three months, and his local dentist confirmed the gums had healed cleanly at the two-month mark.

Trip 2 — final crowns (6 days)

What it cost end-to-end

Against the Invercargill quote of NZD 26,000, his all-in cost including two sets of flights, accommodation, food, and insurance came to NZD 12,388 — a net saving of roughly NZD 13,600. Even after the second return airfare, the gap was wide enough that the trip paid for itself several times over and still left room for a few days seeing the country.

The thing he didn’t expect

From his survey: “I’d braced myself for four implants going in to feel like a big surgery. Honestly the part that caught me out was how dull the four months in the middle were. You go home with healing caps and you wait, and the temptation to chew on that side too early is real. I’m glad they checked in twice, because left to myself I’d have rushed it.”

What aftercare looked like back in Invercargill

He had a check at his Invercargill dentist about two months after the final crowns went in. We sent a written aftercare summary and the implant passport listing the Osstem lot numbers, batches, and fixture types for all four sites. His Kiwi dentist reviewed the bite, added the implants to his file, and gave him a proper hygiene clean.

12-month review by his Invercargill dentist — all four crowns clean and stable. 24-month review scheduled.

Craig’s three pieces of advice

1. “Send the X-ray early and ask the bone question straight up. I wasted months assuming I’d lost too much bone to bother. Turned out all four sites were fine — I just hadn’t asked.”
2. “Respect the healing window. Four months feels like forever when you’re a working bloke who wants both sides of his mouth back, but those caps are not for chewing. Wait it out.”
3. “Book the second trip when the farm is quiet. I went back for the crowns in the off-season, made a short holiday of it, and came home with a full set of molars instead of a half-finished mouth.”

See also

• Dental implants pillar — the protocol, brands, and NZD pricing.
• Implant brand transparency — which fixtures we use and why.
• Implant aftercare — what Craig was told for home maintenance.
• Invercargill to Vietnam dental travel page — local benchmark and route logistics.

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About this page

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Tran Thanh Phong

Head of Implantology, Picasso Dental Clinic

DDS · 25+ years in practice · 15,000+ implants placed · 1,000+ All-on-4 cases

Clinical focus: Implantology · All-on-4 · Zygomatic implants

Dr. Tran Thanh Phong has practised since 2001 and leads implantology across the Picasso group. He was the first Vietnamese dentist to perform All-on-4 immediate loading (2010), placed over 15,000 implants across his career at roughly 600 per year, and has completed 400+ zygomatic implant cases since 2017. Loma Linda University-trained (2010). Clinical representative for Nobel Biocare in Vietnam since 2007.

Last clinically reviewed

28 May 2026

Published by

Picasso Dental Clinic

Review policy

Every medical procedure page on this site is reviewed by a named Picasso clinician before publication and re-checked when pricing, materials, or protocols change. Source documents are linked at the bottom of each page.