Anyone ever had a tooth pulled and implant put in?

[princess lovers mom]

I have had a root canal "go bad" and they are recommending that I have the tooth pulled.....I can't deal with the thought of having a gap in my teeth and am considering having an implant put in at the same time as the tooth is pulled....

wondering if anyone has had this done...do you have any advise and about how much did it cost...i have an insurance plan but I am sure I will owe some of it out of pocket...

 

[Eeyore1954]

I'd be interested in knowing also. My dentist has suggested an implant for a gap I have, although my dental insurance considers it cosmetic (they won't cover it). I've had the gap since childhood and it doesn't really cause any problems.

Are you sure the tooth cannot be salvaged? I thought I was going to lose a tooth, but went to see a periodontist. It took a lot of work, but it looks like he's managed to save the tooth. (PHEW!)

 

[always quiet]

Personally, I have never had this done, but my SIL has. She had some serious problems with it!! Once they put that piece in place in her gum (don't know what to call it - the thing that they will eventually screw the tooth into), got infected numerous times. Finally, they removed it, she spent months allowing her gums to heal, and now (2 years later!!) she is again trying it! I think she has that piece in her mouth but the tooth hasn't yet been screwed in. When she was telling me all the problems she had with it, I asked her one thing - "Have you ever heard the word 'partial'?!!" She went through a lot more pain than I would of been willing to go through!!

 

[Eeyore1954]

Umm... thanks, always quiet -- I think. (Shudder)

I had a partial for years, but it was not well-made, kept coming out and the prongs wore down the enamel on the teeth used for support. Eventually I "lost" it (much to my parents regret). Never got it replaced, although I'm sure they could do a better job of developing one today.

I may just keep the gap after all. That idea of screwing something into your gum ... I'm a little too much of a dental coward for that!

 

[tiggersmom2]

Implants are very hard to maintain and have a high failure rate as opposed to other dental procedures. Implants are also skyhigh!$$$$$. I would suggest a Maryland bridge or regular bridge. These are permanent (not removeable) prosthetics that look exactly like your own tooth and they are much easier on the pocketbook!

 

[Kallison]

They wanted to give me a implant but because of my gum tissue they needed to add bovine or cadaver matter to anchor the tooth. I refused both, I just kept thinking 20 years from now they'll say I got mad cow disease or something else. One dentist said that is ridiculous and another dentist said it had been discussed in dental journals. So I got a permanent bridge instead and it has been fine. I have to floss over the top of it. They had to file down a healthy tooth next to it to anchor the bridge but I was comfortable with that decision. Now I have another molar on the other side that fell off of a root canal, they are going to build it back up and anchor a cap directly onto it. Cost $800, I think the implant would have been almost twice that.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Thanks, tiggersmom2. Hmm, I'm wondering if my dentist was planning on using the proceeds from my suggested implant to pay for his new swimming pool???

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I had this done. The doctor was very expensive and it cost around $5000. Not kidding. And not a penny of it was insured.

Maryland bridge or any other type of bridge (I asked about them) is a cheaper option that does not last. I never had any problem with my implant, only with the stupid partials that kept breaking while the rod in my gum was healing. My doctor said the best way and most permanent way to do it is a proper implant.

And it paid off...every dentist who has x-rayed my teeth has said it is maybe the best implant they have ever seen.

 

[Pete's Mom]

When I got braces at 28, the movement of my teeth caused a nerve to be pinched on one of my bottom teeth in the front and the tooth "died". They had to pull it for fear that it would just shatter one day. This happened to me, who has never had a cavity in my life.

Anyhow, several oral surgeons recommended getting an implant but the cost was around $5,000.00, insurance would not cover it, and it was going to be a long painful 2 years process.

For about a year, I walked around with this gap and pretty much learned to talk and smile without showing it. My teeth started to shift and my gum was wearing away. Ugh!

Finally my dentist told me about a Maryland Bridge. It only cost $ 1,500.00 and would only take about two weeks to get it ordered and installed. That was two years ago and it looks great and I have not had any problems.

http://www.aurumgroup.com/usa/aurumceramicclassic/crownbridge/marylandbridge.stm

 

[tiggersmom2]

Maryland bridge or any other type of bridge (I asked about them) is a cheaper option that does not last. [/B]

Sorry, but this statement is false. My father, who is a DDS, placed a bridge on my mother some thirty years ago and it is still in perfect condition. Do a little research, bridges are much more stable and likely to last as opposed to implants.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Originally posted by Pete's Mom
When I got braces at 28, the movement of my teeth caused a nerve to be pinched on one of my bottom teeth in the front and the tooth "died". They had to pull it for fear that it would just shatter one day. This happened to me, who has never had a cavity in my life.

Anyhow, several oral surgeons recommended getting an implant but the cost was around $5,000.00, insurance would not cover it, and it was going to be a long painful 2 years process.

For about a year, I walked around with this gap and pretty much learned to talk and smile without showing it. My teeth started to shift and my gum was wearing away. Ugh!

Finally my dentist told me about a Maryland Bridge. It only cost $ 1,500.00 and would only take about two weeks to get it ordered and installed. That was two years ago and it looks great and I have not had any problems.

http://www.aurumgroup.com/usa/aurumceramicclassic/crownbridge/marylandbridge.stm

Hmmm...interesting. Your braces caused this? I always wonder what caused mine...(still a mystery). My tooth just started to eat itself for no reason. They called it external absorption, whatever that means. THey said it is usually caused by trauma to the teeth....getting hit with a ball or something like that, but I hadno trauma to speak of. They wondered if it was the braces, but allowed it was pretty unlikely.

Oh, yeah and it was a FRONT tooth. Tell that to a 25 year old girl. Thank goodness no one can tell....they did a smashing good job.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Originally posted by tiggersmom2
Sorry, but this statement is false. My father, who is a DDS, placed a bridge on my mother some thirty years ago and it is still in perfect condition. Do a little research, bridges are much more stable and likely to last as opposed to implants.

I'm not giving you MY opinion....only the opinion of my doctor, who is a very well respected oral surgeon. I WANTED a bridge, but they said no...its not as permanent.

http://www.implantdirectory.com/dental-implants.asp

Here is a website where my doctor, Peter Passero, is listed. In their Q&A they say dental implants with proper care should last a lifetime. Quotage: A single Dental Implant costs slightly more than a bridge and often is not covered by dental insurance. However Dental Implants tend to last much longer and have less problems.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Originally posted by theSurlyMermaid
I'm not giving you MY opinion....only the opinion of my doctor, who is a very well respected oral surgeon. I WANTED a bridge, but they said no...its too impermanent.

I wasn't trying to attack you, I just have a great deal of expertise in this area ( I'm a Registered Dental Hygienist) and I didn't want anyone on the boards getting the wrong information. My best advice to anyone is to get second opinions because some Dentist only care about what is best for their pocketbook, not yours.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

No, I know that.....sorry for the caps.

Check my edit!

 

[tiggersmom2]

Originally posted by theSurlyMermaid
No, I know that.....sorry for the caps.

Check my edit!

Glad I didn't offend you.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Of course not!

Anyway, you may have a point about the docs wanting to go for what's gonna line their pocket more, but what this guy would have charged me for a bridge wouldn't have been that much better!

 

[missypie]

DH is having this done. Here is the amazing part: He had the tooth pulled in late Feb., and he still is "in process" (i.e. without a tooth there.) They say the whle process takes about 6 months. It's a back tooth, so it doesn't show much.

Here's the drill, all with the oral surgeon:

1. Tooth pulled under IV sedation($)
2. Implant thing-y (the screw, maybe) put in under IV sedation ($$$$)
3. More of the implant put in under IV sedation.

That took from late Feb. up to now. In a while, the last thing with the implant will be done, and he'll then go to the dentist to have something put in that looks like a tooth. We're probably out of pocket about $2500-3000. (Insurance didn't cover the implant.)

 

[Pete's Mom]

Originally posted by theSurlyMermaid
Hmmm...interesting. Your braces caused this? I always wonder what caused mine...(still a mystery). My tooth just started to eat itself for no reason. They called it external absorption, whatever that means. THey said it is usually caused by trauma to the teeth....getting hit with a ball or something like that, but I hadno trauma to speak of. They wondered if it was the braces, but allowed it was pretty unlikely.

Oh, yeah and it was a FRONT tooth. Tell that to a 25 year old girl. Thank goodness no one can tell....they did a smashing good job.

Yes, I was diagnosed with internal absorption where the tooth was literally melting from the inside out. My body was "re-absorbing bone". My bottom teeth were sooo crooked and I had to have some pretty extensive rearranging done during my braces which I kept on for around 3 years. About a year after I got them off, my dentist spotted it on an annual x-ray. Funny thing was that it didn't even hurt and I had no idea the nerve inside had died.

I had to go to an oral surgeon to have it removed. It took a long time (around 45 minutes) because it shattered when he tried to pull it out and he literally had to take it out in pieces and then grind down to my gum.

Getting the implant was not an option for me. They were going have to remove bone from my chin by splitting the inside of my lip and pulling it down and then attaching that my gum in order to "build a firmer foundation". No thank you!

princess lovers mom - I would get a few more recommendations before going with the implant. Good luck.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Thank you, Pete's Mom! It sounds like we had some similar experiences here...except I had the WORST pain between my front teeth (felt like someone was rubbing dental floss REALLY hard between my two front teeth....gross). It was a giant infection. After it cleared up, though (they had to puncture my gum, and it was extremely nasty) there wasn't any pain. Imagine my surprise when the periodontist tells me it has to come out and it is eating itself!

I bet braces had something to do with it. I had not one, but two sets.

eta: missypie, my process took a few years from start to finish...I wore a retainer with a tooth on it for ages. I just kept putting it off, actually....it was kind of traumatic.

 

[missypie]

I guess (since I was only the designated driver and wasn't really going through it) that I was totally ignorant about the implant process. I totally expected DH to go in the first time and come out with a new tooth! There are so many ads everywhere that tout implants as such a great fix for all kinds of dental problems...the ads sure don't highlight how long it takes (much less, the $$$$).