Does anyone have a dental implant? I'm freaking out over this!

[Nik's Mom]

Hi,
I had a baseball accident as a kid and ended up getting root canals and crowns for my 2 front teeth. Fast forward 30 years and I could feel one of the crowns loose. I went to the dentist yesterday and she said it isn't my crown that is loose. It's my tooth! She said that I will most likely lose one of the teeth and may eventually lose the 2nd tooth as well. My options were to put a bridge or to put in dental implants. I'm going to see a specialist next week, but I'm totally freaking out now.

My question is, if you have had a dental implant put in, how bad was the process. The dentist really freaked me out. It's seems like a extremely long and painful process over months. And my biggest fear is that I will have to walk around without my 2 front teeth for a time. I do not want to leave the dentist office without at least a temporary tooth in place! Please share your experience.

 

[nhpooh]

I have them! I had a upper denture, because of a accident when I was younger. So went to the dentist(new) a few years ago he said I could get dental implants. They would be just like my real teeth even better. I did it, I didn't leave without teeth. I left with my denture in place after the surgery, he cut it back so it would fit over the posts. At first you can't really see the post, it's a short thing. After a few visits you do get this thing they screw into the part that's in your jaw. I know dosen't sound good, the only pain I had was after the first surgery, which I didn't feel as it was being done. I am not sure about doing your two front teeth, but I would think it would be almost the same thing. I went in several times over a year, to have the whole upper jaw done. We would do one side at a time. So just a few teeth at a time. It's been about a year now and I love my new teeth.


Good luck!

 

[tazdev3225]

I don't know if you could call these implants per se, but I needed 2 crowns and there wasn't enough tooth left. My dentist had to put pegs in the root so that he could anchor the crowns, one was a molar and one was an eye tooth. The area was sore for a day or two and other than that it was no worse than any other dental work. My father had implants on the bottom of his mouth, the WHOLE bottom. The worst part was getting all his teeth pulled at once and again that was only for a couple of days. He said that it was just normal stuff afterwards, the area was sore for a day or two but he was numbed up during the procedure. Good Luck.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Thank you for sharing. I just had this vision of me walking out of the office with these metal posts and no front teeth for a few weeks.

I've had such trouble with these 2 crowns. The accident happened when I was little and the dentist didn't even give me novacaine when they did the root canal. They just had dental assistants hold me down. They did a really cruddy job and I ended up having to get 2 more root canals done a few years back because of the bad job performed before. And now to hear that I'm going to lose the teeth anyways, just made me want to bawl right there in the dental chair!

I feel better knowing that I won't leave that office toothless if I go the implant route!

 

[Pomlover2586]

I have an implant on 1 tooth......it's GREAT! I've had the "finished" product now in place for about 4 yrs? They use semi-permanent glue so if they need tot ake the tooth off they can.

As far as the procedures go......yeah it hurts. All Surgeries hurt. Scale of 1 to 10? Maybe a 6 at the most.......It doesn't feel great, and it's sore.......but it's really not that bad.

Mine was done in 2 procedures. The major comes first. First they drilled into my jaw and put the screw in. While this healed [for adults they give it 6 months and for minors 2 years or until jaw stops growing] you can have a retainer with a fake tooth or teeth on it......teeth only come out when retainer does.

After that the next procedure was a minor incision to cut into the gum line to access the screw, then they put on a metal post that sticks out of your mouth and the tooth is glued onto the post [post looks like a metal baby tooth]

All in all it's really not that bad......I'd do it again and it looks great!

 

[Nik's Mom]

Thanks everyone. I delivered a 9 pound baby. You'd think that I'd be more brave when it comes to pain. But I had such a traumatic experience as a kid, that I am a complete baby when it comes to dental pain.

 

[nhpooh]

Thanks everyone. I delivered a 9 pound baby. You'd think that I'd be more brave when it comes to pain. But I had such a traumatic experience as a kid, that I am a complete baby when it comes to dental pain.

You know, I have two DD and I think I would do the dental implants again before I would give birth again. And I hate going to the dentist!

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I don't know if you could call these implants per se, but I needed 2 crowns and there wasn't enough tooth left. My dentist had to put pegs in the root so that he could anchor the crowns, one was a molar and one was an eye tooth.

This is what I had done as well.

They will work very hard to make sure that you are as comfortable as can be. It will be OK. Just treat yourself when it is done. Go home, lay down, watch movies, and enjoy the meds.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I am also looking at my options with this. I went for the consultation and they said that it was going to be five thousand dollars for one tooth. I freaked. So now I am waiting to get a second opinion. I don't mind the pain or the procedure, but the cost is killing me.

 

[dnoyes]

Yep, I have one and it was about $5K I didn't have a choice because it was needed to hold a 4 tooth bridge. I really didn't think it was very painful at all

 

[MK2thcleaner]

I've had loads of patients have implants done and they all say they'd do it again and that it wasn't that bad at all. Hopefully they will be able to place the implant at the time of extraction of the natural tooth. That will save some time and healing. Many times we hear the words "drill a screw into bone" and we get seriously afraid of the pain. There are no nerves in bone, so no extra or worse pain. Your gum will be sore, but they will give you pain medication.

Once they place the titanium screw, the gum will heal over it. There will be no metal sticking out at first. After the bone grows around the threads of the screw and it is "integrated" (think anchored) then they will open the gum and screw a little "top" on the screw. That is when you have a little metal showing. Anymore, integration takes 2-4 months with regular size implants, less time with mini's (though we don't place or recommend these).

You will have a removable retainer that will replace the missing teeth, and that should be allowed to fit over the "tops" once you get them after healing. Then the dentist will construct porcelain crowns that will glue right on.

It does take a lot of time, money and patience. It will all go fine, so don't worry! Implants have something like a 99 percent success rate. The bonus to an implant over a bridge is that they don't have to cut away good tooth structure. Also, implants stimulate the bone to continue to grow like a natural tooth does. And an implant will NEVER decay. The most you could need is a replacement crown if the original fractures, but that's rare.

Good Luck!

 

[pezheadmeg]

I've had one for 3 years. And I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Mine was a back molar, so I didn't bother with the retainer.

Just ask for the laughing gas and the painkillers. It makes the process go by a lot quicker.

 

[DisneyMim]

I am a HUGE baby when it comes to dental work and I had an implant a few years ago. I'm not going to lie and tell you it was painless, but really it wasn't as bad as my imagination was thinking it would be! The worse thing about it was that it cost $5K and I just kept thinking of how I could have spent that money at Disney!! LOL!! I love it now. I was in a lot of pain before I had it and now I am totally pain free in that tooth. Long story short I had bad dental work when I was younger and now have to fix it. I have had MANY root canals, crowns, etc and am still going through the process. You will be fine. Trust me, if I can do it ANYONE can. I now have a wonderful dentist and I think that has made a big difference.

Good Luck and believe me YOU WILL BE FINE!!

 

[Meriweather]

DH is in the process now.
His is a lower middle tooth.
He has had the surgery to scrap the bone and get some more build up in the place it is needed. That was about 2 months ago.
He does have a "flapper" that has a tooth on it.
But he did get an infection and had to have an additional scrapping done and more stitches. He is on his third round of antibiotics. He has not been able to wear the flapper for a couple of weeks trying to get things to heal up. Not fun for him when he travels and does a lot of public speaking.
It is costing about $5,000
Not sure if he would do it again....I didn't ask him

 

[pjm-guy]

I am in the process now of getting one for (1) molar that went horribly bad about a year ago! I had the screw based put in in August 2008 under general anesthesia (very easy recovery) and the post was set about 5 months later under local anesthesia. I went 2 nights ago for molds to be made to get the tooth made and I was just shocked at how eay the post screwed out and back in - no discomfort whatsoever. I had expected tissue to adhere or for there to be some other issue (that always seems to happen to me), but nothing. In 2 more weeks I should have a new tooth. Yes, it was not cheap. The total cost to me will be about $2,500 - insurace covered nothing because it was considered cosmetic even though it was the result of a tooth that cracked down the middle and abcessed. I guess they figured it would be fine to leave the space in the row of teeth. Anyway, I feel if you're in the right hands (doctor/dentist wise) it will be well worth it. Good luck!

 

[Nohal]

I had 2 implants put in in Dec 2008. I was also freaked out over someone drilling into my jaw bone. I had 2 molars extracted, bone grafting, and 2 implants put in on the same visit. I only had novacaine (sp). I have to say that I worried over nothing. The entire visit was less than 1hr. The only thing I felt was vibration which was slight. The only pain I had was from the extractions. It seemed like a long process as you have to wait for everything to heal and then wait again after they put on the abutments. I had 3 molars replaced with 2 implants (I was already missing a molar). I would recommend you go to a specialist who has done many implants because if you have any problems they know right away without guessing how to fix it. The one implant healed so well that the bone grew over it and the dentist had to drill the bone away to expose the implant, again no pain. The extractions, implants, bone grafting, abutment, and the 3 crowns cost a total of $7,000. Insurance didn't cover the bone grafting, the implants, or the abutments but did cover 50% of the crowns. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Good Luck.

 

[Buckalew11]

Gosh, your story sound similar to mine, OP. Kid, baseball bat, 2 teeth knocked out, quacky dentist, crappy crowns etc. etc. etc.

I just had mine redone again, I'm 44.

I was having new crowns put on (all 6 front teeth) and we were not going the implant route. However, when he removed the old crown, the one front tooth was loose. He said he didn't even know if it would be able to be saved but I had temps on for 3 weeks and all healed up and the tooth was fine. He said it was as tight as the others! yay! Otherwise I'd have been looking at an implant for that tooth.

Let me tell you, your imagination about the dentist chair and your teeth is probably a lot worse than the procedures are. I used gas and at one visit was in the chair for 7 hours!!!

Good luck. I love my new crowns for the 1st time since I was 8yo!!!!

 

[Nik's Mom]

Thanks, everyone! I feel a lot better about the implant option now. I can't believe insurance didn't cover for most of you. I guess I won't expect that they will cover it for me either then.

Anyway, I feel better knowing that others have made it through this procedure.

 

[Nohal]

Make sure you go to a dentist that takes your insurance. Even if your insurance won't pay for the implant they will reduce the price you have to pay according to what they consider the price should be.

 

[AshleyW]

Almost all of my younger brother's teeth are implants.. 6 of his teeth are actually his, the rest are implants. He has a genetic condition (hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia) that caused him to be missing most of his teeth. He wore dentures while he was growing up, and got implants put in throughout the past year. It's been kind of chaotic with multiple surgeries (and expensive - over $100k) but he'd do it again in a heartbeat. His doctors were good at managing his pain and made it really simple for him. The only complication he's had is that a screw came loose in one of the anchors in March, but all he had to do was go back to the dentist and get the screw tightened up. If you have any specific questions, ask away and I can run them by him - he's pretty much an expert on implants by now.