I suppose part of this could go in the Pit - my upper right 6-year molar certainly belongs there - but mostly it’s an IMHO:
Anyone have any experience of dental implants for a single tooth? their pros / cons vs. a bridge?
I’ve got this molar that has been giving me trouble for about 4 years. 2 years ago I finally broke down and had a crown done. That didn’t solve the pain. About six months ago I finally had a root canal which was, shall we say, an unenjoyable experience. Tooth got better for a little while, then got much worse. (btw, another minipit: dentists who do not grok how genuinely terrifying these procedures are. I mean, you go there, they do necessary but extremely painful work, and they don’t understand why you’re in no rush to come back for more).
So, visited the endodontist yesterday (guy who did the root canal) and after assorted poking - including an encounter with the dental version of a cattle prod - the upshot is that what little is left of the tooth is almost certainly cracked. Which means extraction.
Since it’s a molar, appearance isn’t an issue - nobody but the dentist would see that it’s gone. But I know they need to put something back in there to keep other teeth from shifting. The endodontist claims that implants have a high failure rate and are expensive, then again a bridge requires shaving down and putting crowns on both of the surrounding teeth.
If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t have done the bridge. Get another endodontist. What I found out after the fact is that most don’t have experience with implants, and therefore still pimp the bridge. When the modern implant were first introduced, they were pretty crappy. That was a very long time ago.
It will cost you more, but you will be happy, and you won’t have to look forward to a lifetime of trying to pick the shit out from underneath your bridge. It will be worth it.
I have an appt next month to have what’s left of a bottom molar of mine removed. The dentist suggested a bridge, but said we could do an implant instead if I’d prefer. I definitely look forward to the responses in this threat. clap
I had an implant done because one of my upper permanent teeth (4th on the left) was impacted and didn’t come in at all. I had to get it removed by an oral surgeon and my orthodontist tried unsuccessfully to coax it out with a chain attached to the top of my braces. Finally my orthodontist suggested getting an implant, since I was young (17 then, 20 now), and implants are permanent while bridges require filing down the surrounding teeth and need to be replaced periodically. My implant was put in by a prosthodontist, who was a dentist who specialized in prosthetics. (He also did general dentistry). An implant is almost like a fake tooth that is screwed in. The part where the tooth screws into goes in first (the implant part), where it is embedded into the bone of your jaw. It’s made of titanium which bonds with bone. Then you wait about 3 to 6 months for the titanium to bond, get an impression taken with that pink clay stuff, then the dentist will screw in your replacement fake tooth. The dentist will shave it down so that it fits exactly.
I have to admit that the first time the dentist attempted to insert the implant, it failed because it just didn’t bond with the bone. He told me that this was the first time this happened to one of his patients and he has been doing this for at least 15 years. If they tried to put the tooth in anyway, it would have just fallen out. He waited until the bone regrew and tried again and I am happy to say that this was successful. (We didn’t have to pay for this second attempt, by the way.) The tooth was put in a year ago and it’s been rock solid ever since.
This failure wasn’t my dentist’s fault; I read online that the success rate was about 95%, and slightly lower for the upper jaw, 90%. I think this is because the bone is less dense or something but that is just conjecture.
The only part I regret was that it wasn’t done sooner and that I wasted all that time with braces trying to pull out a tooth that wasn’t moving at all. I should have gotten a better orthodontist. My implant wasn’t covered by insurance, unfortunately, while a bridge would have been. Lucky for me, my mom paid for it. It was about $3200, and we paid in 2 installments.
Oh yeah, I wanted to say that the oral surgeon who removed my impacted tooth also did implants, but we went with the prosthedontist because he had more experience and actually worked with someone who pioneered implants back in the 80s.
I know three people who have implants and they all think they’re the best thing since sliced bread (though quite a bit more expensive :)). It’s the next best thing to still having your own teeth, and I’m sure if (when) I need it, that is what I’ll do.
Yep. And it’s not much of a gap, so stuff that goes in has a tough time coming out. I have theses plastic things that I thread floss into, shove under the bridge, and then clear it out. I am seriously considering getting the bridge removed. The only problem? The two teeth on either side got shaved down to pegs, so I’m not sure if I could do just crowns there and then the implant, or if I would have to get three implants.
Either way. Gimmee a few thousand dollars worth of spending money, and I will be spending it all in one place. Lot’s of places do them now. Oral surgeons, prosthedontists, cosmetic dentists, and good old fashioned dentists.
I had a similiar scenario and I went with the bridge. My dentist does both implants and bridges, and he recommended the bridge for my particular situation. I think he’s a great dentist, and I trusted his recommendation.
I’ve never had any problems with my bridge, stuff doesn’t get stuck under it, it’s perfectly comfortable, absolutely no complaints.
I have to get a molar removed too, and I was wondering about these things.
For implants: What do they cover the titanium rod with for that 3 to 6 months while it bonds to the jaw? Are there any problems with that?
Does the implant end up going below the gums so you won’t have the problem of stuff getting stuck under it, like with a bridge?
What about partials?
I went through the OP experience exactly, in my top molar. Finally got it extracted and there was very little bone, just a hole up into my sinus (this is why the top is harder to make work - many upper molar roots are just sticking uncovered into the sinus there). So an implant isn’t an option.
I keep thinking I’ll get a bridge (the molars on either side are crowns) when I have an extra grand, but it’s been about 4 or 5 years now and things shifted only a little at first. Now I hardly notice it, so I’m not sure I’ll ever get it done.
IF you have dental insurance, they will probably pay for the bridge, but not for the implants. That’s a major consideration. I have a bridge. Cleaning it with those little floss threaders is no big deal. Easier than between two teeth that are tight together.
Implants take just as much care. Maybe more.
An implant is a little bolt that is screwed into your jawbone to which a tooth is fastened on top of it. That connection at the gumline must be kept very clean to avoid problems. The bridge is attached to a live tooth so you don’t have that metal boring through gum and bone thing. But that little gap between the tooth and gum will collect stuff. Especially popcorn chaff.
Last time I was dealing with them, a bridge cost $600-800. Implant $2,000+.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
I know I’ve had pain in that very same tooth when I’ve had a sinus infection so I guess that shouldn’t surprise me - but are you saying that when they first remove the tooth, there’s a passage from the sinus to where the tooth was??? Ugh… Does the bone heal up to fill in that hole? does the gum cover over the hole?
:::shudder:::
That makes sense (the need to keep the area clean even with an implant).
Insurance might cover a little of the implant cost but I expect that varies by policy. I checked our plan today and it said things like crowns are covered 65% of the usual/customary/reasonable cost (of course they won’t tell you what that is in advance). It says that implants require pre-approval. This implies that it might cover a little of it, if you sleep with the right insurance company exec. (what the hell, I’d insist on sedation anyway).
A couple of years back, I told my dentist to just yank all my teeth and give me dentures. He declined. It would seem I had the right idea!
It doesn’t hurt when they screw in the bolt. After the implant is inserted, the dentist sews up the gum. The site is uncovered about a month before the tooth is put in, and they put a little metal cap on the site. It’s pretty unobstrusive, unless you have it in the front or something.
My dentist never told me anything about special care. I just floss and brush regularly. I haven’t noticed any problems.
I have a long and not-while-people-are-eating story to tell about a cracked filling in a molar, an abcess that ate right through the bone, a botched root canal, a recurrent infection and an incision the length of my upper right jaw, the better to invade the open space left by the abcess, clean it out, cut off the roots of the tooth, re-fill them from inside and hope for the best.
The second time the infection came back after that, I said “Pull the tooth.”
“No,” they said, “you don’t want to make a decision like that while you’re in pain. Take these antibiotics and come back in a week.”
A week later, I said “Pull the tooth.” Took the poor dentist an hour of hard work to get it out of there, too.
I’ve had that gap for about 15 years now, and my teeth are starting to shift. I asked my dentist about a bridge to stop the shifting and he said that the insurance will not pay for crowning two perfectly healthy teeth to support the bridge.
He mentioned implants. I mentioned the destruction of the bone in that area due to the abcess, the surgery and the extraction. He mentioned bone transplants. I mentioned not being able to hit Bill Gates up for the money.
Result: Gap still there, but I got a referral to an orthodontist, for which the insurance will pay. Just the referral, though. After that I’m on my own. :rolleyes:
I’m not lucky enough to have implants as an option, but that would be my choice over a bridge. Mainly because of the damage they will do to the two adjacent teeth to install a bridge.
I recommend getting a second opinion, preferably from someone who specializes in implants. If you get a good dentist, they won’t let you do something stupid, like get a bridge when really you need to have every tooth on that side of your mouth pulled except the two that your shitty dentist is going to plane down for your bridge so he can score the $2400!!! that a bridge for one tooth was going to cost (I may be projecting here). You and your dentist(s) should discuss the state of the teeth anywhere near the one you’re having yanked so that you can make an informed decision. Long story, but I had to find a dentist who was willing to really work with my periodontist to determine the best course for all the teeth I have, not just the one that was causing me immediate problems.
My situation is not at all similar to yours, because I had several dental problems all going on (bad bite, periodontal disease, and I grind my teeth a lot) that make implants impractical. I ended up having 5 upper teeth pulled last December (if you do a standard US dental count, I had the 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 pulled) so I ended up having a partial plate. I’m still on the temporary partial and got fitted for the permanent partial frame last week. I can’t wait to get my new teeth, even though there will be quite a bunch of metal showing from the clips. I would love to be able to have implants for those 5 teeth, but between the cost and the fact that my upper jaw has deteriorated significantly due to periodontal disease, it just isn’t going to happen.
The moral of my story is: brush, floss, get a nightguard if suggested and wear it!, and hold on to your original teeth as long as you can.