I added the actual date to the title as tomorrow gets dated pretty fast.
I have an implant and a permanent bridge. If I had to do this again, I would go with the bridge. It’s faster and cheaper and works very well for me.
YMMV
My insurance covered about half the cost of the implant. I used my health savings account to cover the rest. It was well worth it. And I didn’t find it tedious or long. Of course when they extracted my broken tooth I had them prepare the implant bed right then. So I had only two more steps — installation of the post and then waiting for the tooth. Just a few months in between. No worries.
Thanks, W_E, but you could actually remove the parenthetical part altogether, as this is now a general discussion. I’ll be checking in as my Tooth Saga continues.
I very much appreciate input from other Dopers. 
Will do.
Thank you for that. Actually, allow me to put my ignorance on full display here: I not only did not know that, I in fact somehow had never grokked the fact that there was such a thing as “sensitivity repair toothpaste”. In googling the term, I also discovered that there was such a thing as “re-mineralizing” toothpaste. According to this, the best non-prescription one is Sensodyne ProNamel. Given that I’ve had a couple of instances of chipped teeth, this may be something I should be using. I’m not much of a dairy consumer and am probably low on calcium, among other things.
UPDATE: Over the weekend, the pointy part of the broken tooth drove me nuts rubbing and stabbing my tongue. My tongue was soooo irritated I couldn’t talk or eat. Then Dr. Google said to get some ortho wax and stick it on the point. That really helped! Make a note.
After intense research from many sources, I found a good dental specialist in my neighborhood but they can’t see me until Aug 30. I didn’t want to deal with the pointy tooth until then, so the specialist’s office referred me to a general dentist who took me today. HE WAS SO NICE! He’s an older guy (though possibly slightly younger than me as he is not retired yet) with a manner similar to Mister Rogers-- soft-spoken, gentle, respectful. He polished down the pointy spot-- took about ten minutes. Then he asked if he could take an x-ray and we discussed it. He said if it were his mouth, he’d go with the implant. He said my bone looked very good, but a bridge might stress the teeth on either side. He said the specialist I’m going to is excellent and they they are in sort of a case review group together where they talk about dental cases and issues. He forwarded the x-ray to the specialist’s office.
Then we veered off into other subjects, my late husband’s military service, his military service, the building he works out of that he bought from the dentist who built it in 1928, and other neighborhood things. (He’s practically walking distance from my house.) Then he wished me well and I thanked him profusely for working me into his schedule. I went to the check out counter, and HE DIDN’T CHARGE ME.
Moment of silence to let that sink in.
After the experience I had at the dentist last week, I’ll tell ya, I was quite moved. I was actually speechless.
BTW, I called Last Week’s Dentist since I did have some x-rays there and wanted to pay for that, and the bill was $130, which seemed quite reasonable. I will never darken their doorway again, however.
He didn’t charge me… renewed my faith in people.
The saga continues…
That would precisely my plan as well. I’d consider some judicious yelp! or similar reviews once this tooth is repaired to protect other potential clients.
Similarly, I’d get on yelp! or other review sites and praise today’s godsend to high heaven to draw other fortunate people to his practice. Reward the good! He sounds like my dentist of 35+ years.I wish everyone had a dentist like these guys.
So glad you got some relief today and what sounds like excellent advice.
I thought about that but decided against it.
The place where had the appointment for Aug 30 called with a cancellation. They can see me tomorrow–yay! I want to get this show on the road. And get it over with.
Later…
Ooooooohhhhhh he’s good!
ThelmaLou, snartch that thar dental workin feller up inna big ol bar hug an don’ lettem go unteel he cries “Auntie” and promises ta be gud
Translation: He might be willing to take you on as a new patient and just gave you a really good soft sell and free sample. I’d call his office and find out.
If I need a general dentist after I get done with the implant (and it’s stuff the implant dentist’s office doesn’t do) I’ll definitely sign him on.
The trouble with professionals (and others) who are my age is that they retire… or die. I’ve lost people to both eventualities…
UPDATE- Words to live by: There is no substitute for competence.
Today’s dentist (the implant specialist, I’ll call him Dr. S) dazzled me with his kindness and competence just as much as yesterday’s who filed my tooth down and didn’t charge me (henceforth to be called Dr. W).
Dr. S took a panoramic x-ray of my mouth. I was very glad as I haven’t had one in years, and I was curious about the general state of my teeth. He said my teeth overall are in great shape and he didn’t see anything going on. My bone density is very good. He said I DO NOT NEED ANY BONE GRAFT MATERIAL ADDED. He furthermore said that the whole process from the pulling of the tooth and inserting the implant to the screwing on of the new fake tooth would be probably TWO MONTHS. Not EIGHT months as last week’s dentist claimed (he is now TFD, “The Former Dentist”). TFD also said I would need bone graft material-- I’m thinking he was running up the price. 
I’m even more pissed off now than I was when I walked out on TFD last week. And TFD didn’t even give me a cost estimate. Today’s dentist gave me an itemized statement of every cost I would incur along the way: $3,775 all together, which is very reasonable in the implant world. The implant I got at TFD about eight years ago when the dentist I liked still ran the place was $3,900, so I’m guessing it would have been more now, but they never told me. Yeah, I shoulda/coulda asked, but they also shoulda/coulda told me, certainly before TFD started the process, which he was about to do when I stomped out.
There is no substitute for competence. Or for the confidence you feel when dealing with someone who knows what they’re doing because they’ve had boatloads of experience. Dr. S is 78 (wow-- someone older than me!), West Point class of 1966, artillery in Viet Nam, then sent to dental school by the army and has been in private practice for 40+ years. I told him what happened with the shot last week and he said, “Don’t worry-- when I give you a shot, you won’t feel it.” I believe him.
Apparently Dr. S’s and Dr. W’s two separate practices work closely together. Dr. S (today’s doc) pulls the tooth and puts in the implant screw thing. Dr. W (yesterday’s doc) makes the fake tooth and ultimately puts it on and finishes the job. Dr. W is a general dentist and Dr. S is an implant and periodontal specialist. I didn’t know all this because I’ve always avoided dentists like the plague unless something actually falls out of my mouth.
An additional plus: both offices are practically within walking distance of my house.
An additional negative: both dentists are of an age where they will be retiring soon. I hate it when that happens.
Generally speaking, however, I am giddy. And immensely relieved.
My appointment to start the process is August 26, which would have been my 32nd wedding anniversary. With any luck and iffin the creek don’t rise, I’ll be done by Thanksgiving.
P.S. I told the young lady receptionist that TFD was “wet behind the ears,” and she had never heard that expression. She’s probably never heard the expression iffin the creek don’t rise either.
P.P.S. I may have to pay a visit to Yelp after all.
That’s the news from Lake Wobegon for now. More later as the saga unfolds.
Glad its going ok for you now.
UPDATE: This morning I went to the new-to-me (old guy) dentist Dr. S for step one of my implant. It was an excellent experience in every way.
There is no substitute for competence coupled with experience.
My appointment was at 8:45 and they took me a few minutes early. Dr. S came in right away, gave me shots to numb my jaw (done very well), sat right there beside me about 10 minutes til I was completely numb, pulled the tooth, put in the implant, sewed it up, took an x-ray and showed me the implant in my jaw, and I was out the door and in my car at 9:10. Pretty incredible. Today’s charge: $2,950.00. There will be another $825 at the end.
The bad dentist gave me the bad shots and left me sitting in the chair for 40 minutes while he was freaking out over my meltdown. That was longer than the whole visit took at the good dentist.
I’m to go back in a week for another look-see and x-ray. Then back again in two months for the big finish.
BTW, today is Friday, and we all hate having any kind of medical procedure for ourselves or our pets on Friday, because if something is going to go wrong, it does so at 5 pm on Friday afternoon, and you can never get in touch with anyone, right? Well, the SOP at Dr. S’s practice is to give patients the doc’s cell phone number for weekend questions or problems. 
He gave me a prescription for a boatload of 800 mg Motrin, but I’m not having any pain yet. I’ll wait and see.
I love it when things go the way you want them to.
I did wind up going to Yelp and throwing the bad dentist under the bus. I said I had been going to that practice for years, but that the dentist I used to see had retired. Also, that there were probably still competent dentists at that practice, but that I didn’t get one. I did name him.
More later.
Please subscribe to my channel and hit the “like” button. Just kidding.
Yay! Congrats!
that is fantastic!
bad dentist is why there is so much dental trauma going around.
Happy for you😁
Like.
Just getting caught up on the thread. Good for you for bailing on that first fellow. At a minimum, his “bedside” manner needs, well, a LOT of work. Dentists NEED TO KNOW that dental work is highly stressful for a lot of people - even ones who do NOT have issues with pain etc. - and it sounds like they’re pretty disorganized when 2 minutes turns to 40 (hey, guess what: anesthesia WEARS OFF). And, well, there is such a thing as too much information. Sounds like he was indeed trying to scare you off.
I’ve never cried in the chair - but once when I had a temporary crown fall off, and had to go to a colleague of my regular dentist (who was out of town) to get it re-set, I was in pain, and stressing… and after 7 (yes, seven) injections of novocaine he finally managed to get it done. No commentary on his technique - but stress makes anesthesia work less well, which engenders more stress… After it was done, I went into the nearest restroom and sobbed.
I will NOT having anything more major than a cleaning done now, without at least nitrous on board. I have managed to have crowns reset with just novocaine, but the fillings etc. I have to have nitrous, and ideally some oral sedation as well.
Re implants: I’ve had two. The first one was after a failed root canal (which was a nightmare in and of itself). I had the tooth extracted under IV sedation, and took a while to decide implant vs bridge. When I had the implant placed (again, IV sedation), it was well over a year later and the socket had long since filled in - so no bone graft was needed.
I had told the oral surgeon that I would require sedation, as having the work done while running down the hall screaming would a) make his job harder, and b) scare the other patients. I did have to remind him, when it came time to uncover the implant top (next step), that I’d like him to use topical anesthesia before the novocaine injection.
The next implant, the extraction and implant were done at the same time. We had discussed it beforehand - it might be possible, it might not; I gave him permission to do it either way based on his judgment, as I was not going to be conscious. I lucked out - he was able to place the implant, though it required a bone graft due to the fresh socket. I didn’t have to have an “uncovering” procedure with this one either - different post design, and it was above the gumline the whole time.
My husband got similarly lucky with his one implant - placed at the time of extraction.
For anyone doing this in the future: a lot of dental insurance has a cap of, say, 2,000 dollars in coverage in a year. The implant portion will eat all that up - then you have to go to your regular dentist to have the crown made, which is another chunk of change - and you won’t have any benefits left to cover that. Both times, I’ve managed to split the process into two calendar years, so the policy reset and the crown part was covered.
I’ll have to check my records, but the first implant was at least 10 years ago, possibly 15 or more, and has posed no problems. At first, when I brushed my teeth, the sound transmitted into the jaw via the metal post caused it to sound REALLY strange. Startled me at first, then amused me. It no longer does that (and the second one never did). I have no clue why.
Another commentary on insurance: Dental insurance does not like to cover the cost of IV sedation, even for an extraction (they do cover it for wisdom tooth removal). But weirdly, it covered the IV sedation when I had the post implanted for the first tooth. Not when I had the first extraction, or when I had the second extraction/implant. Luckily we can afford to cover the cost.
Hi @Mama_Zappa 
You’ve been through the wringer, tooth-wise speaking. My sympathy. And empathy.
My implant saga is going okay. I had some trouble over the weekend with the dressing on the site, and I phoned the dentist on Sunday on his cell phone (!) and he said to come in Monday morning and someone would remove the bothersome sutures. So I did and it was fine. I’ve stopped taking the 800 mg IB (hard on the stomach) and have switched to regular Tylenol. Last night I had a fair amount of jaw pain, but today it’s better. I’m going in tomorrow morning for my scheduled followup and an x-ray to see what’s happening in my jaw.
I do not feel anything sticking out of the extraction/implant area with my tongue, so I guess I will need some slicing when it’s time to put on the doo-dad that the fake tooth connects to. Oh well. I don’t want “sedation,” as I have a bad reaction (serious nausea) to anything resembling general anesthesia. I’ll settle for a well-placed shot (or several). I’ve never had nitrous oxide-- don’t know if I should consider it.
No dental insurance here, but I’ve just scored a bunch of amazon rewards points. I use those to buy my electronic toys and gadgets. May look at one of those backup power banks being discussed in another thread.
Anyone else who feels inclined to post their dental stories here, please feel free.