Dental implants?

Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Messages
4,310
Reaction score
4,940
Location
CNY
I've been having a problem with a tooth that had a root canal about eight years ago. My dentist wants to pull it and do a dental implant. He says the two teeth on either side of it are good...one has a crown, the other doesn't even have a filling. Looking at close to four thousand bucks for the one implant. Insurance will only cover a fraction of it. It just seems extravagant to me. I guess I don't have much choice....I should have been a dentist instead of a welder.
 
Register to hide this ad
For me, a 8.95 blender works good. I can eat just about anything I used to like with it. I couldn't go for the $1000 a tooth implant either...


WuzzFuzz
 
Ask him if a fixed bridge would be a viable alternative.

Hi Bob, max,

He did offer that as an option (a bridge), but he said that he would have to modify the other two teeth to accept the bridge. He showed me a model of how that would work. He also said I wouldn't be able to floss where the bridge was.

He's sending in a pre-authorization to see how much my insurance will cover. I'll know more then.

Thanks.
 
Expensive, but.....

Get the implant if you can afford it. The next best thing
to having your own natural teeth.
 
It Is Worth The Price

I've been having a problem with a tooth that had a root canal about eight years ago. My dentist wants to pull it and do a dental implant. He says the two teeth on either side of it are good...one has a crown, the other doesn't even have a filling. Looking at close to four thousand bucks for the one implant. Insurance will only cover a fraction of it. It just seems extravagant to me. I guess I don't have much choice....I should have been a dentist instead of a welder.

The people I know, myself included, all agree. If you can swing it, implants are the way to go.
Done correctly, the entire process will take about a year. Extract old tooth, wait six months, and if you have good bone quality and density, install the post. If not, you will need a bone graft. After the post is installed, it will be a few months before the abutment and crown can be installed. My entire experience was pain and drama free. However, it was a strange sensation when the posts were being installed and I heard the little torque wrench clicking.

Best,
Gary
 
I guess I don't have much choice....

Sure you do. I was faced with the same choice. I only have 27 teeth now,but I can still eat everything I did when I had 28. Now,if it had been an incisor instead of a canine,well...........
f.t.
 
If you do decide to go with implants, don't get those huge ones that everyone knows are fake. ;)
 
I like the second opinion idea

We were going to a state-of-the-art dentist who did great work, but it was EXPENSIVE. I'm not suggesting that you get a 'cheap' job they may cause you trouble, but it wouldn't hurt to get another opinion. That's a LOT of money.

PS: The guy's place had a huge building in a medical park and large staff and they cranked people through like crazy. I couldn't leave the place without at least $100-200. If they did any 'real' work it went up by hundreds. When we were both working it was ok until I retired and we got our boy. Then things started getting tight. We found a lady dentist in a regular office and small staff and I'm sure she is just as proficient.
 
Last edited:
I have a couple and need a third.If you can swing it,it's worth the expense.If you don't,the bone where the tooth was will disappear and the other molars will start moving forward creating all sorts of new problems.This stuff hurts in more ways than one [emoji57]
 
I'm in the middle of getting one and my insurance doesn't cover it. Had the tooth pulled and was told to come back to see the dentist in 6 months. Tooth was pulled in November.......2009 :D (Hey...I had other stuff to do and it didn't bother me). Finally my wife's B....moaning and groaning wom out and I'm getting it now. $4,000 just to get the wife off of my back is basically how I see this. :rolleyes:
 
I also think you should get the implant. My dad's bridges are a mess, not that he wears the thing that often anyway.

Its expensive, and its always easy to spend other peoples money, but I think you'll be happier in the long run.

I'm going to the dentist today myself, I eat too much sugar. :(
 
G-Mac,
There are far too many factors to consider in your situation for any of us here to try to influence your decision. What works in one persons case and doesn't work in another's case is simply an anecdote with little/no impact on your outcome. The only person qualified to help you with the decision is the dentist(s) who have COMPLETELY examined you and have all the facts, both medical/dental and financial.

Cajun,
I'd think that as a lawyer, you could think of at least one other way to get your wife off your back. ;-)

Bob
 
G-Mac:

I can feel your pain...I go in for the installation of my posts (I"m getting 2 implants side-by-side) next Monday. Mrs. Double-O had her own implants (2) done earlier this year. Our Oral Surgeon is very good, and very up front about the options available. I briefly considered the bridge, but when he said that it would be clipped to the tooth with the crown, well, that did it for me as I did not want to risk any damage to an already compromised tooth. If money is an issue, many dental schools offer reasonably priced dental care that is performed by students under their teacher's supervision. I've known more than a few people who went that route and were very pleased with the results. Also, here in the Great State of Texas, many go south to Mexico for more reasonably priced dental care, and again, I've never heard of anyone who was dissatisfied. While Mexico may be a stretch for you travel wise, how about Canada? Would that be a viable option for you?

Best of luck,

Dave
 
I've been having a problem with a tooth that had a root canal about eight years ago. My dentist wants to pull it and do a dental implant. He says the two teeth on either side of it are good...one has a crown, the other doesn't even have a filling. Looking at close to four thousand bucks for the one implant. Insurance will only cover a fraction of it. It just seems extravagant to me. I guess I don't have much choice....I should have been a dentist instead of a welder.

This is where I'm at right now. Just had the old root canal tooth pulled on Thursday. Next month I'm getting a bridge! Basically that means taking the two teeth on either side of the hole, filing them down a bit and putting crowns on them with a fake tooth in the center to cover the hole....thus a bridge.

Now my insurance doesn't cover any of it. So the pulled tooth cost me $235. And the bridge will be somewhere between $1700 and $2500 depending on if the one tooth needs a root canal too. I'm betting on it being the full $2500. The only good part of this is that this dentist does payments. He told me about the implants too and how it has to be done correctly with the drilled hole perfectly into your jaw bone and how if it breaks you are looking at some massive surgery to remove all that.....bla bla. I don't think you need to floss in between the bridge because ifs technically one piece. The modify the other 2 teeth by reducing them by a millimeter all the way around that way when the crown sits on top it will still be the same size as the other teeth


You should have been a dentist? You know dentists have one of the highest suicide rates!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
Well I went the bridge route and haven't regretted it. I have a friend that had nothing but misery from an implant and when it came time to make the decision I remembered that. I have a top notch dentist too. It's been two years and it's fine, don't even notice it.

$1500 less for the bridge too.
 
Just hearing the word "dentist" gives me the shakes. As far as I'm concerned, everything they do is either painful or, at the least, uncomfortable. Very few people I know have insurance to cover even the most routine dental visits. That said, failure to take care of your teeth can lead to other diseases and inability to eat normal foods. Dentures, at least to me, are something to be avoided. I've taken care of my teeth over the years and have had one root canal and a few crowns. Expensive work but I still have a full mouthful of teeth. Still. after all these years and numerous dental appointments, I still sweat like a pig during the entire appointment to the extent that I need to change clothes and shower right after I get home. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!!!!!!!!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top