Has anyone here had dental implants?
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Has anyone here had dental implants?
I had three implants done 10 years ago. Cost me about $8K, fortunately they're a good bit cheaper now. Full extractions of all teeth and going to dentures would have been cheaper, but I wanted to keep what I had...so far so good.Quote:
Originally Posted by HBARleatherneck
The TV ads you see hyping 'one-day implants' is BS. After they extracted two failed root canals (remember Marathon Man?) it took almost 3 months for the swelling to go down enough to install the titanium posts, then another month for the molding, construction, twice, and fitting of the crowns.
I had these done on lowers. They said I could never have them on the uppers as my jaw bone isn't thick enough before intruding on the sinuses...bad juju.
that's the difference between yesterdays and todays advances. I have an upper. They do this thing called a sinus lift. That was 6 months ago. next month i go for phase 2, then a crown. That same day service come on is just that.Quote:
Originally Posted by whitbaby
I have 5 implants. (upper front). You can't tell. (if you have seen me, you know, you can't tell), sometimes dentists can't tell until they look really close. I don't ever bite with my front teeth, but i can tear, chew, etc. They are just crowns, so don't do stupid shit with crowns and they last for a long time. (mine have been in for 10+ years)
It was expensive as holy shit. However, i found out afterwards that sometimes medical insurance pays (not dental, medical) so look into that before you do it (cuz if you do it afterwards, they deny it, just ask me how i know this)
You need to find a really good dentist who does excellent reconstructive work. Becuase you want them to look good. You then need to find a periodontist (gum doctor) who will actually do the implants itself (and the dentist does the crowns, but they have to work together)
They put you under (drip), drill the holes and implant the screws/anchors. (you are not totally under, so you can hear/feel them doing things like screwing on it, etc, it's pretty weird). Then they make a flipper. A temporary denture. You really can't put any pressure on these, they are just cosmetic so you don't have a big hole in your mouth. Then you wait, 6 months for the gums to heal and swelling to go down. Ever see somebody with a crown where there is a big gap between their crown and gumline? it's because they didn't wait long enough and gumline continued to move.
Then, more x rays, they build the teeth, match the color, then they uncover the anchors (owwww, worst part for me) and put the crowns on. a little more healing and you are done.
they are amazing, but it is money and time. My dentist always says, the best choice is to keep your own teeth if you can, but 2nd choice is implants.
When you go for a cleaning, they have to use special tools (plastic) so you always need to tell them/remind them, etc, but you clean them just like normal teeth.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
I have 2. One upper and one lower. About 5K each including oral surgery to remove old teeth and bone graft to support the implant. They feel "normal". If you can afford them I would go with an implant over dentures.
Mike
I have a lower back tooth that I just got the implant put on. Long process for me because my jaw bone took a little while to heal. Cost me 3k. Works great and will ensure that the top tooth doesn't come down out of place over time.
I need to get one. Have been rocking a flipper for one of my front teeth for years now.
Two upper incisors a couple of years ago. Not cheap (a couple $K each). Forget the 'one-day implant' ads - you need to have the post that they implant into the jaw completely integrated before you load it (and failure is not an option). Feel like normal teeth, no worries on biting and chewing, and no one but my dentist could tell that they aren't natural. The oral surgeon figures that they'll outlast me and materials are improving over time (like hips and knees). See if you can get medical to cover, they occasionally do if it is more functional than cosmetic.
My mom has one. She was amazed at how quickly the titanium implant healed up. She was ready for the crown way before the crown was ready.
Titanium is awesome stuff.
Just went to the dentist today. From the sounds of it, I'm glad my teeth are good!
Yeah, really interesting. The dentist told me that some vet student decided to see if he could build up a splint for a rabbit's broken leg for a class project.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gman
He just happened to have a titanium rod and used that for an internal splint. He wired the rod on each side of the break.
The rabbit survived several years with just a noticeable limp but functioned pretty well. Years later the vet student, now graduated, put the rabbit down as it was quite aged for a rabbit. Just out of curiosity he checked the splinted leg...over the years the bone had actually adhered to the rod! Seemed to be an unknown characteristic of titanium at the time.
He wrote it up in a professional journal and the rest is history.
For a full bridge implant, the "teeth in one day" (Clear Choice) ads are a bit misleading. They give you temporary, less (no molars) and shortened teeth while the bone grafts to the implants. Soft food diet for 3-4 moths. Scheduling visits can be difficult and the whole process can often take up to two years.
Full bridge upper/lower is usually quoted out around $50K but they will negotiate.
I have had a flipper for one missing front tooth for 30 years now because of the cost. What a PITA!!!