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Dental implants?

Bart

Bart

pfm Member
I recently bit down hard on something harder than my back teeth and since then I get some pain (dull rather than acute) in this area when I chew. I also notice that the two rearmost teeth are a slightly loose but not sure if this is new or not. Gums are receding a bit.
I am thinking of getting some implants here - I know the rough cost! - does anyone have any experience with them, especially in a similar situation. I don’t want to end up with a worse problem...
 
I have four of them, two paid by insurance (accident) and after 4 resp. 7 years they are doing well. I don't feel that they are implants at all.

Most important, clean your teeth (once a day is OK as long as you do it properly) and never brush towards the base of the tooth. Your gums are now worth a multiple of their weight in gold.

I could probably google a lot of horror stories about implants, but I just don't.

Wait a minute: a schoolfriend of mine once had four implants done in the front, they all fell off within two years. But he admitted not having cleaned his teeth very often. I guess you must be crazy to neglect them that way.

Oh and most important: *never* have them done in Eastern Europe or so. You *must* wait six months after having got the tooth pulled so the bone can heal. In those countries they do everything in one day and I'm pretty sure this won't last long.

I asked my dental surgeon what he tought of these dentists, he said that commercially they were interesting for him - because of all the complications he has to fix following such amateurish interventions.
 
My wife was in a similar position - got an implant (including bone graft, 6 month wait for post insertion), spent a lot of money, and now the implant hurts just as much or worse than the tooth it replaced. Sample of 1 of course.

Definitely see a dentist and explore all options - implants are not a magic cure it would seem.
 
I went through assessment for implants with the specialist at my - extremely professional - surgery a couple of years ago. There are specific professional further qualifications for implant specialists and good ones are busy and not cheap for a reason. You need good bone for the implant, and in the likely event you need some extra bone it is a long process (I was quoted a year) to let the new bone establish. My normal dentist said he was qualified in implants but wasn’t confident to do mine.

luckily I was just able to have a “heroic” (their word) crown done, but implants are in my future for sure.

Definitely find a recommended and qualified specialist for advice. Take least the same care as you would for a major house extension!
 
my mother is going through this for a full upper set - bone grafts were done about 9 months ago and she had the posts inserted about a month ago. Has had a few infections in the gum and one post came lose. Still a few more visits until finished. She said it'll take about 13 months in total.
 
JensenHealey said:
I would talk to a dentist first - your post does not make clear whether you have.
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My dentist said he thought the filling might have cracked and any further pressure (chewing) might be opening the crack slightly and suggested re-doing the filling, or a crown. I wasn’t very convinced and after googling see that there are a number of possible causes including a bruised tooth ligament. Since the tooth is also loose I thought I might take the plunge and get an implant or two, so I am interested in anybody’s experiences.
 
My wife had several done over the years in Malaysia, no problems at all. Waiting for the socket to heal up for 6 months plus and for the post to stabilise takes another 6 months before it can be used.
My dentist has told me that he can do me some with bone grafts as my roots are so deep, almost to the sinus cavities
 
Bart said:
My dentist said he thought the filling might have cracked and any further pressure (chewing) might be opening the crack slightly and suggested re-doing the filling, or a crown. I wasn’t very convinced and after googling see that there are a number of possible causes including a bruised tooth ligament. Since the tooth is also loose I thought I might take the plunge and get an implant or two, so I am interested in anybody’s experiences.
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My dental hygiene in my youth was appalling and I have more fillings and crowns than teeth. My dentist (of 30 years) always told me to go one step at a time, so that if that fails at some stage, you have another step to try. Going straight to implants when a crown or bridge might well work for some years might not be wise (or cost-effective).
 
I’ve got a five tooth bridge on three implants, cost me £9k total. Some of the work eg. temporary dentures was on the NHS. I previously had a mix of crowns and a bridge, I didn’t need a bone graft but it was still a long job.
 
Bart said:
My dentist said he thought the filling might have cracked and any further pressure (chewing) might be opening the crack slightly and suggested re-doing the filling, or a crown. I wasn’t very convinced and after googling see that there are a number of possible causes including a bruised tooth ligament. Since the tooth is also loose I thought I might take the plunge and get an implant or two, so I am interested in anybody’s experiences.
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Serious question - why are you taking advice from the internet over your dentist, who has actually examined you? If you have doubts about your dentist, or just want a second opinion, consult another dentist.
 
Bart said:
My dentist said he thought the filling might have cracked and any further pressure (chewing) might be opening the crack slightly and suggested re-doing the filling, or a crown. I wasn’t very convinced and after googling see that there are a number of possible causes including a bruised tooth ligament. Since the tooth is also loose I thought I might take the plunge and get an implant or two, so I am interested in anybody’s experiences.
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It sounds like your dentist is suggesting the most conservative treatments first, which sounds good to me.
 
I have had several implant for ~10 years now. They are rock solid, absolutely 0 problems with them (X-ray check last week). The key seems to be, as often, preparation so that when the surgeon drills the bone and pops in the implants, he is sure of dimensions etc. And then plenty of time for the implant to bed in and the bone to grow around it.
Make sure you get a surgeon who specialises in this and carries out many of these procedures every week. The chap I used 10 years ago put in my 3 implants in 40 minutes flat as he had done meticulous preparation work (took moulds to make templates, checked templates against a 3D model of my jaw, etc.) in previous sessions. He'd stopped doing crowns and fillings many years before that.
 
kensalriser said:
Serious question - why are you taking advice from the internet over your dentist, who has actually examined you? If you have doubts about your dentist, or just want a second opinion, consult another dentist.
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I’ve not asked for advice I have asked what other people’s experiences have been, which is different.
 
Bart said:
I’ve not asked for advice I have asked what other people’s experiences have been, which is different.
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You are asking others about their experience of a procedure that might be inappropriate for your problem.

Receding gums is an indicator of gum problems which can lead to bone atrophy, for example.
 
I'm 56, had 2 implants (rearmost molars next to each other) about 9/10 years ago. I was quoted £6k in Cambridge and looked at the huge conservatory waiting room, the beautiful mansion house that was attached to, and the cars in the private part of the car park. And wished I'd studied at school! Did some basic research and visited the Brighton implant clinic. I went in a few shops nearby and asked some questions. Lots of famous people in and out regularly. The dentist explained that implants was pretty much all they did, he didn't see why they should be so expensive and built his business on that premise. (within a normal shop type building nicely converted). A few scans to see if I was suitable and off we went. 5 visits I think, with months for the bone to grow around the metal implant. I even asked to see in my mouth as the gums were peeled back and jawbone revealed - very interesting and informative surgeon.

Outcome: no problems whatsoever, teeth still here. Would I recommend? Absolutely. A no b/s professional service at approx £1k per tooth. Yes of course it took more time with 90 mile journies each way but I made appointments for 10ish, got down there for a nice breakfast and took my toothbrush. All very civilised and saved myself £4k minus travelling etc.
 
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