<p>Thank you all for sharing your experiences with dental implants. MiamiDAP I am confused by your suggestion to get implant research through Google and not to ask for opinions on CC…Obviously, I have researched the procedure through Google and also my regular dentist gave me alot of valuable information. I thought that this forum was a perfect place to ask others who have had this procedure to share their experiences. I am meeting with a specialist this week and I will make my final decision after speaking with him however, I am leaning toward implant surgery (which was also strongly recommended to me by my dentist). I just wanted to know others experiences, good and bad, so that I can go to my appointment this week a bit more knowledgeable about the process and as always, the CC crew helped me with that.</p>
<p>^I meant that we will not know what is availably to you locally and what is applicable specifically to your case. Your dentist is definitely better source than CC. For example, did you research what are miniimplants and if they are applicable to you and available locally? If I need another one in a future, I am planning to research that, but not here.</p>
<p>Halfway through getting a crown for a crack, it looked like the crack was too deep. One referral led to another. ( I had no idea there were so many dental specialties!). Ultimately it was pulled, and a graft ( bovine) was placed in preparation for an implant. Between finances and other dental issues, including another crown on the opposing tooth, by the time I was in a financial position to proceed ( essentially none of this 6K was covered) about twelve months passed, the guy doing the implant retired, and the next one was not a fan of bovine implants, and in addition, with the new crown, said not enough room. The crown was purposely put on before the implant. Now I would need more work to make room. Even though I have already invested quite a bit, I don’t think I am going to finish. It was a last molar.</p>
<p>^This is a perfect example of how it is very different from place to palce and doc to doc. With all my inplant done by the same surgeon, he likes to pull the tooth himself and place implant right after. Placing implant under this conditions takes literally couple of minutes, which I do not even notice after pulling the tooth. I also prefer not to be put out, I like to be aware of what is going on and be able to drive after implant surgery and I normally go straight to work. My surgeon always insists on putting me out, but he cannot do procedure if I disagree. Procedures are very different at different offices and personal preferences are different also.</p>
<p>One of my kids was born without the right upper incisor next to the front one. She wore fakes on her braces and retainer until the oral surgeons considered her facial bones grown (about age 17 for her, alas, we were told many kids are able to do it sooner).<br>
Our insurance considered the whole thing as cosmetic, since they could have filed her front tooth and eye-tooth down to nubs to build bridges instead. Grrrrrr. Enough on the stupid insurance…whole thing was out of pocket. Thank God that we could afford it with some serious shifting of what was important that year.
She had no problems, the implant looks and “feels” like a real tooth. (funny side note - her brother came in at the end of a conversation about the dental work and said "Wait, dragonsis is getting “implants”?!?. Yes, but only one. That stopped him for a minute…<br>
Even if you have to pay out of pocket I would save up and do the implants instead of a bridge.</p>
<p>“he likes to pull the tooth himself and place implant right after. Placing implant under this conditions takes literally couple of minutes,”</p>
<p>MiamiDAP; you had an implant or titanium rod, placed in the hole after extraction, and didn’t need a bone graft?</p>
<p>^I had titanium implant. When surgeon was not the one to pull the tooth (I believe I had 2-3 of these), then he had to drill my bones and it took longer. When he pulled the tooth himself, he just put in titanium implant in palce of pulled tooth. Then after it is all healed, my dentist built crowns on the titanium pin. They call it implant, it was very expensive, I do not know about any other implants, but I have heard about miniimplants, which sound like much easier and cheaper procedure. I have never needed a bone graft, my gums are in very good shape, I wish I could say the same about my teeth.</p>
<p>I see. From what I can tell, in some situations, even when the procedure is done immediately after the extraction, and by the same provider, a bone graft must be added for a variety of reasons. Then the graft must heal for several months before the rod is placed, then a few more months before the crown goes on.That was to have been my plan.</p>