[Closed] Tell me about dental implants

http://www.dentalhealth.org/tell-me-about/topic/cosmetic-dentistry/implants

http://simonkingston.co.uk/simon/Site_2/Implants.html

Good stuff on sites above.
Was it xrayed at the time?
Options are probably as suggested.
If extracted initially a denture for a few months while healing
Possibly 1 implant with a bridge attached but difficult without seeing it
Most of my patients seem very happy after implant treatment(I don't do them but refer to a specialist)
Stages are basically implant placement(cut gum drill hole in bone and stick in implant, stitch over and leave)
Leave a number of months to heal
Cut hole to implant attach plastic tooth for gum healing around it
Leave month or so then impressions for a porcelain tooth.
Prob about 6-9 months treatment
Price seems in ballpark

Success of, and eligibility for, implants depend on many different things. As you had an accident you may have lost some of the bone where the teeth were knocked out. This can effect whether or not implants can be placed in these areas or not. Success rates are generally very high, although as with all dentistry, things can and do fail. £2000 is not far off the mark for an implant and subsequent restoration with a crown.
The crown could be coming loose for a number of reasons e.g. failure of the bond, decay underneath etc. The reason for its failure will have an effect on what treatment can then be carried out. This should all be discussed with your dentist though, as each case is individual- he has access to your x-rays etc.

Hope that helps!

Shane MacGowan looks reet.

I'm in the process of having one done for a tooth that cracked and had to be replaced. Because of which tooth it is there isn't enough bone to screw the pin into so there is an additional step of pushing the sinus up and injecting some collagen which is then left for a few months before inserting the pin (which I get have done in a month or two).

For what it's worth I was more than a little apprehensive but the first procedure went really easily and took about an hour in all I think. I've talked to friends about it since and quite a few seem to have it.

Price you've been quoted seems similar to here (Belgium) but I did have one friend who was quoted double that and it does seem a little random - it may be worth checking a couple of people. I also don't know if thee is a referral fee to the dentist who send you there but the price did seem to go up after they knew which particular dentist I had.

So far so good and I'm happy but it isn't cheap and I can't quite work out where the expense is.

The advice above is pretty spot on.

Without seeing your mouth its impossible to be any more specific. There are always a few options and there is rarely a right and a wrong answer in dentistry. The implants may represent a better value for money option in the long term rather than a new bridge which may have a more limited lifespan and still cost a significant amount. Bottom line is that a lot depends on whats going on under the existing bridge and what sort of shape the remaining central incisor that is currently the support for the bridge is in. If that tooth is ok for a crown but not good enough to support the bridge you would get away with one implant to replace the bridged lateral, if the central is knackered too you would most likely need two implants. The bone level is not going to be a problem in the central position as you havent lost that tooth yet, in the lateral position if there isnt enough bone you can have artificial bone chips or a bone graft to increase it. This would add £600 ish and might add an extra surgical procedure and 6 months to the treatment time but it's not a horrendous process.

I would say that all my patients with implants are all happy they went for them. I dont do the surgery but i do the putting the teeth on top afterwards bit

These pics are from a girl vs surfboard incident!

Cost wise £2000 is right depending on where you live and who is doing them for you. I would advise against going abroad to get them done cheaper - if you get trouble later it leaves you in a hole as far as sorting it out goes!

PS

the cost is partly in the cost of doing the training for them and partly in the cost of the kit you need. £15 - £20k to set yourself up - even the little screwdrivers are £300!

plus you are paying a professional a specialist rate - dentistry is no more expensive than vets or solicitors yet no one questions their fees! (sorry i'll ignore that soap box!)

Cost me £2000 for a molar, took two goes to get right but no extra expense , no pain and a brilliant job, well worth it and may get the front crowns done as well when funds allow, can recommend a guy in West Yorkshire without hesitation.
I reckon alot of the fee goes into insurance 'cos I had no extra expense for a full revamp when it failed at the final hurdle.

+1 ceepers RE costing! The kits are expensive and the implant itself isn't cheap. Plus there's the training, the time it takes to do, the complexity of the procedure, insurance required etc.....I might need to get down off my soapbox too 😳

Thanks for the cost update ceepers. I paid about 500 quid for one hour's work whichI would question for any profession. I was wondering if there was very expensive equipment involved which you have answered, tx. Still seems pricey though but there aren't many options other than going abroad

Edit:Oops. Sorry if I've caused much soap boxing. It was a real question rather than a dig at dentistry costs.

old man is half way thru it and my mum coincidentally..old man needs 10 teeth...and yes theyre £2k a pop,oh and he got charged £1k to have his teeth removed...both had to give up smoking though which has been brilliant..although false teeth and all the eating hassle dont seem that good

I face planted 2 years ago, bent my two front teeth back into my head (they got bent back into place but are now dead), and lost two teeth next to my front ones.
Luckily I had dental insurance that paid out and got my two missing ones replaced with an implant.
The implants are stronger than any of the teeth I have left in my head! Cannot recommend them enough.
The process of getting them fitted is a bit weird but if you can stand a few uncomfortable injections then it is fine.

Hmm. Went back to the dentist to see my x-rays yesterday. My front crown and bridge is loose because the root canal filling is failing - the root has crumbled and has some infection too. It will have to come out, either in a controlled way or it will fall out.

As the root has crumbled my options are now Dentures or Implants. The recommended option was to have my canine removed and have three implants, ~£7200 (gulp).

I'm now looking for 2nd (and 3rd) opinions, so if you can recommend anyone in the South West or Midlands...

the implants are expensive but so worth it. can you get some on finance? My dentist had a 0% plan which really helped spread the cost. I had 20+ years of trouble with an incisor after getting hit in the face with a seesaw aged 8, I finally had the tooth pulled when the infection in the dead root returned for the nth time and went down the implant path. took about a year all told but it feels great and strong. bit weird having the inch long spike screwed into my head though.

is the canine knackered as well? do you have one bridge from the central to the premoalar at the moment or two seperate ones?

In the south west i would reccomend Ian here.

http://www.torringtondental.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=35&Itemid=60

He does the surgery for my pt's and teaches at the dental school in plymouth. He has a superb reputation and doesnt have an expensive car or house to fund so whatever he quotes you will be a reasonable price. If i needed implants i would trust him!

I have a two piece bridge with a 'hinge' attachment.

I have been told that it might be possible to keep the canine with the cantilevered pre-molar bridge, but that it wouldn't last very long, ~3yrs maybe. And then I'd need to do something else, again. It'd be preferable to just get it sorted if possible.

I still think it's a huge expense.
My dentist has someone in who charges £2,000 per patient and does upto 5 on any particular day.
While I appreciate the training and tools involved the cost to the patient still seems excessive to me.

The dentist that performed my implant (which went very wrong and looked nothing like the picture I was shown) lives in a mansion, drives several cars, Aston Martin, Porsche, large sporty Range rover and those don't include the cars the wife drives.

I just have a bit of a problem with people making huge sums of money out of medical professions, such as dentistry, opticians etc.

Big house and car just means someone's prepared to lend u a lot of money. Honestly implants aren't that profitable, the bits and pieces are costly and they take a large number of appointments over a long period of time.

Every profession has cowboys and people who overcharge but MOST dentists are just trying to look after people well in a crap system and be paid a similar amount to other similarly qualified professionals with similar responsibility.

It's not a great way to make money - boots and specs avers bought dental practices and sold them again as they weren't profitable enough. That's fact!

Yes the dentist that tried to set up the 'Boots' dental practices was indeed my ex - dentist. He got a vast sum of money for doing so, even though as you correctly say, they didn't work out.

Apparently the French made some really poor ones out of mattresses and they explode spontaneously .....

Shouldn't be long before we can grow you some new ones.

http://uk.bioeden.com/home/

For example.

Had an implant about 6 years ago with these guys in Budapest:

http://www.vitaleurope.co.uk/

Highly recommend them for service, treatment and cost (cost me around £1500 for treatment, flights and accom)

I already had a gap though, so no teeth needed to be removed in order to fit the implant.

Well worth it in my opinion.

SWMBO Is just waiting for a final moulding for an implant from these people in brighton.
http://www.brightonimplantclinic.co.uk/

Her regular dentist looked at their credentials and they all seemed kosher, so she used them. She's been really happy and their prices are really cheap. If I needed one I'd be there in a shot. Although you need lots of appointments, so I guess it isn't that handy if you live in Edinburgh.

It's ironic some people think 2g is a lot for a custom made one off titanium and ceramic thing to replace a missing body part fitted by a highly skilled expert is a lot yet 4g on a mass produced bike is ok!

leaving aside the politics and economics of the healthcare system I can heartily endorse actually having dental implants, both in terms of the treatment and the result. Had a molar done five or six years ago and can never remember which one it is...

@captainslow. Well it was either 5 or 6, does it really matter which? 😀

bust a front tooth. Had an implant 2 years ago. Cost £2k and it's the best thing I've ever done. My mum is now having her third one with the same dentist.

C

The Mrs is a technician. The expense is mostly in the mark-up. The creation of the teeth is skilled work - with a lot of bodging* involved.

*Its a technical term apparently.

It is not necessarily the end of the story. I had an implant about 5years ago but about 2years the tooth broke. I went back to the original dentist who did bodge it very successfully but said the only real way to sort it was to redo the implant at a cost of £2000 . I needless to say have been very careful with what I eat and how I eat it. I dread that awful sensation well known to those of us with crap teeth of finding a strange hard piece in what should be a soft mouthful of food! So far so good, the bodge is holding but for how long I don't know but a cantilever bridge I had on another tooth was a complete failure leading to the tooth it was cantilevered to being extracted. I couldn't afford another implant so I have got a small falsie which isn't great so beware and get best possible advice about your particular situation.

It is not necessarily the end of the story. I had an implant about 5years ago but about 2years the tooth broke. I went back to the original dentist who did bodge it very successfully but said the only real way to sort it was to redo the implant at a cost of £2000 . I needless to say have been very careful with what I eat and how I eat it. I dread that awful sensation well known to those of us with crap teeth of finding a strange hard piece in what should be a soft mouthful of food! So far so good, the bodge is holding but for how long I don't know but a cantilever bridge I had on another tooth was a complete failure leading to the tooth it was cantilevered to being extracted. I couldn't afford another implant so I have got a small falsie which isn't great so beware and get best possible advice about your particular situation.

So who's a dentist here?
Where did you train when did you qualify etc?

Me obviously 97 Bristol but I wouldn't say being a dentist defines me!

Me-Birmingham!

Ive got one, had it for a decade now. Takes a bit of extra care with the floss as the gum has receded around the post (normal) but apart from that, nothing. It's great.

I had an implant done two years ago. The dentist offered me the choice of several types of bridge or an implant. I asked her what she would choose if she were in my shoes and she said "the implant obviiously".

Like people have already said implants are not 100% successful and so you need careful consultation with the dentist doing the operation. The basic technology works a bit like a rawl plug and a screw. From beginning to end it took about months but that was with long breaks to allow things to heal properly. Since then I have had no problems with it. The only negative thing is the cost but seeing as in Germany the insurance pays over half it's not too expensive.

Newcastle '91

One of my biking group is a very experienced implant consultant who's told me some horror stories about bad implants so make sure you check out the dentist you are speaking to. He's based Slough so not local but he may be able to offer some advice if you wish. Email in profile if needed.

Can anyone recommend a dentist to do implants in south Warwickshire as I need to get one done and been quoted £3,500 so far, sorry to hijack the thread!
Thanks
Iain

I know some in the Birmingham/bromsgrove area if that helps?

Thanks Luke, a bit too far to travel on regular basis for me, cheers.
Iain

Sounds about right in terms of proceedure and price. I was quoted a similar price. In my case the x-ray showed that I need a bone graft to give enough bone to fix the implant to and this would take a while to settle and several trips to my dentist over a year. I havent raised the funds yet but then again Pace didnt compensate me for their sh1te forks snapping did they 😉 grrrrrrrr.

Hi Iain.

I've visited 5 dentists in total now. One was Stratford Dental, in Stratford (you'd never have guessed). That was on recommendation of my parents who live a bit more locally than me. The practice seems ok, but I was a bit annoyed at making an appointment to ask about implants, and then just get a quick overview for the dentist to say
"Yes, implants would be one solution; you'll need to see our implantologist. He's here once a month, and was here yesterday. You'll have to come back in a month. That'll be £130 please."

Personally I want a practice that can offer service better than once a month, and so far I have been most satisfied by Ceepers recommendation on the 1st page.

Sorry that doesn't really help, apart from 'maybe not Stratford Dental'.

Good luck.

Have you thought about dental tourism? Apparently the Czech Republic is a hotspot for it. And even with flights etc I can't see it costing 7k

TBH - I need to get an implant sorted as well , so just beginning to look at options ...

You might get lucky having treatment abroad but then again you may have a lot of problems.

I had a patient in the other week who requires a full mouth rebuild after shoddy work abroad and can think of quite a few others in a similar situation. They are all ending up paying more than their initial treatment would have cost in the UK and ending up with a dentition with a worse long term prognosis.

Some good info here

You may find that if you have problems some dentists in this country would not wish to treat you, basically if there is a problem and they try to sort it they then become involved in the problem and may be liable....

I had another patient a few years ago who had some implant work done abroad using some obscure system and there wasn't a dentist in the UK who could correct the work. Basically implant systems and their connectors vary (think Torx screws and other similar security type screws) and may not be interchangeable. If you have the actual implant placed and the crown fails it may be difficult to replace.