My dentist reckons that it would be a good thing to have an implant to replace the back molar he removed a couple of weeks ago as it would give the opposing lower one something to ‘bite against’ and thus remain in correct placement. The missing tooth was right at the back so cosmetically not important so wouldn’t spell the end of my modelling career 😉

It is NOT Cheap but is it worth it, or would I just be contributing to his annual family 3 week skiing holiday in Whistler ? 😯

Quoting £1500-2000 BTW

long process if i have it right,

check jaw bone is good enough,
prep socket,
put Ti screw in
wait 3 months for it to settle
make implant and fit
remove wallet and extract wedge
go to whistler
fin.

my dentist is a golfer, i recon average a year he has around 1500-2k from me and thats over the last 12 yrs !!!,

he has never suggested an implant, but loves making crowns in his little 5 axis milling machine, (which i no doubt paid for),

If it is an upper I wouldn’t bother. If a lower, then I would.

It’s an upper. Out of interest why the difference?

‘cos you only chew with your bottom teeth?

But bottom teeth have to move against the top teeth to chew.

I’m thinking more along the lines of maintaining jaw line/integrity.

I have an implant in where a premolar used to be.

It took three goes for the ti screw to set in my jaw, and over the year and a bit it took before the fake tooth could be fitted all some of the other teeth on my lower jaw shifted around as they didn’t have anything ‘holding the space’,

Regarding failed attempts with a ti bolt, my first two goes fell out after a couple months but (allegedly) the company that makes them replaces them on a new for old basis! The dentist was glad I didn’t swallow them by mistake. Me too. At least with my dentist (and this may be just how it is), I only paid for one operation (in spite of it taking three).

Your price range is in line with what I paid.

Implant. Oh yes. I’d definitely go for implants if the only other option was crowns/bridges/20th century metal work.

The price you’ve been quoted seems very fair – are you insured? Or, how experienced is your dentist/the surgeon you’ve been referred to with implants?

There’s partial information here AstraTech UK Dental implant information for patients

It would be a referral to a surgeon if I decide to go ahead but I’m struggling to justify the cost. I’ll have to check the insurance to see if implants are covered but I know the max annual claim is £700 per annum and I’ve used £500 already this year.

Cheers for the info and feedback.

i recon average a year he has around 1500-2k from me and thats over the last 12 yrs !!!

Christ, I’m glad I have good strong teeth! 😯

(Not a single filling or even toothache in 38 years…)

i recon average a year he has around 1500-2k from me and thats over the last 12 yrs !!!

WTF! I’ve got shite teeth but my NHS checkups just seem to keep ticking by with the £15 or whatever it is charge every 6 months. Do you chew concrete ?

apparently i have a hard bite ?,

if i have a filling then usually within the year i will break the tooth biting on something, then it’s ceric implant time and then i break a few of those until eventually one stays in, major bummer,wallet robbed 😯

i do have a good relationship with my dentist, but he is private, (not much choice these days), he has a really nice surgery, i know the staff by first names and can get an appointment at the drop of the hat, but the bills can be staggering!!!,

on the flip side sometimes he doesn’t charge me for appointments 😀

but on the other hand i’ve funded his golf habit and most likely paid for the lovely chair and the tv in his
dental suite, its all very high tech,

my wife has no fillings at 38, i 😐

I am just about to have a top back molar implant. Here’s what I have been told: It will not be purely cosmetic as it will help maintain jaw integrity and bone mass (bone starts being reabsorbed after the tooth is removed apparently)and will help with your bite which may be compromised and therefore affect the way you eat if you don’t have it done.

Main thing – do you trust your dentist and his/her judgement as well as ability to carry out such a procedure correctly? As with most things, what you pay for is what you get – there are different qulities of implant out there and there are different dentists. I will have my implant done a top reconstructive surgeons (he works on facial reconstruction on soldiers back from Iraq/Afghanistan as well as cancer patients) who I have met and has gone through the procedure with me and will be assisted by my regular dentist and nurses in a sterile surgery environment to minimise the risk of infection etc. It is an operation, so it is not just the cost of the implant to consider – its skill and hygeine etc.

It is expensive -I WILL pay £2100 for one implant AND crown, and may need a bone graft or sinus lift (sinus lift only for upper teeth, obviously! which will add another £1000 – make sure the quote you have is for the implant AND the crown tooth which has to go on top of the iplant (it costs about the same as the implant, so £1000) and that you won’t need any ‘extras’. For the implant, you need about 8-10mm of good bone for the implant to bond to, otherwise you need the bone graft – not as bad as it sounds as it apparently comes in powder-like form and is just packed onto the existing bone to fuse with it.

The procedure should be as follows:
X rays to check jaw bone is good enough and consultation with surgeon,
prep socket – pulling back the gum and inserting the titanium implant and temporary cover then resealing the gum (stitches should be disolvable)
Antibiotics for 1 week to prevent any infection, possible 1 day off work post op as will be painful/swollen
wait 2-3 months for implant to fuse
Open up gum, remove temporary cap and get crown modelled and fitted
Hope you don’t faceplant next time you’re on your bike 😉

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the info Declan and good luck with your procedure.

One word ………….. DENPLAN!

Then you have no more worries with dentists fees!

Monthly plans are good if you have problematic teeth, however I’ve been fortunate and have only had a couple of fillings over the last 7 or so years. That certainly doesn’t equate to good value at 17quid a month on a plan!

I’m going to have to look at dental plans as I’m not very impressed with the one I’m on at the moment. Supposedly discounted rate through the union (Unison), premiums have jumped from £18 to £27 a month in the space of 2 years for no reason other than they had so many complaints because white fillings were not covered except in front teeth. Typical union balls-up.

New thread methinks!

I just recovered from mother of all pain recently – toothache!!! This is a pain that can drive a person crazy. The stabbing pain towards the side of my head was so bad that I ended up taking up strong pain killers. Did not sleep for several nights. It was a top rear 2 tooth. Initially, about 1 year ago I had some pain at the upper jaw line along the ear but made nothing of it until I could no longer chew on one side. Booking for dental appointment took more than a month and by the time I got it checked the problem was deep …

Got some emergency dental work on it now so I will decide what to do with it at the end of the month i.e. to extract or to save it. I want to save it so let’s see what the dentist says.

I am not on any dental plan etc but my colleague is on some sort of dental insurance. My opinion is that as long as you have regular check you should be fine and all those plan is more or less waste of money really.

To the OP go for the implant if you can afford it.

My implant went very wrong (front tooth unfortunately) and has cost an extra £600 and a year to put right.

Having said that Decal’s advice ^^ is really good.

I don’t think Denplan cover implants.

Go to the best dentist, get some recommendations and ask lots of questions. Speak to some of the patients that have had the procedure.

My dentist drives a Ferrari, a Porsche and a great big 4×4. So yes your money is going on all their toys, holidays and large houses.

I am in the middle of having an implant done. My front upper tooth. Implant went in at June, been healing since, bone graft on top, had healing collar put in 5 weeks ago and had impressions done last week. Should have crown fitted and so complete next Wednesday. I can’t wait to be able to speak and eat normally again, £2000 very well spent

C

do you ever get the feeling we’re being watched? 😯

I would need bank bailout-style funding to rescue my mouth. 😕