dental implants..good or bad??

I had a consultation ... I was shocked at how expensive it is and I don't think insurance will help.. I told him if he wants to keep me quiet he better knock me out..so I have my tooth pulled in a little over a week.. then I have to decide what I want to do..My tooth hurts..I am such a big baby...

[Denise in Michigan]

Pat, could that be a "Maryland" bridge you're talking about? If so, I got one about 25 years ago that lasted for 18 years. I had no problems with it at all. When you floss your teeth, you just use a floss threader (available at drugstores) to get the floss under the bridge. Easy!
I understand that people who are missing a tooth and have sound teeth on each side are the best candidates. There's no surgery involved. The dentist roughens up the backs of the teeth on each side to help the adhesive bond the bridge's "wings" to your teeth.
The only reason I still don't have that one is because I didn't realize it had loosened and a cavity formed underneath one of the wings. After that, the Maryland bridge was no longer an option. I'd get another one in a heartbeat, but I'd get in the habit of trying to jiggle it occasionally to make sure it hadn't loosened!

Denise ,, thanks for your information.. I asked the dentist about the Marilyn bridge, and he said since I have crowns on both sides, I would have to do lots of work on those teeth (remove crowns put new ones on, etc.. so the bridge could work well.. the cost will probably be more for that..I am still researching the option though, and it is very encouraging that your bridge lasted that long...did you eventually have to get an implant?

[Denise in Michigan]

Pat, sorry not to reply right away but I've been away a few days! The dentist said I had two options: 1) an implant with a filling in the tooth next to it that got the cavity. or 2) a regular bridge with the teeth on each side crowned and a "falsie" in the middle.

I would have liked to get the implant, but my insurance covered more of the regular bridge, so guess which I got? Yep, the bridge!

[shifio]

i had a tooth out yesterday, and it wasnt too bad, i had jad a root canal done a week before and it didnt work, it is a back toth so we havent discussed if im going to replace it or not yet, was in a lot of pain, before and i cant talk much today , to sore, my hubby says yea peace. lol

[cphkat]

Pat,

I had an implant a few years ago on a front tooth. Long story short...it was damaged as a child, roopt canel, crowned a couple of times and then I had problems. The tooth had to be removed and that had to heal before the implant could be done. It was a long process. The actual work wasn't toooo bad. In all honesty, it was the best thing I could have done. I can bite into and apple now! I couldn't do that with the crowns I had. I don't know how the bridge would've done because I haven't had one, but if I ever needed to choose again, I would definitely go with the implant regardless of any and all negatives.

Thanks so much for the info.. I go in Monday for the extraction..
then I need to heal for 3 months before the implant..(so I can save some $$)!!! It sure helps to hear others have gone through this..

[Shandeh]

The doctor I used to work for did a neat thing with his patients. After their implants healed, he would take them out for a steak dinner! Some of them had not had steak in a long time, because their traditional dentures prevented it.

Wow.. I love steak.. I guess I will have to chew on one side for awhile...

[bjc1050]

The doctor I used to work for did a neat thing with his patients. After their implants healed, he would take them out for a steak dinner! Some of them had not had steak in a long time, because their traditional dentures prevented it.

Maybe I should show this to my dentist when I have the next implants done. I want to go to Ruth Chris. Their commercials sound sooooo delicious. Have never been. However, the nearest one to us is about 50 miles away.