Dental Implants

[Tommy T.]

16 minutes ago, Eddie1 said:

I had an implant done in the UK about 10 years ago, upper jaw, front center, just had to be done.  Cost was about £2,300   Same procedure as Tommy T.   Jawbone drilled, titanium post fixed in place, waited about 6 months for everything to settle down then had a crown fitted to the post.  After about 5 years the crown came loose, went back to the dentist and he made a minor repair, all sorted and good ever since.  Highly recommended in my opinion.

That sounds great, Eddie! I wish mine had been a lot cheaper... But I am happy with the ultimate result.

I should mention too... My dentist offered to affix the crown with a "permanent" adhesive or one that could allow removal... I told her to do the permanent fix. I still have some adhesive she gave me (2-part dental epoxy) in case it still worked loose and needed to be re-set...

I am very impressed with JGF's report about getting an implant for P5,000. That sounds incredible. I hope others can get that same sort of service with the same result...

Edited August 10, 2019 by Tommy T.

[OnMyWay]

Here is the whole story now, long version.  I didn't want to reveal everything in the first post so I could get some straightforward information about other experiences.  Thanks for those!

My wife has had a lot of tooth pain for several months, and it got really bad this week.  We tried to get in with our regular dentist, but they would not make room for us even when I said it was an emergency.  Our regular dentist is a highly regarded dentist here in SBFZ and there is normally around 2 weeks lead time to get in.  I was able to get an appointment with his secondary dentist for Friday, but we found another dentist able to see my wife Thursday.

The female dentist was recommended by a Filipina "Jen" married to an expat here, and she is one of the leaders of our neighborhood group.  Recently, our neighborhood group has been sharing recommendations for various services in the area, and someone asked for a dentist recommendation a few days ago.  In addition to my current dentist being recommended several times, Jen recommended Dr. "K" for General Dentistry, Orthodontics, and Implants.  I respect Jen's opinion because from her FB posts I can see that she is smart and well educated.  I called the dentist and she was able to see my wife right away.

Dr. K's clinic is in a building that is not much to look at on the outside, but upstairs, she has a very nice, large, clean place to work.  Nice waiting room with comfy sofa and TV.  No dust!  They keep it clean!  She does not have the newest "surround" x-ray but has the older type.

So her story is that she does not advertise at all like the others around, so most of her patients are referrals.  She doesn't really take walk ins.  Her patient volumes seem low compared to our other dentist, with only a few patients tricking in, instead of the non-stop crowded waiting room at our other dentist.  My wife hit it off with her and likes her personality a lot, as do I.

So Wednesday she did a cleaning and exam, with emphasis on the pain.  An x-ray showed the problem with the upper rear molar.  Long stretch of decay down the side, next to the other molar, going down fairly far.  She did not think a root canal was a good option so she recommended extraction.  So now my wife had to decide on the options for after extraction.  A.  Do nothing.  Leave the spot empty.  It is not visible.  She is missing a molar on the other side, from 20 years ago.  B.  conventional bridge  C.  False tooth that you take out at night.  D.  Implant.  My wife struggle with this decision because of the cost, mainly.  She is the "we can use the money for other things" type.

So while this is going on (I was listening and a bit involved.  They have a 3/4 wall between the treatment area and the waiting room), an expat comes in and takes a seat.  I figured he was a patient.  I chatted with him.  Nice German guy.  After a few minutes I find out that he is a dentist, and the other dentist hears us, so she comes out and introduces him as her partner!

Wow, this is long!  Sorry!

So we chat some more.  69 years old, looks 50.  Very fit and an active golfer.  He still has a clinic in Germany with 20+ employees but someone is running it for him as he is semi-retired.  Now, he spends a lot of time doing charity dentistry here, including jails!  He showed me a picture he took of the jail in Barrio Barretto!  Sleeping like sardines!  Wouldn't want to be there!

So later we discuss implants with both of them.  She offers two kinds, a Korean one and a Euro/German one.  Later, we find out that if you choose the Korean one, she does it.  If you choose the Euro/German one, he does it.  After a bit of research later, I found that there are many types of implants and different types may require different training.  Her normal price for 1 implant is p55000 for the Korean and p60000 for the Euro.

We made an appoint for the next day for the extraction and go home to think it over the options.  I'm for the implant from the beginning.  I suggest she ask for a discount if she does both.  Dr. K offers p50,000 per implant if she does two, for the Euro, and the German will do it.  Still having a hard time justifying 100k, in her mind.  So I tell her to ask how much for me as I probably need one.  No further discount but they would also do mine for 50k if I get one.

So yesterday we go back for the extraction.  The German does it and I watched.  He did it carefully and seemed to know what he was doing.  I just chatted with my sister and her dentist cracked her jaw during an extraction.

Finally, after more deliberation, my wife decided to get them done.  Just one now, today at 4 pm.  I still have a list of questions to ask before they start, but I'm fairly certain that he is well qualified.

I will post an SHORT update later.

 

 

[Jollygoodfellow]

4 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

I am very impressed with JGF's report about getting an implant for P5,000. That sounds incredible. I hope others can get that same sort of service with the same result...

I did say about 7 years ago but thinking about it might be 10 so now might be 500 more . I wish I kept receipts. Probably a topic here somewhere at the time.

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

Finally, after more deliberation, my wife decided to get them done.  Just one now, today at 4 pm.  I still have a list of questions to ask before they start, but I'm fairly certain that he is well qualified.

 

Sounds like you are in good hands there OMW. There is nothing of any value I can tell you - it is all out-dated.

Good luck with your procedures - I don't think you need luck, I think it will all be fine...!

[OnMyWay]

Good news!  Sat down with the two dentists with my list of questions.  The German guy is amazing.  He has been doing implants for almost 40 years, has a Phd in Germany, and has taught implant technology all over the world!  We are so blessed to have run into him!

Confirmed that Dr. K does the Korean implants due to training on them and she had her detailed training on the Korean product in Korea.  Gerry, the German guy, uses the ICX system made in Germany/Switzerland.

Tommy, you are correct in that they also call the topmost part the crown, and now I understand why.  First they put in the titanium implant and fill the hole with a temporary screw cap.  Then a 4 month wait to let the bone grow around the implant.  Then they open it up, take the screw cap off, and screw in an abutment, he calls it.  This is a bit smaller than a tooth but semi-shaped like a tooth.  Then they build a crown to fit over the abutment, and that is screwed on with a tiny screw in the top of the crown.  Then the tiny hole in the crown is sealed with some resin.  If something goes wrong with the crown, it can be removed with the tiny screw, as someone described.

My wife's implant went well.  Only about 30 minutes of actual work in the chair.  She has some pain now and some painkillers, so hopefully it will be gone in a day or two.  She has some stitches that will come out next week.

She had what is called an immediate implant, which means right after extraction.  Some others wait 6 months after extraction, and he says the immediate implant has a 2% higher failure rate, but otherwise is a great time saver.

[Tommy T.]

On 8/10/2019 at 7:10 PM, OnMyWay said:

Good news!

Glad it all is working out for you and your misses and I don't think you can go wrong with a world class teacher of that technology... Wish I had met them when I needed my breast implants... That is definitely different than my experience in such wonderful ways!

[Tommy T.]

2 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

My wife's implant went well.  Only about 30 minutes of actual work in the chair.  She has some pain now and some painkillers, so hopefully it will be gone in a day or two.  She has some stitches that will come out next week.

 

Maybe I missed this part...if so, sorry about that. But what will be the final cost for extraction, implant and "crown" when complete? If you don't mind my asking?

[OnMyWay]

8 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Maybe I missed this part...if so, sorry about that. But what will be the final cost for extraction, implant and "crown" when complete? If you don't mind my asking?

 

15 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Her normal price for 1 implant is p55000 for the Korean and p60000 for the Euro.

15 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

We made an appoint for the next day for the extraction and go home to think it over the options.  I'm for the implant from the beginning.  I suggest she ask for a discount if she does both.  Dr. K offers p50,000 per implant if she does two, for the Euro, and the German will do it.  Still having a hard time justifying 100k, in her mind.  So I tell her to ask how much for me as I probably need one.  No further discount but they would also do mine for 50k if I get one.

 

[OnMyWay]

My wife is had a lot of throbbing pain in her jaw last night so is having second thoughts about getting the second implant later.  No pain, no gain, right?  It is a bit better this morning.

[Heeb]

I'm jut going to pay the $950 for my crown here in the U.S. and be done with it, I've already been through the hard part, then I will cancel my insurance, If i have any teeth go south in the Philippines I will have them extracted pending a trip to the U.S. for an implant procedure, I prefer that to having a root canal, I hate root canals and they seem to fail a lot. I just don't think I would be comfortable having anything major done over there, I'm not saying there aren't good dentists over there, it's just finding one that worries me.