Dental Implants

[Mike J]

19 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

But I was lucky because they used nitrous oxide for sedation and that made me relax.

The real purpose of the nitrous is to have you relaxed when you get the bill.  So you are  instead of .

[Tommy T.]

14 minutes ago, Mike J said:

The real purpose of the nitrous is to have you relaxed when you get the bill.  So you are  instead of .

Okay, Mike... agreed... But it works! I just wish they had it here for the first pain and discomfort.... not needed so much for the bill here...

[OnMyWay]

59 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

However, I suggest you consider not taking aspirin for maybe 24 hours before you go to have your dental surgery? The aspirin thins your blood so you will tend to bleed more and you don't want that, I think?...

We agreed I would not take for 1 week before the extraction.

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

We agreed I would not take for 1 week before the extraction.

I think that may be a bit extreme - one or two days should be okay... but it's up to you, of course...

[OnMyWay]

11 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

I think that may be a bit extreme - one or two days should be okay... but it's up to you, of course...

I would have thought so too, but she called her MD sister and she said one to two weeks.  Probably just erring on the safe side.

[OnMyWay]

On 8/30/2019 at 8:32 AM, Tommy T. said:

But interestingly, he had a hell of a time extracting the tooth with the bad root canal. He said I had very tough bone, so I guess I don't have so much, but what is left is very strong? He had to split it and pull it out in pieces - not fun for him or me.

I finally had my tooth extracted today, and like yours, it was a tough one!  Both dentists told me beforehand that because it was a root canal tooth it was probably going to crack.  And crack it did!  Here are the big chunks!  Gross!

If you recall, I was ready to have it extracted by the Filipina dentist when the aspirin issue came up.  After that, I got the flu and a cough that would not go away for a month.  The German dentist got back a few weeks ago, so he was the one who extracted it today.  I'm so glad it worked out that way because it was a very difficult extraction.  One hour to get it all out, with him drilling and using all kinds of tools, while she acted as assistant.  Then he put some sutures in and she cauterized it with a laser.  I suspect it would have more difficult for just her and her assistant.

I knew that I had some kind of infection at the bottom of the front root and there had been a spot on my x-rays for years.  He said that it was actually like a small cyst and he spent some time cleaning out the whole area.  It all looks good now for an implant next year.

[Marvin Boggs]

I had a front tooth implant about 6 years ago in the States, can relay the experience here.  In my case, a botched root canal from several years earlier had left a large region of dissolved bone, i.e. nothing solid for the implant to anchor to.  So the first step was about a year-long process of regrowing the bone, they had do put some kind of mesh in there that aided the bone to fill in.  During that phase, I wore a dental appliance with a fake tooth, it fit into my upper mouth like a retainer.  

When the bone was ready, installing the anchor was straightforward.  Matching the enamel shade was a bit of a trick -- i have a sensitive eye for color and was not happy with the standard color match they did, so I visited the lab and worked directly with the technician there to match my color.  Its exact, which was important to me because its right in the front.  

Only SNAFU I had with the tooth implant itself is on the day they attached the tooth to the anchor, my normal dentist wasn't there.  The other guy just had to install the tiny screw, but he didn't get a 'click' on his micro-torque wrench (no joke, they use a torque wrench!).  Result was about 2 weeks later the tooth was loose, and I had to go in to get it tightened.  Second time was the charm, I heard the torque wrench 'click', and that tooth has been rock solid ever since.  

The only difference I can feel between it and my other teeth, is that it is so solid.  You don't realize that your natural teeth have a little bit of 'give' to them, I guess at the root.  But not so with a metal anchor, that baby doesn't even move a whisker.

Cost, I don't remember exactly now.  Obviously mine had some extra complication.  I want to say about $3500.

 

[Heeb]

10 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I finally had my tooth extracted today, and like yours, it was a tough one!  Both dentists told me beforehand that because it was a root canal tooth it was probably going to crack.  And crack it did!  Here are the big chunks!  Gross!

If you recall, I was ready to have it extracted by the Filipina dentist when the aspirin issue came up.  After that, I got the flu and a cough that would not go away for a month.  The German dentist got back a few weeks ago, so he was the one who extracted it today.  I'm so glad it worked out that way because it was a very difficult extraction.  One hour to get it all out, with him drilling and using all kinds of tools, while she acted as assistant.  Then he put some sutures in and she cauterized it with a laser.  I suspect it would have more difficult for just her and her assistant.

I knew that I had some kind of infection at the bottom of the front root and there had been a spot on my x-rays for years.  He said that it was actually like a small cyst and he spent some time cleaning out the whole area.  It all looks good now for an implant next year.

Do you have any dentist recommendations around SBMA? My wife has a problem tooth and it needs to be addressed before it gets really bad. From my experience a tooth can go from mild pain to extreme agony overnight and usually happens late Friday before a long weekend. 

[Tommy T.]

11 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I knew that I had some kind of infection at the bottom of the front root and there had been a spot on my x-rays for years.  He said that it was actually like a small cyst and he spent some time cleaning out the whole area.  It all looks good now for an implant next year.

Glad to hear that you got the first step completed. You didn't mention so I am guessing he didn't inject any bone into the socket for bone graft to built up thickness?

Be aware that the surgeon may have left one or more tiny bits of tooth or bone at the extraction site. It happened to me - not that big a deal, but I experienced some soreness there and, after several days or a few weeks (I forget now), I felt a couple bits of something come out of the socket area. After that, all was fine.

[Tommy T.]

2 hours ago, Marvin Boggs said:

Only SNAFU I had with the tooth implant itself is on the day they attached the tooth to the anchor, my normal dentist wasn't there.  The other guy just had to install the tiny screw, but he didn't get a 'click' on his micro-torque wrench (no joke, they use a torque wrench!).  Result was about 2 weeks later the tooth was loose, and I had to go in to get it tightened.  Second time was the charm, I heard the torque wrench 'click', and that tooth has been rock solid ever since.  

 

Perhaps technology has changed and likely improved. However, my oral surgeon told me that, over time (he did not specify how long) the implanted tooth would "likely" loosen and require a replacement. I think a lot of that will depend on how rough a person is with chewing - ice cubes, gum, sinew... I imagine any tough wear will accelerate that process.