dental implants

I await the replies with interest - many years ago when my DD needed some dental surgery we were made aware that at some point one of her front teeth would fall out, and we made the rash promise that we would pay for an implant when that time arrived. 16 years later, I assume that they are quite a bit more expensive than when we first made the promise!!

I'd love to have some implants, but they would require a second mortgage. A couple of friends have invested in them and they look great - but worth the money?

My husband did the 'dental tourist thing' for implants. Before anyone warns of the dangers of going abroad for dental treatment - and I am sure there are some horror stories, just like there would be anywhere - he was treated at a state of the art dental clinic in Budapest for more or less a third of what he would have paid in the UK. It was still not cheap. I went with him more than once and the treatment he had was superb. He is delighted with his new gnashers and it has restored his confidence. The Hungarian dentists he went to knew their stuff (they all spoke perfect English by the way).

Now re the surgery - it is not a walk in the park (he had several implants). It was bruising and bleeding and sore. However, as I already mentioned, he was very well looked after (he had follow up check ups in London).

The other thing that happened is that he started having sinus infections two or three times a year since he has had the implants - and I started to suspect that there was a link. I think that the prosthetic implants (because that's what they are) - are a weak point in the body and any infection in the nasal passages now affects the sinuses plus he complains of his 'implants hurting'. I've since googled and there are enough anecdotal reports of dental implants linked with recurring sinus infections to make us believe that I am right. But, forewarned is forearmed and immediately that he thinks his sinuses are being affected, he does nasal irrigation (salt spray purchased from the pharmacy) so the sinusitis does not get a hold.

Overall he is more than pleased with himself for having it done, and he smiles broadly in photographs again

Hope all this is helpful!

narg you have my sympathy. I lost a front tooth some years ago and NHS dentistry provided me with an upper plate with one tooth on it. What a nightmare! It was near impossible to eat without it shifting and once I bit into it and the dentist tried to say that I was lying about how it happened!

So I (very quickly) paid for a private dentistry and now have a fake tooth anchored by a bridge to the good tooth next to it. I mostly forget that it is a false tooth.

I think having teeth that do a good job are massively important, they are after all part of the digestive system (or that's how I think of them).

Should be "I bit into it and snapped it in half" ...

Where is Jane when you need her?

I have had them, and I dug deep into my savings after a lot of thought, they were very expensive. Grannyknot is right about the surgery, my gums hurt a lot for a while. But I haven't regretted it once, I had a plate with two teeth on it and I had huge trouble with that, and now, like Grannyknot's DH, I am smiling confidentially again. I have not had any sinus problems.

Confidentally, I mean!

grannyeggs I like the sound of smiling confidentially and with confidence too!

Thank you all for your replies and sharing your experiences.
I am still very undecided not least because of the cost involved.
I have only had the denture since Friday and I am still getting used to it.
I think I will wait for a while and see how it goes.

kitty yes calling JessM ...!

Doh! I mean Jane!

Narg - it may not be as simple as you think getting implants - I looked into this three years ago and went along for a consultation. (I had a bridge to the left hand side of my mouth and one half of the "anchor" broke", so I was looking for alternatives). The dentist took some very detailed photos of my gums because you have to have a certain thickness for it to work and he discovered that I was very borderline. The quoted cost at that time was £1,800 per tooth. In the end we left everything where it was (my bridge is still only anchored on one side) - and I will make up my mind what to do when the whole thing comes off. HTH

Narg Dental implants generally have a very good success rate now, but you should be guided by your own dentist as to whether they are suitable for you. Some cases are more complicated than others - if you don't have enough bone to support the implants, you would need bone augmentation, and if you smoke you would probably be advised not to have them at all, since the failure rate is much higher in smokers. The other thing to consider is how healthy the rest of your teeth are - your dentist should look at your whole mouth and not just the missing teeth in isolation.
It's important I think to see someone who has a proper postgraduate qualification in implant dentistry - either the Diploma in Implantology from the Royal College of Surgeons, or MSc in Implant Dentistry from one of the universities.
Hope that helps. Only you can decide whether it's worth it for you.

janeainsworth -thank you for your very detailed response.
If I do decide to go ahead I will look for someone with the qualifications
you have listed.

My father had an implant at 54 and it was still ok when died at 89.
He was an anti smoker.

Frank

I am not sure how a person's beliefs would affect their teeth but well God moves in a mysterious way..............

Let's all show our anti- smoking teeth!

Would pro-cake and wine teeth do just as well?

Works for me!

I had an implant 2 years ago. No problems whatsoever, no pain, no after effects and my dentist always says it looks healthy. Only problem really was the cost, but I'm glad I went for it.

I used to have a complete upper plate, and back bottom teeth anchored onto my own 6 bottom front teeth. But those remaining 6 teeth disintegrated in the end, and now they are all false, north and south. I'm fine with them, though i preferred it when my bottom teeth clipped onto my own teeth. I have a small-ish mouth, and the dental technician said it was a good shape for false teeth.

My husband has false ones north and south too, but has really awful trouble with them: he has a large mouth, rather difficult to fit. He manages by using dental fixative top and bottom.

We would both love implants if they could do them for a full mouth - not sure if they can. Anyway, we cannot afford it so it doesn't matter. It is probably simpler to have false teeth if you can get good ones that fit really well, as mine do. But some folks aren't lucky enough to have the sort of mouth that works well with them.

Decisions decisions decisions, eh?

I lost all my teeth at an early age, top set at 19 and the bottom ones a few years later. They even removed my wisdom teeth as soon as they came through, to avoid damaging the dentures! I think it was fashionable at the time or something. Not very enlightened anyway. I have had to wear dentures ever since and now with all the bone loss they really do take some keeping in place. Because of the usual problems with dentures I recently looked into the All on 4 system of implants, and it does look great, but I would definitely have to mortgage my house to afford it, which I can't afford to do, and at my age it really seems pointless. I'll just continue to struggle on as I am but for anyone who can afford it, it does look good.

That's an individual question. If you are a non-smoker than it will be
a good solution. Out of hygienic view an alternative will be the better choise.
In any case you should consult the dentist to explain all the disadvantages
that could appear in the future. In any case thats a hard question to
answer.
Michael