Dental implants: anyone any experience?

[MikeyT]

Due to having a dodgy crown at the front for a few years - the recommendation is to have an implant or two at the front. Of course these aren't cheap but would seem to be the long term solution.

Anyone any experiences of having them done or know of anyone with one?

Be interested in procedures, recovery time, general experiences etc and cost of course!

cheers

The Loose (tooth)

[vrooom]

experience? crying in pain, fellowed by infection setting in...

[bernhund]

I lost a lot of ivory in a car crash and ended up with my jaw in 3 pieces. The good ol NHS wouldn't pay for the dentistry as they see teeth as cosmetic! My dentist looked into implants for me and was suggesting having the work done in Germany. However, I had too much titanium in the way, so implants were not an option.
I've ended up with a 6 tooth porcelain bridge, which looks great, is guaranteed for 10 years and was quick to fit. Could a bridge be the best option for you too?

[Ferg]

I had one done a couple of years ago. Virtually pain free. No issues. £1900...

Edited to add:

I'd had the tooth removed previously (crap previous Dentist, long story). Self-tapping bit screwed in. Left for a few months with a cap over the internal machine thread while the bone grew around it. Went back. Screwed a post in. Tightened it... (!). Then glued the tooth on the top. Bit of bite adjustment and it was done. I was due to have an impacted wisdom tooth out under a General in the hospital and was worried it might be better to have the post and tooth fitted after that, but the dentist assured me it was a bloody strong bit of kit.

Edited by Ferg on Monday 3rd January 16:06

[bigdods]

Not sure if its the same thing, but I have had all my metal fillings removed and replaced with cerec (ceramic). They drill out the old filling, take a 3d photo of the stump thats left then a milling machine makes the new ceramic on the spot. Total time from sitting in the chair to walking out about 1.5 hours, cost about £250-£300 for a filling replacemnet or ~£400 for a crown.

This assumes there is something left of the old tooth to fix it to, if you have nothing left then its a more tricky job with pins and such like.

http://www.cosmeticdentistryguide.co.uk/cerec.html

ETA- Recovery time Zero. IME of having had 7 done you walk out the door and get on with your life. No need to even wait before eating / drinking as the bond is cured with UV. The only one that gave me a bit of grief was when it was very very close the the nerve. I decided not to have a root canal but took the chance that it would work out ok. Dentist told me it was 50/50. After about a week of very mild toothache it settled down and has been fine ever since.

Edited by bigdods on Monday 3rd January 16:28

[the_lone_wolf]

bigdods said:

Not sure if its the same thing, but I have had all my metal fillings removed and replaced with cerec (ceramic).

Think I may have had something similar when I was younger, if a dentist knows what I'm on about and it's a load of tosh then disregard

Both my sister and I had exceptionally deep molars, so much so that it was pretty much impossible to brush any food debris out

Both had them filled with a ceramic type material, can't remember anything about the process so it can't have been that bad (though if you're having crowns and fillings replaced it's probably nowhere near as straightforward) and they seem to be as hard as the enamel surrounding them, never given me any problems and it must be getting on for twenty odd years down the line

[alfa phil]

Had a load of implants done top and bottom over the last 3 years , our very own Driller, who is a P.H regular, carried out the work at his practice south of Paris, very satisfied with all the work he did which included bone graft on the upper implants, ,they are defo the way to go, worth every penny,but save up.

[Boozy]

Did they hurt?

[cyclesilly]

Had one done about 4-5 years ago after being mugged, insurance paid for it, needed bone graft as the insurance took 3 years to sort and in which time had absorbed / lost too much bone in jaw. In the end it took from 1994 until completion in 2005 before the work was complete and signed off, the bone graft took 18 months to fully stabilize before the surgeon would complete the next stage of the titanium rawl plug inplant, the final tooth was fitted between 12 -18 later. All work was done under local and was very unpleasant but worth the pain!!!

Edited by cyclesilly on Tuesday 4th January 15:30

[MikeyT]

Currently having these done ... and I am having them done abroad in Croatia!

Cost is approx 1/3 of rip-off Britain. Had the first big bit done which is basically ALL my teeth out at the top except three ... currently have a denture fitted - I look like Paul Gascoigne without it! Wasn't pleasant having 11 teeth out in an hour and half but looking forward to going back now in July to have stage two done - the implants.

[Stu R]

I've got two. Little in the way of pain, some very brief minor discomfort while an RCT was getting done but that's it. They're great if you use someone who's good. I'm fed up with trying to find good dentists in the UK (after 3k down the chute on shoddy work twice), and opted for a dubai based chap who did a sterling job for significantly less.

[MacGee]

MikeyT said:

Currently having these done ... and I am having them done abroad in Croatia!

Cost is approx 1/3 of rip-off Britain. Had the first big bit done which is basically ALL my teeth out at the top except three ... currently have a denture fitted - I look like Paul Gascoigne without it! Wasn't pleasant having 11 teeth out in an hour and half but looking forward to going back now in July to have stage two done - the implants.

I wonder what your annual wage is?...prob 2-3 times rhe average in Croatia. Maybe you should accept less as you are condoning the rip-off culture and taking advantage of a pooer society!

[ApexJimi]

Jaysus

Is anyone else's toes curling at this stuff?


Eta: PH'er Tallbloke posted up a fairly comprehensive detail of his experience of getting (a lot of!) dental work done in Hungary (I think)

If I remember rightly, his teeth were in a bit of a state, so he basically got the whole kaboodle done.

Edited by ApexJimi on Wednesday 13th April 13:49

[MikeyT]

Got a link of any kind for that Jimi? I've been through his profile and his threads started list and can't find it - although I did only go back til about 2003!

[ApexJimi]

If I remember rightly it was around 2006 / 2007.

I'll try and dig it out later for you.

ETA : it may not have been in a thread started by him though..

[MikeyT]

MacGee said:

I wonder what your annual wage is?...prob 2-3 times rhe average in Croatia. Maybe you should accept less as you are condoning the rip-off culture and taking advantage of a pooer society!

And how do you make a poorer society better off - maybe spend some money in it. When a British dentist can come on here and JUSTIFY the money for implants then it'll be a first.

FOUR implants were going to cost m over £11k here ... no explanation, no run down on spec, just the cost, that's all the guy gave me - a guy I was referred to who charged me £75 for the priviledge.

How much for THREE then? £8.5k. No wonder I never phoned him back.

I've done a lot of research about this and have spoken to people who have been to the clinic I'm going to ... you know nothing about my situation or dental history - you just don't like being questioned as to cost and %age profit. That's my view ... maybe, just maybe if my guy had sat me down, taken me through what was what spec wise and explained the costs to me then he would have stood a better chance of getting the work, but at the end of the day, it is about largely about cost (unless unlimited budget).

[anonymous-user]

I had 5 top teeth on 4 implants (2 bridges) done 3 years ago. Best £10K I've spent

[MacGee]

MikeyT said:

And how do you make a poorer society better off - maybe spend some money in it. When a British dentist can come on here and JUSTIFY the money for implants then it'll be a first.

FOUR implants were going to cost m over £11k here ... no explanation, no run down on spec, just the cost, that's all the guy gave me - a guy I was referred to who charged me £75 for the priviledge.

How much for THREE then? £8.5k. No wonder I never phoned him back.

I've done a lot of research about this and have spoken to people who have been to the clinic I'm going to ... you know nothing about my situation or dental history - you just don't like being questioned as to cost and %age profit. That's my view ... maybe, just maybe if my guy had sat me down, taken me through what was what spec wise and explained the costs to me then he would have stood a better chance of getting the work, but at the end of the day, it is about largely about cost (unless unlimited budget).

You are right ..I dont know about your situation...but its the RIP-OFF BRITAIN piece of generalisation nonsense which grates. We have higher wages, rent, insurance, materials, taxes, CQC, HTM 01-05, need I continue ..than Croatia. Thus this can hardly be compared like for like. BTW I am fully NHS and dont do implants. But I would certainly not go as health tourist. Was in Budapest lst Monday and would certainly not reccommend a visit as worst customer care at Buda Hilton I've ever experienced and ripped off by taxi who charged big fee for 5 min journey. A good private implantologist should have explained fully the financials and the care to be given.So prob best to steer clear anyway.

[MikeyT]

Obviously the costs are lower in other countries which is why the final fees are lower ... but the care I am getting is just as good if not better than here, I am convinced (and I've only been twice).

And before you pipe up I've had trouble with dentists for a few years ... let's leave it at that - I could list lots but cannot be bothered to be honest.

So let's just say I don't have great confidence in local dentists any more.

It's the complete non explanation of the costs of things such as implants that tells me that the percentage of outright profit in these is huge ... there were no broken down fees at all - ust the one sum presented, which is frightening.

I don't mind any business making a profit, but a relative one.

[Driller]

What are they charging you for the four implants/teeth Mike if you don't mind me asking?

Have they talked about you having a scan of your jaws?

Edited by Driller on Wednesday 13th April 21:00