Dental Questions

N.,

Dental insurance is pretty frustrating. I'm a hygienist and see it frequently. Usually it's the employer who has chosen a lesser plan. You could talk to your HR department and see if there is a higher plan, but more than likely not. You might talk to the dentist to see if you can have the tooth extracted. Get an interim partial, (someone else referred to it as a flipper, a small fake tooth that clasps on) until you can save up the money for an implant. The other advantage would be, you could use your benefits this year to have the tooth extracted, pay for the partial, and possibly any bone grafting done, and then see about doing the rest after the first of the year when your benefits would start over. if the tooth isn't infected, see if you could wait for extraction until end of December, and then come back in Jan. for the rest. Also, a lot of offices do financing. Be careful though. Some charge outrageous fees.

I tend to lean towards implants even though there is a very slight risk of failure. But a bridge damages two perfectly good teeth and leaves you open to decay around crowns, and cleaning issues down the road. Depending on how old you are, you will more than likely have to have it replaced a few times. Now with that being said, I have seen people who have had bridges for 30 or 40 years and kept them really clean with no problems, but I've also seen people lose the support teeth because of decay and periodontal disease.

Personally, if I were going to spend that amount of money, I would want to see a specialist such as a periodontist or an oral surgeon. A lot of general dentists do implants and probably do a good job, but I want someone who has the most experience. Good luck. Sorry for the challenge you have right now.

Sorry, this is a late post...

I just wrapped up an implant in December. I don't regret it for a minute, but the process was NOT what I expected it to be at all.

I also had to have a bone grafting procedure done before I could get the implant, so hopefully, you don't have to have that done. I also had to wear what is called a "flipper" because I lost a tooth in a noticable area. The flipper was NOT covered by insurance, so it added another $400 to the tab.

When all was said and done, the total tab was close to $4000.00. I'm lucky- my insurance picked up half the cost, which is very unual. The other $2000 and the $400 flipper were covered by our flex spending account. I had to delay my dental work so we could plan for this, but it helped alot.

Have your dentist do a "predetermination of benefits" (Yes, I agree that most dental insurance is a joke) but it will give you an idea of what to expect financially. Do it for both the periodontist and the dentist.

The procedure itself is not bad, the most pain is getting the novicaine shots. Even then, my dentist gave me a topical before shooting me up. After the process is done, it feels like you've been punched in the jaw, but it doesn't last long. I only needed tylenol for a day and then I was fine.

My dentist put the crown over the abutment and it looks and feels just like a normal tooth. The whole process took longer than I expected, but my root had simply dissinegrated and I needed alot of work (somebody's kid went to college on this tooth!).

I'm so sorry that you have to go through this, but I do believe that the implant is the way to go! Good luck, if you have any other questions, please let me know.

I agree go with the implant-it is less invasive. I am a hygienist and yes that is the average cost. I am not sure if your general dentist will be implanting as well but usually the periodontist does it then the general dentist does the crown portion. You can maybe try to set up a health savings acct .w/ your or hubbys work then plan for the work for early next yr.
Good luck.

I would go for the implant. The brige and crowns are damaging perfectly good teeth and I would avoid that. Yes the cost is insane and you are looking at a average price range there.

That's the average cost HERE. 4k per tooth from start to finish. Which I know, because we're saving up for one of my H's teeth (our insurance doesn't cover a penny of either... not even the extraction, because the consider mouth infection to be "self inflicted" and they classify anything beyond a spacer as "cosmetic & elective".

Thwibbt.

Implants are far and way much, much better.

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