Tooth Implant

I have an implant and I love it! It looks real and no one knows it's a "fake tooth" unless I tell them.
I got it done about 8 years ago, so I dont remember much about the process...sorry.

Did the orthodontist tell you that an implant was a possibility before you had your tooth pulled? I would talk with the orthodontist and let her know how disappointed you are in the outcome and see what she says. Write down everything she says. I would possibly contact a lawyer, or lodge a complaint with the dental board. The orthodontist should have warned you of this risk ahead of time. Chances are she didn't and didn't document it either.

An implant is pretty expensive. I don't know off the top of my head because I haven't worked in a dental office in 2 years, but the crown alone will be $1000-$1200. The implant will probably be at least $2000 +. Most insurances will not cover an implant. Especially if you had a perfectly healthy tooth removed for esthetic reasons. Most people say the surgery is not that painful and you are under anesthesia when the post is put in. After you may ache a little and feel like you have a bad burn or a mouth sore. The downside of an implant is it takes a while, because the post has to integrate for several months before you can have a crown added. Definitely seek out a qualified oral surgeon for an opinion.

Sorry for your trouble. That stinks! Good luck!

First I will tell you my background: I am not a dentist or a medical professional in the dental field. I have however worked for two dental insurance companies, and processed claims for a large private multi-state dental clinic, so I have a pretty good grasp of dental knowledge.

With that said, it's common for an ortho to suggest for a tooth or teeth to be extracted, but usually before appliances go on. ISince it happened months after the original appliances went on, it makes me question the orthos work and decision making process.

If the ortho now suggests that you obtain a bridge, denture, or implant to fix the gap, I would have to think that the ortho should be liable in some way. Ask the ortho how she plans to help compensate you for the cost of the additional work. If you don't get a satisfactory response, ask for a copy of the original contract you signed, and speak to a lawyer. Honsetly, you may end up on the hook for the full out of pocket expense, so don't expect this to be easy if it comes to this.

Now in regards to the replacement - the two most likely treatments would be a Bridge or Implant. A bridge is much more affordable, and less painful treatment, basically they would crown the two separated teeth, putting a fake tooth in the middle, acting as a "bridge", hence the name. A three unit bridge would probably cost some where around $1000 to $1500 ( I'm guessing, but I think it will be pretty close.) If you have insurance and they cover this replacement, they may cover anywhere from $15% to 50% depending on the coverage. You may want to see if you fall under the "Missing tooth exclusion" as well, cause if you do, they won't cover a thing.

Implant is also a viable option, it involves in most cases drilling a hole in your jaw, inserting a male end screw type post, then having a fake tooth screwed on to the post. If it sounds painful, that cause it is - they drill a hole in your jaw. Still they look real, and many who have them swear by them. They are also much more expensive ($1500-$2500) and not usually covered by any insurance. The best you can usually hope for is that your insurance will cover the alternate benefit of a bridge.

Both procedures usually involve multiple visits. The implant usually takes longer to complete as your jaw and gums need time to heal after the post in implanted. Pain depends on your tolerance. Crowining may hurt, implanting very likely will have some sort of pain.

Again, not trying to scare you, and again, I'm not a DDS or DMD, but just trying to educate you the best I can. Good Luck!

You've gotten some good advice so far! But, here is my two cents worth. :) I had an implant put in almost 2 years ago. Like Karen said, i had to have the bone graft/osseous bone transplant procedure first, because the bone in my jaw had eroded. With my procedure, they had to take donor marrow (from a cadaver) and implant it into my gum. I had to wait 6 months for the bone to grow. Then they started with the normal process...xrays, and a metal pin-like shaft thing gets implanted into your gum. They then cover that with a cap. I didn't have to have the flapper, because my tooth was a molar, and hidden in the back of my mouth. At any time after that point, i could then have the implant put on. I had to wait until my husband's new job qualified us for dental insurance. (He started a new job in between the bone graft process & capping). I also was having orthodontics done at the same time. But, i did not get my tooth removed based upon my ortho's recommendations...it was something that needed done prior to my orthodontics being put on.

As a side note, i was in braces for 3.5 years! I am now 37, and just got them off in June. What took the longest was the fact that i had a tooth, that used to be a crown...it fell out...my ortho said "Well, instead of investing the money into a new crown, lets just close that gap". It was a molar on my upper left. It took A LONG time to close that gap, but he did it! We used bands, power chains, rubber bands-you name it! My braces were paid in full by the time my treatment hit the 18 month mark, then i had to continue the treatment for 18 more months. All in all, i've been through almost the same experience as you. But, i do want to say, you should approach the doctor about paying for a portion of the implant cost. If you have insurance, you should ask that she be responsible for the balance left over AFTER insurance pays your provider. I'm pretty sure my insurance covered 50% of my implant cost, but i still had to pay over $1000 out of pocket. The bone grafting transplant was another story, another fee.

Back to your question, the process is not really that painful. You'll get numbed up, then drugged up. :) They will write you a prescription. It's not too terribly time consuming, because an implant is done in steps, not all at once...so you will have at least 3 appointments to make some time for. You will have to see a specialist for the first process, usually an endontist. Some practices do it all in their office, but my experience was endontist first, then regular dentist for putting on the actual implant tooth. Some places even offer evening & weekend appointments, so look into that. Again, i feel you do need to approach your ortho about chipping in to pay for that implant! Or, you can do what i did, and just stay in your braces a little longer. I know you get antsy to get them off, but the end result is fantastic! Btw, they took my bottom brackets off 7 months before my tops came off...just so they could give me some relief while still working on closing that upper gap. I hope i helped you out some!

Interested in what your responses are. My son needs braces and will probably need an implant as one tooth didn't grow in-just doesn't have one at all.

I recently completed the implant process. My root decayed and there was nothing that could be done to save the tooth. Here's what I know:

I had to have bone grafting done, so the process took nearly a year to wait for everything to heal. It sounds like you won't need that, so I'll take it from where you are.

When the implant was put into my jaw, it didn't hurt at all. I had a good periodontist and he made sure that I was really numbed up (without making me sick). After the procedure was done, I felt like I had been punched in the jaw, but a dose of tylenol took care of that and I was fine. I did not miss any work due to pain.

I had to wait three months for the implant (this is like a metal post that is in your jaw) to heal and for it to "connect" to the jaw. During this time I wore what is called a flipper- it's like a retainer with a fake tooth on it so you couldn't tell that I was missing a tooth.

Once the implant healed, (they check with x-rays) I went to my regular dentist. He did all of the molds, etc. for the crown. This is the actual "tooth" that goes on the post. It took a week for the parts to come in and then I went back to have the crown placed.

This process took close to an hour, they have to sand down the tooth and make sure that it fits properly. They attach it to the post (implant) and it looks and feels like a regular tooth. This too, was a painless process for me, minimal novicaine was used.

The painful part was the cost. I'm lucky, my insurance paid for half of everything EXCEPT the flipper. The total process was close to $4000 (the flipper costs $450), and I used our flex spending account to cover the $2000 that I owed. I did delay some of the work so that I could plan for this and it all paid off. Have your insurance company do a predetermination of benefits. Ask your periodontist and dentist to do one, it will give you an idea of the total and who know, maybe your insurance will cover some of it.

Having said all of that, I think you need to have a serious conversation with you ortho. She should have covered all of this with you in detail before you had your braces put on. I agree with the other posts, she has some liablility in this as well. Then I would find a new dentist. There should have been some discussion between the two of them. My dentist and perio-dude talked about my implant process together and kept each other in the loop.

Good luck with all of this, I'm so sorry that you are going through this. You should be excited about your beautiful new smile, and now this! Not fair! Please let us know what happens.

You will want to see a periodontist. This type of specialist spends an extra 3 years beyond dental school and one of the specialties of their practice is dental implants. There are many general dentist who will say they can do implants but they take a weekend course and off they go. Given that it sounds like you have been give some really bad advice by your ortho and general dentist, go to a well-recommend periodontist to have an evaluation.

The cost will have to be determined based on what you need. It can be a few hundred to a few thousand but again, it highly varies from patient to patient but if you need an implant it will be in the couple thousand dollar range at the very minimum.

None of us can tell you how much work you will need to miss and the steps in the process because we have no way of knowing what you will need to have done. Typically it isn't just pop in an implant. There are usually other things that need to be addressed to ensure the success of the implant. But in addition to the implant you will have a crown placed on top of the implant. The implant is what actually goes into the bone and a crown is placed on top so you have the tooth part.

I even question your general dentist. She/he should have been working closely with your ortho on your plan of treatment and if your dentist had doubts he should have been conferring with your ortho and not questioning aloud to you!

I would look for another general dentist that comes highly recommended and a periodontist to get you out of this mess and get the smile you have been working toward.

Best to you and your teeth!

My sister has an implant and LOVES it. Prior to that, it was on a retainer. (She had a tooth that just never grew in). Sorry I don't have details for you, but I would definitely talk to the ortho and let them know that they requested the initial pull which cost X, and it didn't work. You should not have to now pay to fix what she did. It is called malpractice.