I just wanted to comment on those telling me to consider having a root canal over an implant. First off, we haven't actually made a decision yet. The dentist asked us to have a consultation at the end of the day so he'd have time to talk about my specific situation in detail.
He did tell me after looking at my x-ray that because the tooth is a baby tooth, a root canal would probably end up failing. The tooth has been infected for a few months. By that, I mean I've had a fistula for that long, which means the infection has probably been there even longer. There is very minimal pain, which tells me I probably don't have much of a nerve left. All I have is a bit of a sore gum with some pus leaking from it.
I do not want to have to go through a root canal only to have my tooth need an extraction anyway. I am aware that implants are expensive, but it would be even more expensive to have a root canal and then have to get an extraction and an implant.
The dentist I consulted is very experienced and doesn't just do implants. He also specializes in root canals and periodontology. Moreover, he works on a lot of military folks, who aren't exactly rolling in money. I did not get the sense that he wanted to rip me off or needed to pay for a boat. He seemed to genuinely care about my situation and others who have used his services have overwhelmingly agreed that he knows what he's doing.
The nice thing about living in a military community in a foreign country is that there are a lot of people who end up using the same doctors and dentists, so you get a good idea of who's good and who's not so good. When I lived in San Antonio, it was a lot harder to pick a dentist because I wasn't really in the military community.
This situation sucks, but I understand that I've been luckier than a lot of people when it comes to dental issues. My husband has had a long string of dental dramas over the years. Up until now, I've only had fillings and crowns.
I don't know what the cost of this will ultimately be. I was told by someone who had an implant done by this doctor that it cost her less here than it would have in the States. I don't know if that will be true for me, but I do know I need to do something soon.
I've had too many crowns decay, and even crowns that have been root canaled have failed, as infection has leaked out of the filled roots and infected the gums etc., leading inevitably to extraction. I also have a molar bridge, which often hurts due to stress on the anchor molar tendons and adjacent nerves. It will also no doubt fail someday.
I'm tired of paying for multiple fillings, crowns and root canals on the same tooth only to lose them to extraction anyway. So my choice now is to just go straight to extraction, and do implants.
I will be going to India in early 2016 for meditation training, and while there, since I have lost four molars, I will have four molar posts installed, followed two months later by abutments and custom crowns. Extractions of weak teeth will be done here before I go. The cost of one full implant in a professional clinic in India is around $300, so four of them can save me enough money to pay for my entire trip and then some. And it will be way cheaper than the $5-10,000 I would pay in USA, even in Los Angeles Korea town. This type of procedure is very common in India, so surgeons at the better clinics are very experienced, with a high success rate.
Supposedly Poland and Hungary are great places for dentistry. I have also heard good things about Bulgaria. Because I am a wuss and don't want to deal with the logistics of a dental tourism trip, we're probably going to go ahead and do this in Germany. The dentist said that payments would be after each procedure rather than all at once. And we do have insurance, though I have a feeling I will have to write nastygrams to get them to pay.
This situation could be worse. All week, I've been reading about the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. At least I am in a place where there are good dentists available, plenty of pain relievers, and I am free to seek appropriate care. And at least my husband is employed, has insurance, and his bosses like him enough to keep him around. Had this been going on a year ago, I probably would be freaking out right now, since it was months before his retirement and he had no solid job prospects. I wouldn't have wanted to start the process in Texas and then had to move to Germany, either.
LOL... I posted about my situation on Stuttgart Friends, the local FB group for Americans. A different American dentist who just moved back here and started a practice invited me to come for a consult. Now *that* guy gives me the impression of someone who might have a boat to pay for, even though I know he's just trying to build his business.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2015 04:56AM by knotheadusc.
The back tooth crumpled and he picked it out a piece at a time. The point is that I did fine. It wasn't half as bad as I would have thought and I'm not so tough.
I think you would be fine with an extraction and implant. I have an implant and it's better than the real tooth because it was made to fit the space and the real tooth was very jammed in.
I have a bridge and it's a little bothersome. I tried to avoid that and had to have a root canal when whatever they did failed. That's fine too.
I think since I've had so many eye surgeries, I can trivialize dental problems in my mind. I plan what I'm going to think about during procedures and my mind is elsewhere. What do you like? Gardens? Ocean? Woods? Go there in your mind and trust the professional to take care of what he/she does so well. Dental procedures take an hour or so, then you go home and rest. A milk shakes is a yummy dinner treat and feel very good afterward. I was prepared to have soup and other soft warm food. But sent DH for a milkshake. Yum! Cold and smooth and perfect! Follow doctor's orders and you'll be well in no time.
If you can't see the tooth, I'd just have an extraction. I had 2 teeth extracted in December (2 weeks apart) as the teeth fell apart.
I have some of those old fillings from my childhood and gradually my teeth are falling apart. I had my first root canal about 10 years ago. He put a post in the tooth. The tooth broke out 6 months later. Then I had a root canal in one of my back molars. He hit a nerve. I was in horrible pain for 3 weeks and in and out of the dentist's office every other day or so. I was on pain pills long enough that I started vomiting every time I took one. My jaw was a mess for over six months.
At about that six month point, I had to have the tooth pulled the day after my mother's funeral.
So, I found a new dentist. Our understanding is that if a tooth falls apart, he can fill it and see how it goes, or pull it. I have 4 molars left. I have told him when one of my teeth you can see comes apart, then I will get dentures. They seem to think I can't chew well enough. I'd beg to differ. Not like I'm malnourished or anything.
I won't let anyone put foreign material into my body unless absolutely necessary. I type this stuff and have for 30 years. There was a post they used to put in people for temporomandibular joint problems. Now these people have their jaws disintegrating. How about that vaginal mesh you see lawsuits for?
The previous dentist wanted to do bridges on my falling apart teeth. I told him HELL NO.
When I last went to this dentist, he told me again that I could have a root canal on my shattered tooth. There wasn't much left of it. Then I told him my story of my last root canal. Both he and his assistant said, "I get it now."
And I also type up people who have failed total hips, total knees, infections that go on and on and on to a point they never walk again. These are the things we don't hear about.
I know they can make an insert of a tooth that fits with your other teeth without putting foreign material into your body. It is up to you though.
All these commercials about implants. I'm just waiting for the lawsuits to begin, as they will.
I just had the last molar on my upper right side taken out before Christmas. I guess if I smile really big, people could see it.
I probably shouldn't give my advice because I'm extremely cynical because of all the typing I've done. You should be around my house when I'm working, cussing out the doctors. There are very few I'm impressed with and I'm shopping for one right now.
mb these people are in diff points of the workd with different infection risks- or inflammatory environmental, or diet risks, than me, so they dont experience a post as a risk for inflammation bone degredation or a point for infection.
mb if um they got an inflammatory markers blood test, to see if they were a risk or at risk prior to putting in a post. /if had significant inflammatory markers or numbers, then a foreign substance in jaw might be not a great idea?/ but you coukd find out, you coukd plan this logically.
you could also look not only at infection rates for local procedures (if they would publish it) and community percentages locally for mrsa before proceeding with whatvwould be an additional risk;
mb its trading one imperfect clearly challenged mb infected irritating situation for the best compromise you can find
people need to calculate their own risks (own infection rate or prior chronic infection ex sinus or whatnot re continued antibiotic through years not working) before they put a post in
Reading all the posts, I realize that I have been either lucky, have relatively good teeth and/or had good dentists. Perhaps people describing their experiences are a small minority? It would be helpful to know what the success rate is for various dental procedures. My dentist told me that insurance usually will not cover crown replacement if original crown was put in less than 5 years ago.
In the last 50 years, I have had about 20 crowns and 5 root canals. I have never lost a tooth and only 5 crowns have had to be replaced.
Be guided by the advice of your current dentist. Ask him what success rate he expects in your case for the two options.
Yeah, again, if this were a permanent tooth we were talking about, we'd probably be discussing a root canal instead of an extraction. It's a baby tooth, though, and doesn't have the root structure permanent teeth have.
You've got a very unique situation and you've been seeking advice from a highly qualified specialist. I'd say go with it (this coming from someone with a lot of dental experience in the family). The plan sounds very prudent.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2015 11:17AM by Devoted Exmo.
I'm not quite sure how i've been so lucky.I'm 62, and I've never had a root canal, crown, bridge, or extraction. I did have braces when I was young. Those landed me in the hospital for a month with a rare heart infection. I still have all of my teeth, and hopefully it stays that way.
My kids are in their 30's and have never had a filling! I had their teeth sealed when they were younger, and they've been brushing and flossing since they could talk. Having their teeth sealed has saved me and them a lot of grief and money. They also had fluoridated water, something I didn't have as a child.I have a filling in ever molar because of that.
I didn't start taking really good care of my teeth until I was a teenager and got braces on my top teeth. That has paid off, but when I was a kid, I got a lot of fillings. They're all wearing out now.
I did nag my husband enough to get him to start flossing religiously and it's made a huge difference in his oral health. But that's mainly because I have a strong sense of smell and am easily grossed out by hygiene issues. LOL...
A LOT of Canadians go to Algones, Mexico (right across the border from Yuma, AZ) for dentistry, specifically implants. One of my friends had much needed implants done there over three days. The cost was about $13K compared to $60K here in Lethbridge, AB. He raved about the care he got, the first rate dental suites at the place he went and the professionalism of the dentist and his staff.
Yes, I have a friend who got 8 implants done in Costa Rica for a fraction of what she would have paid in the US. I am in Germany now, so if I wanted to do dental tourism, I would go to Eastern Europe.
I have two root canals. One is 40 years old, the other is 30 years old. Both are crowned, as is everything behind my eye teeth. Some crowns are more than 30 years old and all are holding up well. The only crown I ever had that went bad was due to my own stupidity--I broke it cleaning up the old maids in the bottom of the popcorn bowl.
So in my opinion, saving your natural teeth with root canals and crowns is the way to go. At least, it works for me.
I'm curious. If your tooth is a baby tooth, you're going to lose it anyway when the permanent tooth replaces it, yes?
The baby tooth does NOT have anything under it. Of course if I had a permanent tooth to replace it, this would not be an issue. I don't actually want to get an extraction. I just think it may be the best solution. I don't think a root canal in a badly damaged baby tooth with no permanent tooth under it is a good use of our money.
I am 42 and am one of the few folks who didn't get all their permanent teeth.
I have a daughter that has a first bicuspid with a super short root. It's a permanent tooth, but because of it's root, it has always been assumed to be a temporary tooth. She has babied that tooth for years now, decades actually and it's still there. But one of these days, it will develop problems. Once that happens, she'll likely be an implant candidate. It's a much better solution than a bridge or flipper.
Right down my alley. Well, a root canal on a baby tooth isn't ideal and could fail in the near future due to its small, slender roots. I would consider an implant provided the adjacent teeth are sound. If the adjacent teeth have large fillings or crowns, a bridge might be another option to consider.
1. My mother was teaching school when she lost her last baby tooth and when she died just before reaching 94, had only lost one permanent tooth and had no crowns or root canals. 2. My father lost almost all his teeth by age 70. 3. My brothers, especially my younger brother inherited my fathers gene. At 70 I have had no root canals or crowns. I'm lucky. Well, not totally. I inherited a bleeding problem from my mother. 4. Best wishes to OP for good results.
Went to see the dentist yesterday for a consultation. It looks like we're going to go the implant route. For those who are interested in what it costs, he said it would be anywhere from 3000-4500 euros. But I don't have to pay for everything upfront and this would be spread over about a nine month period. Also, insurance would theoretically cover half of it.
I opted for the extraction which was far enough back in my mouth that I do not have the hill billy look.The tooth was cracked from top to bottom and was not a good candidate for root canal or repair, so out it came. It was totally black inside. So now I need to find a dentist to do an implant for less than $7000 than my downtown dentist quoted...my dental plan will only pay about $1200. Mexico maybe.