Missing lateral incisive & dental implants

Sweetsugarr

Hi everyone,

First post on here so please excuse me!

I wanted to get some advice regarding my teeth. I have a missing lateral incisor, it just never grew back after the loss of my baby teeth. So I have gaps in my teeth and wonky teeth . I have been to visit a consultant orthodontist who suggested using braces to open up the gap then have a dental bridge put in. I want a more permanent solution so was looking to again open up the gap and have an implant put in. I never thought of this at the time so was not able to ask the orthodontist and I don't want to keep shelling out on consultations so just wanted to know if anyone else has been in a similar situation and what they did and what the outcome was. Is it a common area to have a dental implant? What are the contraindications for a dental implant? And if you have had braces to open up a space how long did it take to open up the gap?

Many thanks in advance!
:money:

Toothsmith

The orthodontist should really have discussed all the options with you - and nowadays, having an implant as an alternative to a bridge - particularly if the teeth either side are completely untouched by dental drill - is probably more the A1 Gold standard suggestion, and things like bridges more of a compromise.

Whether this is suitable for you or not, I really couldn't say, as I've not seen you. However - you shouldn't need to go to the orthodontist again for this. He/she should be able to comment just from memory/notes & xrays taken whether it would be a suitable option for you.

If you do decide to go this way, then you would have to go for a consultation with a dentist who provides implants just so he can give it the green light and work with the orthodontist to ensure the gap created is of the right size.

brook2jack

The things that make an implant difficult are

Not enough bone to support the implant , may be able to get over this with bone grafting

Poor oral hygiene, gum disease, implants can be lost as easily or easier than your own teeth

Smoking , most implant ologists will not place implants in a smoker as the failure rates are so high

Diabetes ,again failure rates are high

Grinding or clenching habits , again can cause implant to fail.

Teeth move around 1mm a month so for most people you would be looking at 12 to 18 months worth of brace treatment.

As TS said you need an orthodontist and an implantologist who will work together for what will be a long and complex treatment.

Toothsmith

To be fair, Brook - If ortho is considered OK to do - then a lot of that list above should have been ticked off as not a problem.

mrs_lds

Ugh! I just lost a tooth. It infuriates me as my mil has all free inplants etc every benefit available but i am expected to pay. Option to go toothless or not.
Also I’m not too keen on metal inplants.
Anyadvice.
Do all dentists charge the same?

Toothsmith

I very much doubt you MIL has had free implants. They are VERY rarely done free on the NHS generally only for MAJOR reconstruction work following trauma (face smashing car crashes possibly) or severe facial cancers where big sections of jaw have to be replaced.

If your MIL Has had free implants - I don't think you would be infuriated given what she would have been through.

Titanium is what implants are made of. I don't think anything else does the job - but the reason titanium does the job is because it is very biocompatible - anything that wasn't biocompatible would be rejected by the body. Metal free ones are available - but are quite a recent development, so are likely to be dearer, and they won't have the same length of research behind them that the conventional ones have. So it won't be properly known if they are any better or worse yet.

Even though it says they are 'metal' free - this only really means proper elemental titanium. They are still coated with titanium or aluminium oxide - as this is what makes it fuse to the bone! So there are still metal oxides present.

Dentists do not all charge the same - but it's not really a thing you want to 'shop around' for. Finding a dentist who is good at it is better than finding one who is cheap. But it's up to you where you want to place yourself inside the price/experience spectrum.

lisyloo

Implants are fantastic.
They are custom shaped (and coloured) to fit into your bite so you get used to them really quickly.
Prices vary, so Harley st will be expensive and Poland will be cheap but there can be issues and you need aftercare.

I’d say look for a good local dentist with some implant experience.
Personally I wouldn’t go abroad.
You could have poor work done and risk having to go back and take time off and pay for flights etc.

They are a few ks but I’d highly recommend if you can afford it.

I do free modelling for my hair and nails and get free/cheap prices.
I had a really bad perm once but it grew bad so no harm done.
I would never take a chance with my eyes or teeth.

Implants are not generally provided on the NHS.
If you lose teeth then it’s either put up with it or get false ones.

Toothsmith

lisyloo wrote: »

Personally I wouldn’t go abroad.
You could have poor work done and risk having to go back and take time off and pay for flights etc.

I'd agree with all you put there. But it's not always 'poor work' that causes problems.

Someone I referred for one had it dislodge during the phase where the tooth is built up onto it. No reason - it just happened, even though at the stage before it had looked like it had taken well.

It meant beginning again with it.

The chap who does them for me replaced it all FOC - but imagine if flights had been needed as well!

lisyloo

Yep, I trust my local dentist to put things right if they go wrong, not to mention the convenience if further work was required.

brook2jack

Even the best work, placed by the very best dentist , in the right place and on the right person can go wrong. Sometimes it takes several visits to sort problems out.

That's inconvenient if you have to take time off work to go to appointments , more problematic if the dentist is hundreds/thousands of miles away.

mrs_lds

Does anyone know how much one inplant would cost? 5th tooth on top