Upset about a dental issue...

[ThreeBecameFour]

Any dentists out there? Or those who have had a plate or implant put it?

I have had a crown and root canal work on my top right 2nd pre-molar. Basically the tooth now has a hairline fracture and has to come out. I have been told best option is a plate with a tooth on it and in 3 month if I can afford it (£2.5k) I can have an implant fitted. Are these the only options? Apparently he doesn't want to do a bridge as the teeth on either side are virgin teeth.

I am v upset, having the tooth removed will leave a huge gap in my smile (vain I know) so I need something there. For some reason I am really depressed about it, it is making me feel really old at 39. I never had any dental issues until I had my 2 kids..

So.... have any of you had a single tooth plate put in and how is it?
Has anyone had an implant put in and how was/is it?

What are the timelines? How do they feel? Are they easy to deal with etc. My dentist has been rubbish at discussing this. The plate would be done on the NHS on the 1st Aug, then I'll the implant done privately (he advised 3 months later).

I am already mourning the loss of my tooth and worried about pain, and vainly the cosmetic look of both options... I know it could be worse.. but I am still worried...

Can you put my mind at ease?

[gilbertysullivan]

Why do you need both?
DH has a tooth missing in a similar place and quite a gap upper jaw towards the back.
He has been assessing an implant for some time but delayed it due to sinus ops etc ( interestingly it's been suggested that his huge problems with sinuses may have been caused by a longstanding abscess on the tooth).

But the plate thing you mention has never been offered.
Our local dentists charge from around £1K for implants and we live SE.

Why can't you put up with the gap short term then just go for the implant?

[ThreeBecameFour]

I guess I don't want a gaping gap in my smile line. I know it is vain but I work in an environment where I am face to face with people all the time and it is going to knock my confidence.

[ClockWatchingLady]

I'm not a dentist, and I don't have any implants. But a close friend of mine has two (titanium?) implants, in a very prominent position in her mouth. They look great - you can't tell which ones they are - and they apparently don't cause any issues at all. They are, in my (rudimentary) understanding, screwed into the bone, which continues to grow around them, and are not that dissimilar in many ways to normal teeth. They were pretty expensive, and in the couple of months preceding the time they were put in my friend had to have some kind of false teeth (don't know the details), which she hated. But now the implants are in, she is thrilled with them. She says they were worth every penny.

[gilbertysullivan]

But from what you say OP you'd only have the gap for a matter of weeks then the implant treatment could start?
I'd be wary of having 2 lots of quite serious treatment like that when you could wait for 3 months and have the implant- as well as saving over £1K

[Harry1603]

To be honest I would put up with the gap until you can have the implant - it doesn't seem worth having 2 sets of major treatment.

I'm having one of my molars out next month and I'm just going to have a gap. The dentist went through my options and none of them are in my price range!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Eelseelseels]

My DH has had a lot of implants done in the last year, both top and bottom. They cost £995 per tooth, done in this country. They were done over a couple of months (he had extractions there first so this made the process a lot longer). He has been thrilled with the work and had no pain or trouble from the implants - you'd never know they weren't his own teeth. We are in the south east too. Please feel free to inbox me if you'd like any more info!