Have you had a dental implant? Questions....

[UnleashTheFury]

Long story short.

One of my teeth suffered a blow and is now broken at the root.

It can’t be repaired (said the root fixing specialist)

The only thing that can happen is for it to be removed and replaced with an implant.

This is the bit that makes me sad. It’s flipping £3500 (said my dentist)

I cannot afford this at all. I could stretch to £500 by lending off my mother but not a penny more.

Anyone any advice? Do they do it on the NHS?
I don’t have an NHS dentist and the current waiting list is 20 months (I called the only one taking on in my area)

And just to make it all the more shit it’s my god damn front tooth.

No not done on nhs. My son paid 2300
For his implant. You can get a denture

Why don't you go for a bridge instead? I'm missing two front teeth (the adult teeth never grew). I have a bridge and I love it. Nobody ever knows unless I tell them, and it's just glued to my other teeth so there's no damage to those.

Did your son go private for that? That’s over a thousand cheaper than I’ve been quoted. Was it a while ago?

If they don’t do it on NHS I’m screwed

@PolkadotsAndMoonbeams
I haven’t heard of that.

Can you explain?

(I might have implants at some point, but I was worried about the lifetime of them — I had the bridge done when I was 17.)

A bridge is effectively a false tooth on a strip of something (most are metal, but mine are a composite material that my dentist was keen to try out!). The strip is then glued to the back of the tooth next to the gap.

OK. Dentists negotiate for private work and often offer payment plans.

Go to a couple of different private dentists. Shop around.

Ask about all options. Which tooth is it?

I've just looked, the type I have is called an adhesive or Maryland bridge. It was counted as private, but I think it was about £300 for two teeth plus a couple of appointments for measuring the gap/colour and then fitting it one it had been made.

Dentist here the options after extraction are

1. Do nothing and have a gap
2. Small denture (NHS)
3. Bridge either fixed or Maryland ( Google)
4. Implant

It’s your choice not the dentist and all these options should have been discussed with you. I had a back tooth removed when it fractured and have had no further treatment. Since you can’t see the gap it doesn’t bother me. A front tooth would have been different. I probably would have opted for a Maryland bridge which doesn’t involve any tooth tissue removal and they should last for years. All bridges and implants can fail so none can be classed as permanent. Implants are high maintenance if done ethically and involve regular visit to implantologist and hygienist and may cost in excess of £200 per year on top of normal dental visits. Personally I wouldn’t have an implant.

Unleash it was private yes

They don't do it on the NHS sorry you would only be able to get a denture.
I do a 4 hour drive to the Brighton Implant clinic for mine and they cost just under 1k and the cheapest I have found.
I've had two implants with them and they are really good. Well worth the travelling.
You will get nothing for £500, 1k is the minimum anywhere unless you go abroad which is possible. However I don't know how they will manage the aftercare as you need a minimum of three visits over a period of 6 months.
You pay as you go at the Brighton implant clinic, you don't have to pay upfront.

www.brightonimplantclinic.co.uk/

Check out this clinics bridges also, all of their procedures are a lot cheaper than anywhere else, you can get a bridge from them for under £500.

I have an implant following a failed bridge. It cost me around £3000. Money well spent as I was so upset by the gap left when the bridge just wouldn't stay put. Is there a payment plan available you could do?

I have an implant in my front tooth. £3000 privately but could have paid in instalments. Private dentists usually offer payment plans.

@willdoitinaminute
Thanks for the advice. I like the look of the Maryland bridge.
Would that work with having a brace also?
This all came about when I went to see about getting a brace and only then discovering the tooth issue.

Private payment plan wouldn’t be an option unfortunately.
I have 3 kids and work part time so it would be hard to pay back.
This is my front tooth so I definitely couldn’t leave a gap.

DH has had a crown on his front tooth for years.

Last year, it broke. Dentist did some xrays, and found that DH had an awful infection raging in his jawbone and it had actually eaten a hole away. Long story cut short, he's now had to have a bone implant, the stake for a crown putting in, and he's now waiting for that to heal and then the crown should go on in 3 months time.

It's been specialist orthodontal treatment, and the bill is about £7k so far. We're now considering dental insurance of some kind

I'm not sure it would work with the tray aligner type but for traintrack braces, or the retainer wire type you'd have false teeth one the wire, or attached to the plastic part of the retainer and do the bridges afterwards I would think.

That seems horribly expensive. I’m part way through two implants and the cost is £1900 per implant.

Ring round all the nhs dentists there is likely to be one within one hour of you who is taking patients on. A bridge can be done on the NHS - it'll be tier 3 and £269 pounds in total including all the appointments. I'm having a partial denture made soon - that would be another option for you too and it'll cost me £269 too. I decided against implants atm due to not wanting anymore invasive treatment but want my gaps filled.