To consider spending this much money on myself?

[leanbh21]

I broke a tooth today. Big last-but-one molar. Previously root canal treatment and big filling. The filling and inside wall of the tooth are now gone. Dentist shut till Monday but I looked on google and not sure the tooth can be saved at this point. Read lots of scary stories about bone wasting away and adjacent teeth drifting etc after extraction and lots of sites mentioning dental implant as a way of reducing these problems. BUT, for a single tooth implant it seems to be about £2000+!!

We probably could afford it without going into debt but it seems a LOT of money to spend on a back tooth which obviously takes away from the family budget - 3 DCs, mortgage etc. OTOH, my teeth aren't great - most of my molars are filled, 4 with root canal/crown work so maybe it's worth it to stop worse problems as I'm 35y so hoping to have a good few decades of chewing left!!

Wait and see what your dentist says - a crown may be an option and that is significantly less money. Worth getting it sorted properly -think how many years' use you are going to get out of it!

I'm guessing you live in Ireland leanbh with those prices. If you do seriously consider shopping over the border much cheaper. Bloody Irish gangster dentists. We were in France recently and dh had trouble with his teeth, we're so used to being ripped off we took five hundred euro with us to the surgery.....it was twenty quid..... I couldn't stop on the pavement outside an Irish dentists without being charged twenty euro.

Fuck that! You're not being unreasonable because it's completely up to you but hell no would I pay that, not for a molar!!

I split a tooth and there was no chance of a crown, it had to come out. I could never have lived with the gaping hole or a permanent denture plate, though it did take nine months time get the implant done and dusted. (wearing a terrible plate in meantime.) Worth every penny - paid 1800 pounds in central London.

If you've got the spare cash, YANBU.

I've got an implant (a molar) - the NHS dentist hacked away so much tissue during the extraction that it was down to the dentine & very sensitive/painful.

An implant will last over 20 years. Interest-free credit might be an option?

If, on the other hand, it will mean that your family life is compromised by the cost of this then YABU.

Ps should have said that a crown will damage the teeth on either side permanently.

If you're googling, is that the price for private? Because NHS might not be so dear.

Silly amount for a back tooth.

Even a pair of front teeth on the NHS is is only 2.5K for implants.

I think that's a private price. I didn't think you could get it on the NHS?

It wouldn't impact the day to day family budget it just seems a bit selfish to spend so much of "our" money on a back tooth. For vanity sake I'm happy to have a gap but I'm scared about the tooth drift potential that I've read about. It won't take a crown - I know that for certain. Not enough tooth left and a bridge would mean cutting into the tooth behind it which is, miraculously, healthy and fully intact (the one in front already has a crown so I imagine that can't be used).

I'd pay it if it was at the front or even towards the front. Or even if it was likely to be just that tooth but realistically I imagine my existing crowns won't last forever either so I'll probably need other implants in the future sigh

Where are you op? Can you go somewhere cheaper? I had £squillions worth done in China for £400. I was living there, prob not worth the journey otherwise. I think if it's so far back id prob. just have it extracted.
However assuming you're in Eire I'd investigate Malta.

Isn't there an emergency dentist to go to?

I lost a back molar 25 years ago. The one next on one side has leant over a bit, helping to fill the gap. The one the other side hasn't moved at all. Dentists are sure to present the worst case scenario to get you to spend a bloody fortune.

You have to wait 3 months after extraction before an implant can be placed, so why don't you see how you get on during that period of time, then decide?

Also, plenty of people pay out similar amounts for laser eye correction, or wearing contacts/glasses for the rest of their lives.

I'm in the UK.

sunflowerseeds thank you for sharing your experience. That does make me feel a bit better. As I said, I could care less about having a gap in that position but the pictures on google were scary - note to self; stop googling!

I'll have to wait a few weeks to talk to my dentist as we're about to go in holiday - timing's everything, right?! My teeth just terrify me because I've had so much trouble with them in the past 15yrs.