to consider a dental implant? or should i just have a false one? any dentists around?

[GodGaveSausageRollsToYou]

I have always been proud of my teeth, they are white and straight and I really look after them. they are prob my best feature.

last year I needed a filling, my first one ever at 35. it is quite near the front to the right of my pointy teeth (if that makes sense) .... last week at a check up was told it needed replacing with a root canal as the nerve had become infected. again no idea why as I am absolutely diligent about cleaning and flossing etc :( ...so the dentist removed the nerve and put a temp filling in. and I was due to go back in a couple of weeks for the root canal. then after 3 months I will need a crown on it. its going to cost almost 300 quid in total (and that's NHS!!)

but then yesterday the temp filling fell out and took some of my tooth with it. OMFG. I was mortified. so the dentist patched it up and I still have to go back for the root canal. but he has warned me that because the tooth is now such "poor quality" ( :( ) the root canal & crown probably will fail within a couple of years.

so he has recommended a dental implant as I don't want a false one. I have been quoted £2500. which is money I really don't have. but I have looked online and found prices around £1000 which is more do able. it would wipe out my (meagre) savings though.

I don't know whether to just have the tooth removed and get a false one (because there is NO WAY I am having a gap that near the front) or just go for an implant. so I want to know if any mners reading this have had an implant, how much did it cost, and did it work ok. and if anyone has had a false one just to replace one tooth did it look ok and did it feel ok.

and if anyone says it hurts, I really don't care about the pain . I just do not want a ruined smile :(((((((

I'm another one with an implant, which I had done as weird root arrangement meant that a root canal/crown probably would have failed. It took almost a year in all and cost £2500 ( yikes) but I love it! It is just part of me and most of the time I forget all about it.

Oh, I had to have a bone graft too, hence the length of time it all took.

I have an implant and while I was waiting for the bone to heal the dentist put a fake veneer sort of thing in. It was just a false front which he said was like a white filling and attached to either side. It lasted very well as that dentist then left and it was many, many months until I could get the work finished by his replacement!

Another one with a dental implant. Totally fine and looks like a real truth. I had sedation for the procedures involved in mine which was ace - made everything straightforward. I would definitely for for it instead of a bridge as the look will be MUCH better

I have an implant. It looks really good, I've had no problems with it. I recommend it.

Warning - A bridge will ruin the other 2 teeth in time.

If your gums are healthy I'd definitely have an implant.

I had an implant about 12 years ago and it has been great. I think I was unusual in that I had the tooth extracted and implant put in there and then. Dentist moulded a temporary crown and bridged it to adjacent teeth for strength while waiting for the implant to settle in.

I can't really remember what it cost - under £2k I think - but worth every penny.

(Ex dental nurse) First of all, don't panic. You can have your root filling done and actually just fill the tooth for now, then wait and see. If the tooth breaks even more (If, being the chosen word!), then you can have a post crown put in. Can last you a long time without problems. The longer it lasts, the better the implants treatment will become. Even if post crown fails, then a bridge can be done, all that is, is a false tooth cemented to teeth either side. The other teeth aren't damaged in any way, and bridges last for years. All these options are considerably cheaper and definitely considerably less pain. Implants are certainly not the way to go. (Apart from anything, the time treatment takes is crazy!)

A bridge won't damage the healthy teeth, by the way. If cement damaged teeth, then nobody would ever have fixed braces!!!!

I've got an implant for the tooth one further back than you need.

I originally had a bridge but it kept popping off. Dentist altered the shape a bit and put it back about 5 times! Then he gave up and said I'm just in the small percentage that the bridge doesn't work for. He said I might be grinding my teeth at night combined with just biting down in a funny way. I paid about £700 and it was just money gone.

So I then decided to get an implant. It cost £2500. But the good news is that it really didn't hurt at all! The procedure was completely painless and afterwards my jaw was a bit sore, but not enough that I even bothered to take ibuprofen. I didn't chew on that side of my mouth for about a week until the stitches fell out.

The whole thing took many, many visits to the dentist (maybe like 7 or 8) but now my implant looks and feels exactly like a real tooth.

Agree with landrover, don't panic. I had a root canal that lasted about 5 years, I was then faced with either an implant at 3k or a bridge at 1k. I had the bridge and it's been fine. Whilst I was waiting for the treatment I had a single denture, again fine, though the soaking and taking it out was a complete faff and was very glad to get a permanent solution rather than looking at my teeth in a glass at night! It's a good solution if an implant is too expensive and looks better than the original tooth.

My root canal was only going to last 18 months or so because of the shape of the roots; they wouldn't have been able to anchor anything as they grew towards each other rather than outwards like a tree. At least that's what I was told. Other root canals on other teeth have been fine.
But I still love my implant.

thanks for the new replies

tbh I am not that happy with my dentist, as never had any problems till I moved house and moved dentist. but round here its next to impossible to get a nhs one so i am lucky to even have one. so just have to put up and shut up really

I felt like my dentist was trying to sell me an implant, little does he know that if I do get one it wont be from his rip off fucking place

I think I am just going to go for the root canal, as have already paid for it. then just wait and see.

Can the dentist not do a post crown? (where they file the tooth right down and put in a metal post into the root in teeth that are not strong enough to support a normal crown. I have a lot of bridges and crowns (accident many years ago) and have a post crown on one tooth where the normal crown and most of the tooth broke off and failed. Bridges can be done on the NHS - mine was- I had to pay the maximum fee but it has lasted 17 years so far.

Having said that I would love implants (don't have the money) but my dentist friends think you should go down the route of root canal, crown, bridge etc preserving as much /many teeth as possible before the final option due to costs and maintenance.

I had the exact same problem as you, same tooth and everything. I found a place that did it for €1000 and I got a credit union loan. Absolutely delighted with the results and the loan was paid back in no time. I often see people with that same tooth missing and I'm really really glad I did it.