Missing molar tooth. What are my options and what the costs on a budget?

[user0786]

Posting on AIBU for traffic sorry.

I'm missing a molar on the right and left side of my mouth (bottom molar)

What are my options on a budget in the UK? I hear that dental implants cost thousands. Any other options?

Fixed bridge, also not cheap but less than an implant. Denture, which you might get on the NHS depending on function

Costs very much depend where you are in the country

My dentist (SE but outside London) charges about £500 per tooth for fixed bridge.

Sorry for the repeated posts keep thinking of more stuff. Many private dentists will assess you for around £100 and give you costed options

as a retired dentist there are a number of options each with pros and cons
I can't advise which is best for you this is just a general summary
1, leave the gap, obviously the cheapest, if these are the only gaps in your mouth you will still have enough teeth to chew and the gap is probably not that visible, cons, the teeth behind may drift forward at an angle making them harder to clean also if a lower tooth the upper tooth may over erupt exposing root of upper tooth which may lead to extra sensitivity, though not obvious to others you may be very conscious of the gap
2, a removable denture in either acrylic ( plastic) or chrome steel cheapest option is plastic; these are poorly tolerated in lower jaw and most end up in a drawer, so I would always advise chrome for a lower gap, upper ones are much easier to manage in either material and chrome ones with clasps on healthy teeth generally stay in place
unless done well they can tricky to get used to, there is some evidence that unless oral hygenie is better than average food can get trapped beneath them and so the teeth beside the denture start to deterioate but for many this is a quite acceptable and adequate solution, a plastic denture will always be an NHS option, a chrome will be in many circumstances
3, provided teeth beside it are relatively healthy a bridge can be made which is like a artifical tooth cemented to the tooth next to it there are two types one with a metal wing ( not often used for missing molars) or a fixed one which involves a crown on the tooth beside gap this may or may not be available on NHS it is not routinely approved to fill a small gap single tooth that is not visible
generally only the first five teeth from midline are considered visible
4, implants almost never available on NHS the costliest option and dependent on adequate bone health and density
options 2-4 all require an extra level of oral hygenie to make sure the adjacent teeth remain healthy
no replacement is ever better than the original even by the best dentist in the world

@Cottagecheeseisnotcheese f someone picks number 1 and just leaves the gap are there long term implications? Mine is an upper tooth so the thing you said about if it’s a lower tooth isn’t applicable. It isn’t visible. Is bone erosion likely to be an issue?

I left mine as a gap and have never had any bother. No one can see the gap as it's a molar!

I've left gaps for about five years one upper and one lower, however I used etc have nice straight teeth and they have gradually moved and become crooked. I cannot afford the prices in France for implants, or indeed find a dentist who will see me as we have a severe shortage of dentists in the region. I'm fortunate enough to visit Turkey regularly and have found a dentist there for my annual check-ups etc. He fitted the posts for my dental implants last summer and I will be having the crowns fitted this summer. I think it's worked out at about 1,600 euros for the two rather than the 3,000 each I was quoted here in France when they were both removed five years ago.

I'm missing a bottom molar. Causes me zero issues and the gap is now really small due to other teeth merging in) (it's been gone about 20 years now).

I had a bottom molar removed recently, and I am just going to live with the gap. Nobody can see it and I can still chew so I don't see the point in spending money to replace the tooth.

If you can afford an implant I would definitely recommend it. I lost a premolar and had an implant, seven years later it is still fine and looks and feels like a real tooth.

I had 2 bottom molars one side and 1 the other side missing for 16 years! You couldn't see them, but I was still always self conscious.
Apart from that teeth were healthy and straight.
I had 3 dental implants, whitening and composite bonding on some of my front teeth and cost about 8k. But well worth it in my opinion.
I think some places offer finance plans if you couldn't afford the whole outlay.

I used to work in a deprived area as NHS dentist I am used to people needing to make decisions based on finances and telling them when they really should spend their money and when 90% of the time they would get away with it
if it is an upper molar , lower molars don't often over erupt, there is always bone shrinkage after an extraction 90% within 12 months but it is ongoing very slowly over your life time,
there are no guarantees but I think you are mostl likely to be fine just leaving it just take really good care of your remaining teeth so you don't lose many more to function well ( ie not limiting food choices we need approx 10 contacts which is a minimum of 20 teeth sometimes more if it requires a tooth opposite so basically your corresponding lower tooth is now out of function
for myself I would replace any tooth in the first 5, I would not get a denture but a bridge first of all for a 4th or 5th tooth, I would get an implant for my incisors or canine, I would probably not replace a single missing molar myself, it is hard to say exactly as I have only 3 tiny fillings from when I was a child so losing a tooth for me would probasbly involve falling over on my front teeth, which i would definitely get fixed

my punctuation and spelling seem to have gone AWOL sorry

I have a lower jaw chrome partial denture with tooth coloured clasps. Would have loved fixed bridges but unfortunately more than one molar missing each side due to brutal 70's dentistry.☹️

I must admit, as you couldn't see the gaps unless I opened my mouth wide, I just left them for many years but finally felt, around 5 years ago, that my jaw needed more support now I am older.

It did take quite a few months to get used to the denture and at times I never thought I would but got there eventually. I am scrupulous with oral hygiene and take my denture out overnight and leave in dissolving cleaner. I floss and use interdental brushes with my other teeth and then use a little fixative to put my denture in place. Never have trapped food particles thank God as that would make me gag. Really pleased I stuck with it now but definitely would recommend the tooth coloured clasps which are pretty much invisible. Metal clasps look awful IMO.
My denture cost £720 if that helps and there are 2 teeth at each side.

Oh and just to add, unfortunately - due to previous 70's operation - my jaw wasn't suitable for implants and dentist felt strongly they would fail.☹️.

I’ve got a denture on my bottom teeth .i had 3 removed during covid ,as I was in pain ,and it was removal or nothing,emergency only dental treatment.
anyway ,denture is great ,only cost £250 ,and I can laugh and yawn and not cover my mouth when I speak any more
can’t even tell it’s in ,and often forget about it ,untill I go to clean my teeth and remember it’s there ..definitely not just left in a drawer ,I’ve very great full to have it

no one has suggested braces. I had four baby teeth molars removed as a teenager as no adult tooth was underneath and I was given braces to close the gaps

The tooth on the right hand side broke and came out from me not taking good care of it in my teens. Where the hole would be of the mixing tooth there's like this hard thing formed over it. I don't know what to call it. Not sure if it's bone or what and I don't want to gross anyone out with pictures but idk the missing tooth has been missing for over a year and a half and today the area underneath feels swollen. There's this hard thing above what would've been the gap. So not sure what's happening?