Dental implants

[KiwiKat]

Oh happy days! My dental bridge has given up the ghost after 10 years of service, so it looks like I'll be getting a dental implant. Or two. This has me trembling for several reasons: primarily the cost, followed closely by the pain, and me looking rather unsightly mid-process. I'm in London - could anyone recommend someone that would help with these issues? Thanks very much!

I'm based outside London, but as a dentist, wanted to reassure you of a couple of things. I don't place implants myself, but my colleague does.

1. There really should be very little pain. You'll be numb during the procedure and paracetamol / ibuprofen should sort you out after.
2. There is no reason you should be unslightly at any stage of the process. At the very least you can wear a temporary denture, and it may be possible to have some kind of temporary bridge.

If you want to PM me, I can give you more details of my colleague. We are definitely reachable from North london.

Pregnancy is relevent, but is no reason to avoid proper dental treatment. Hopefully you will not need the tooth out. Depending on what the dentist finds on her examination and on xrays, and having confirmed which tooth it the problem, there are 4 options:

1. do nothing (probably not that realistic)
2. Give antibiotics (not ideal if you are pregnant, and will take 48 hrs at least to work).
3. Remove the tooth (instant and permanent relief, and a gap for as long as it takes to replace the tooth).
4. Root canal treatment (almost instant relief, you keep the tooth).

As a dentist my priorities would be
1.pain relief now.

1. Avoiding dental pain in the next 6 weeks or so (during labour and immediate post partum period).
2. Maintenance of aesthetics.

Root canal treatment (start now, finish next week) will achieve all of these. If the veneer is in good shape it should be fine (I would drill the back of the tooth). You will probably need a new crown on the tooth once the RCT is finished and you are ready after baby born (in a couple of months), as the tooth will be more brittle after RCT and prone to breakage.

Incidentally, the 3-4 tiny xrays needed to complete the RCT will not harm your baby.

What sprinkles said +1.

I have implants and they're absolutely fine. They were inserted under sedation (which was odd, but not at all painful) and I just felt groggy afterwards, took painkillers for 24 hours but really can't remember any pain at all.

Yes, the cost is painful, but when they're in and stabilised you can just forget about them (while paying rigorous attention to dental hygiene). I'd heartily recommend them.

So sorry you had such a rotten time. It may be that what your dentist did is sufficient to reduce your pain. I'd be pretty confident that the endodontist will not only be able to get you numb but also to find the canal. In the mean time if you are in pain and paracetamol is not helping you can try a compress, either hot or cold. You can also take codeine if really necessary, I had it while pregnant for back pain.