Dental Implants
 

Anyone have experience of these? I have had the #6 molar extraction a couple of months ago and now the orthodontist informs me that I will require a sinus lift and bone augmentation to fit the forward part of the pin.

That requires lifting the delicate sinus lining and adding artificial bone to build up the bone structure, then leaving it to integrate into the bone. He has done many before he says.

I have always been very very wary of letting anyone with a scalpel anywhere near my nasal passages as from the experience of others it never seems to stabilize afterwards.

Anyone had this operation done or have other experiences of it? Thanks

Get a second and third opinion

Implants will only work if the bone density and bone volume is adequate. This may require drugs or building up the bone but I share your concern as to the need to involve surgery on the sinuses

I have taken advice from two dental surgeons who do nothing but implants and need to revise my last post

A sinus lift is not that uncommon - someone doing nothing but implants might do 20 a year. It will significantly increase the chance of the implant being secure if it is needed. There are two risks - infection which resolves with antibiotics, and tearing the mucosa. If the tear is large the procedure has to be abandoned for a month

So I stick with my advice of getting another opinion, but think your concerns may be unjustified

I had this procedure performed about 5 years ago. I was concerned and went and got a second opinion. The alternative was to have a 'bridge' which for many reasons is not as good a solution as an implant, so I went for the implant and consequent sinus lift, although I don't seem to remember needing the bone augmentation.

The procedure was painless (apart from paying!) and I have had no ill effects in any area.

I would advise you to go ahead and I hope yours is a successful as mine.

Does the proceed always require a general anesthetic/sedation, or can a local be administered??

Local. General is only given in case of severe mental disability (which I hope isn't your case :E).
Been there, done that, sans sinus lift. As said, the only thing which hurts is your wallet.

The procedure consists of three steps, which have to be spaced out over several months to allow the implant to 'take'. The first is the removal of the existing tooth, root, etc. Then they put in a temporary stopper. Next step is to put in the 'post' which is the implant itself, mine is titanium, and there needs to be time for this to integrate with the bone, and finally the actual 'tooth' goes on over the post.

In my case the first two steps were done with local anaesthetic and the third with none. If you have to have a bone graft then it might be different.

Why do anything most people manage perfectly well with one or two missing molars. Get a 2nd opinion as to the number of sound teeth you have remaining and consider what other work is likely within the next 5 years. Never seen a poor dental surgeon.

Apart from the cosmetic issue, missing teeth can cause resorption of bone as well as excessive forces on remaining teeth. Implants are expensive and time consuming but last many years

In terms of anaesthesia we normally use local anaesthesia for shorter procedures. However today I spent four hours on just a few implants and some sittings take twice that. I would advise sedation for the longer procedures - just make sure you get a proper anaesthetist (consultant in the UK)

I have had quite a lot of implant work including a sinus lift and bone augmentation.
Firstly go for the best you can find PM me for an excellent implant surgeon who is an absolute perfectionist and lectures on the subject as well as having his own MRI scanner.
Some work is local anasthetic sinus lift twilight zone ;)
Took the most part of a year start to finish but best thing I did sadly very expensive.

Great responses, many thanks for these. Yes I agree about the pain in the wallet as my dental scheme does not cover this so we are looking at about 5,500 USD equivalent in Tableviews country.

The general opinion is that if done well they last you out and you can chew a steak as your last meal. It was the poking around in the sinus that was a concern.

My endontist is one of those who only does implants and a few other more complex maxiliary surgeries so he is well specialized. He recommends local anesthesia and as I have had a couple of root canals done already I am OK with that. (I nearly typed "happy with that " but that is way too positive...)

Thanks for stories of success, they are re-assuring. And modern MRI combined scanners which give a 360 degree view of your head are gee wizz technology- the dental toys are all very impressive.

Its either that or dentures in the Glass by the bed (No way) so I opted for the implants. Do go for the best not the cheapest! They feel like your own and done properly you can swing off a rope with them :ok:

This morning was spent trying to repair my teeth with a kit from Walgreen's. Absolute desperation. Why? My neighbor's daughter trained as a dentist, and earned $300,000 in her first year. So, Mr DIY again.


I don't want to get into an Agony Aunt situation, but suffice it to say the last few years have been disastrous - financially, as well as a slew of other major problems. One thing that's causing me great distress now is seeing my once straight white teeth turning to a mass of broken gravestones. I can not bear the thought of having a mouthful of plastic.

It was my fault - or perhaps my mum's - she just assumed teeth came out c 30 years old, and shared all her toffees and hard boiled sweets the moment they came off ration. I had a lot of fillings by the time I really took control - twenty years too late.

They still looked pretty good at age 50, but their inner workings were obviously damaged by drilling. That's when the decline started.

I've been paying DenPlan for years, and now my hometown (UK) dentist has all but given up on me. "Go off to specialists - cost? Oh, thousands."

Of course, living this splits across the Atlantic doesn't help.

I had wondered if I could do more skilled temporary work, but it would mean laying hands on the proper stuff, not the soft paste that sets with moisture. Is that gettable. ( I can jerry-rig the vacuum kit etc. And I've got a Dremmel:} no, I'm not kidding.)

But now, when I get back to the UK hopefully in the spring what's it going to cost to do it properly? Frightening noises above, but one sum which would be a fraction of what I've been lead to believe. For example, one dentist here suggested it would be a bargain at $1,100 a tooth.

I can't believe anything would be cheaper in the US now - apart from houses _ but some hard data would be much appreciated. I'd travel afar to get a really good professional job done.


5,500 USD Is that one tooth?

Wife had implant fitted last August. Required bone graft (understand bovine bone used) We travelled to Thailand previous February to have the initial work done. Checkup revealed root canal required due infection in another tooth prior to implant surgery.
Keeping it short: fantastic service and first class medical attention. Price well below what would have been expected in Oz.
Root canal and best quality German implant about $3500Aud Two cheap holidays as bonus ( I holiday in Thailand twice a year) - many expats mates retired there due cheap cost of living and great lifestyle- all mad golfers!!)
Could not speak highly enough of the hospital and medical staff concerned.
BTW mate and his lady friend came along too- she involved at a surgery that performs quite radical cranio/facial surgery. She was skeptical before hand having never gone to Thailand before but was full of praise for the hospital and it's facilities
Any further details PM me- more than happy to help out.

LR yes that was one tooth but I think it will be more with the bone augmentation. I had hoped that the root canal and crown that was done in HKG last year would have lasted longer but it didn't settle so had to resort to an implant.

I have heard very good things of the medical vacations in Thailand, indeed my previous doctor in HKG used to go there for all his checkups and minor procedures. I had a bad dental there 15 years ago but the standard has improved vastly in most places in BKK and HKT.

Maybe but this cannot be done in a medical vacation as there are a number of procedures over many months and repeat visits before you end up with the completed implants.

There are one shot implants where the whole lot is done in one but my surgeon will not touch those as they are unreliable and do not last for life.
As stated mine was complicated and took the best part of a year to complete the lot with a bill of 18K but I am delighted with the end result which are as good as your original teeth.

Oral hygiene like with your original teeth is important.

The surgeon knew I was a pilot as well as enjoying Scuba Diving as a hobby and hence I was very concerned over the sinus lift and messing around near the sinus but here it is so important to get someone who knows what they are doing as there have been horror stories too.

If anyone wants this sort of work and an excellent UK based surgeon PM me

I had the same procedure done in Australia about 4 years ago, and has been totally successful.

A couple of observations, the sinus lift is very uncomfortable. Your orthodontist will drill into your jaw bone but not all the way through in case they damage the membrane, and then with the dental equivelant of a hammer and chisel they will break through the last millimetre of bone so they can inject the synthetic bone. That process of hammering through I found most uncomfortable, not painful but very weird!

You will end up with a titanium peg in the cavity and you will be measured for a new molar. In my case this was made in Belgium! After about 6 months it was deemed that I had enough bone for the implant to be successful and the new tooth was attached. Again another observation here, the gap where the previous molar had been removed had started to close up, so when the new tooth was fitted it felt " tight", it wil take a month or so for this sensation to go.

A couple of years later the itooth felt loose and so I went back to the orthodontist who needed to reattach the tooth to the implant. My fear had been the implant had worked free in the jaw. The crown/cap can work loose on the implant so make sure your orthodontist intends to remain in business for the next few years!

One final point, as you no longer have the original molar and its attendant roots, you will notice a slight hollowing of your cheek, the sort of super model look! Other than that it's been fine and I can eat and chew and carry on as before.

Cap Chambo

How It's Done

I think the pushing bone material up through the where the implant will be only works for a small amount! a proper sinus lift involves the above highlighted area where more depth needs to be added but I am no expert or medically qualified.
Also and maybe someone medically qualified can elaborate? There is local anaesthetic and something sometimes referred to as twilight zone where you are partially knocked out and your level of conciousness controlled?

Local anaesthesia numbs the area injected but doesn't effect the level of consciousness

You can reduce the level of consciousness from fully conscious to sedated to anaesthetised to .........

General anaesthesia means you do not respond to pain or other stimulation.

Sedation is anywhere from a tot of whiskey to anaesthetised and anaesthetists will sedate right up to that level. In other words it is a spectrum and indeed it is often unclear whether I am sedating or anaesthetising.

However, in the UK at least, we only allow non anaesthetists to sedate with one drug and only to a state where the patient remains in verbal contact ie responds to voice alone. This has been called twilight by some. This should only be done by someone specifically trained, who is not the dentist, and with full monitoring and resuscitation equipment.

Some people give oral drugs such as Valium - I would hope the dose is very small and the aim is simply to reduce the level of anxiety

If there are any kids listening, the message is........brush your teeth at least twice a day, and only drink coke with meals :-)

And visit your dentist often.