implant or not to implant

[bovine]

So a quick rundown here. I'm a 34yo male, I had braces for several years when I was younger and got them off around 15 or 16. Time, foolishness, relations, lack of funds, etc, lead to my teeth moving quite a bit. My incisors, bicuspid, and front tooth (forget the name) on the left side have all moved quite a bit, something in the order of 5-6mm, maybe more. After struggling with the thought of braces and wanting to be able to eat a sammich or a ear of corn again I decided finally to get them done again.

First visit was cleaning and then the consult with the ortho. She said I was a good candidate for everything and let me know that she could definitely close all the gaps and make room for the tooth I was missing on the bottom. News to me that I actually have a missing tooth but it makes sense. The normal tooth count on the bottom and in the front is 4, I only have 3 apparently oO. She said that I should get those teeth moved apart as there is plenty of room to do it and get an implant done. I almost feel sort of pushed to doing it but I know that she was not wanting me to do anything that I didn't want to and said I should definitely take time to think about it and give her a decision on my banding day which was 11/29/12.

I had only gone in to the ortho to see about just my upper teeth straightened, that was my main goal as I was fairly content with my lowers. She spoke about aiming for the "perfect bite" where my teeth closed down around each other properly and making it where my top teeth do not completely cover my bottoms, as they do now. At some point during the treatment I'll have a bite plane put in to let the bottom teeth and uppers move closer together and meet each other.

So in a nutshell thats what is going on. My only question now is, do I REALLY REALLY want/need this implant? It would be nice to have a normal full set of teeth but is it worth it? The money and pain cost, will it really be worth all the money? I'm anticipating something like 4k to have that done. I probably should have done a bit more research before absolutely saying "yes lets fix everything!", but I was excited, thrilled, nervous, etc.

Any one else have opinions? I've read some posts in the "implant" board but all those are years old it seems.


Moo!

[Tobilei]

I can't give you advice from the point of view of having had it done, but I'm looking at the same thing. I had a baby tooth on the top right that had to be pulled (at age 34) recently before I got my braces put on. My dentist said I have a few options once the braces come off. I could get a crown with a bridge, I could get a denture or I could get an implant.

I'm honestly rather terrified at the thought of an implant. Somehow, drilling into my jaw bone while I'm sitting awake in a chair does not thrill me one little bit. My younger brother who has a similar problem also told me that there can be complications (obviously they don't happen to anyone, but it's not totally risk free). With the bottom jaw they can actually hit a nerve or muscle (can't recall which off the top of my head) and paralyze the bottom half of your face and with the top they can hit the nasal cavity which has a whole set of other issues. My Dad has a denture for 4 teeth at the top (it's quite new) and honestly, I can't tell which are his real teeth and which aren't. I'm seriously considering it. And his isn't like the old dentures where you have to glue it in and stuff. He has a tiny bit of a metal kind of clasp behind his front teeth and that's it.

All that being said, I know a girl I went to high school with had 4 implants done (overseas) and she said it really wasn't awful.

So, I know I'm not really much help, but you have my empathy!

[starfish88]

You could also get the implant done with IV sedation so you wouldn't be aware to get freaked out! I had my wisdom teeth out which involved drilling into the bone too and I didn't know ore care. Makes it a bit more expensive but if it's a fear/ick response stopping you it may be worth it.

[bovine]

Any sort of implant I'll probably have to be out. I'm not overly good with medical procedures of any sort. :) This is still something I will have to decide over the course of the next several months before I get the lower bands on and start the process of moving those teeth. I do have an appointment this Thursday to complete the records phase, their Xray machine was on the fritz when I was banded so those got left off, so at that point I'll discuss with her again what the options might be fore just straightening the lowers rather than adding a tooth. I actually have a whole list of things I had thought of that I need to discuss after the bands were on. It just kind of hit me "oh crap, what have I done?? I want these things OFF!". I do realize that I will be far better off when everything is all nice and straight.

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate any feedback on this new phase of my life.

I did get a water pik ultra tonight, so that should be a fun experience! heh


moo

[Tobilei]

Hmm I might get a 2nd opinion then. When I asked my dentist (not my ortho) about getting knocked out completely he told me it's not an option for that particular procedure. If I could be asleep for it then I would likely consider it a whole lot more than I have been.

And bovine, haha, I hear you! My ortho sat me up and said "how do they feel" and all I could think was "take them off! what was I thinking?!?!?"

[bovine]

Tobi, Mine wasn't until after I got home that night. I went on in to work and was fairly ok I think but when I tried to eat later that evening, gah, even bread was difficult. I'm at the point now though that I can seemingly eat things properly for the most part. I can already tell that my teeth have moved, it isn't a major amount but definitely enough for me to tell. I'm actually somewhat worried that they're going the wrong way because those first few days I wasn't able to put my teeth together. I'm sure all this phobia will pass, slowly.

My ortho is going to get an earfull this coming Thursday when I go in for the remainder of the records. I have several items I want to talk about, not least of which is the 6mm of wire sticking out of the back of the brackets on the top. It's not catching anything but I sure ripped the crap out of my thumb trying to feed floss through and not knowing it was there.

How long do you have to have your bands on?

[Snowglobe32]

Hi there,

Which tooth is missing? I am a bit confused, it is on the bottom front?

I had 3 teeth extracted long before braces and my ortho has been able to move two of the teeth to fill the missing gaps. The other tooth didn't have any bone left so he wasn't able to fill the gap. I can do an implant or a bridge and I am chosing a bridge. It is much cheaper and my ortho said it won't make a huge difference which route I take.

[Tobilei]

Tobi, Mine wasn't until after I got home that night. I went on in to work and was fairly ok I think but when I tried to eat later that evening, gah, even bread was difficult. I'm at the point now though that I can seemingly eat things properly for the most part. I can already tell that my teeth have moved, it isn't a major amount but definitely enough for me to tell. I'm actually somewhat worried that they're going the wrong way because those first few days I wasn't able to put my teeth together. I'm sure all this phobia will pass, slowly.

My ortho is going to get an earfull this coming Thursday when I go in for the remainder of the records. I have several items I want to talk about, not least of which is the 6mm of wire sticking out of the back of the brackets on the top. It's not catching anything but I sure ripped the crap out of my thumb trying to feed floss through and not knowing it was there.

How long do you have to have your bands on?

Haha yes, eating certainly made me question my decision! I was still questioning yesterday. I can chew chicken but only a small amount. I haven't been game to try steak or anything yet. I occasionally get a bit overambitious and choose something I don't have a hope of finishing (those really thick flat bread wraps for dinner last night was one of them!)

My teeth have moved just the slightest amount too. I keep noticing that my bite feels different, but then it either moves back or I get used to the new way of biting down and it stops bothering me.

I too have wire sticking out the back (probably about 4 or 5mm). I probably should have asked them to trim it today while I was there, but I didn't think it was a problem. I suspect it's what's actually catching my cheek a number of times every day. But I feel too dumb to go back in AGAIN.

My braces are estimated to be on for 14 months all up (feels like an eternity from here!). I guess I'm lucky, it's really not that long in the world of braces. Yours?

[bovine]

Sorry for the delayed response, I've been studying for the Microsoft 70-680 exam and finally took it today and passed. :) That is a lot of stress off me for a while, heh.

Tobilei, I should have the brackets on for about a year according to my ortho. I got spacer bands put between my lower and upper molars to make room for the metal band that sits down around the teeth there. That should be fun to get used to again. From what I recall as a kid i used to bite down on my teeth so the metal would press against my gums. It was kind of an odd pain that felt good and comforting in a way. lol

Snowglobe: As to which tooth is missing they aren't 100% certain as to which it is that is missing because of how long ago the tooth either was pulled or simply didn't form. They told me its either u24 or u25 on the lower front. I do have a fair amount of time to think about this more and decide if I want to get the implant done. The way it was broken down to me was that with the tooth missing the other teeth have to be pulled together and this forces them further back behind my upper teeth than normal. Due to this my teeth will always want to move because they aren't bracing (no pun intended) one another. I'm leaning towards getting it done but the price seems rather prohibitive. Approximately 2000 for the surgery and post implant and then another 2k or so for the tooth and placement but the thing should last a life time. I am concerned about infection and other complications so that will weigh some in my final decision.

Part of the reason I'd like to get it done is not at all orthodontic. My lower lip has a rather large curl to it because of how my teeth are placed and my lower jaw size, its a tad bit too small but the doc said it was fine and I had a good strong chin. The tooth movement on the bottom will expand my bottom lip some, not a huge amount noticeable to any one else really but for me it is a lot. She backpedaled away from that idea as soon as I said it since that isn't the main focus of the treatment.

Bovine

[Jethro]

Hey bovine, congrats on passing the MS exam!

As for the implant, I got one last year (just prior to being debanded) for a congenitally missing (permanent) pre-molar. I am a bit of a dental phobe and was absolutely dreading it. My oral surgeon was kind enough to give me a "chill pill" to take the night before and just prior to the procedure. I have to say that it greatly reduced my anxiety. I think most docs will do the same if you ask. Of course I had someone drive me to and from the procedure.

I felt no pain during or after the procedure except for some gum sensitivity around the implant site. I never needed the prescription pain meds they gave me and everything was completely healed within a few weeks. A friend of mine had 2 implants put in by the same oral surgeon a few weeks ago and had a very positive outcome as well.

Yes, they are costly (typically $3,200 - $4,000 in my area), and there can be complications, but I think the result is well worth it. Best of luck with your treatment!