[Closed] Anyone had a dental implant?

*registers interest in thread*

Yes had 3 fitted took about 12 month from start to finish

Thanks for the replies. 8)

supertune - care to share any detail please?

Yup, no problem sharing this here.

I lost 3 front teeth back in 96' during a sailing event and luckily for me I had a Dentist owner on board. He saved a lot of the carnage and then rebuilt me.
I have 3 in the front, all been stable and have had to get them re set 4 times since (they are biting teeth so no wonder) no problems with them really, back when the incident happened I had to wait 12 weeks for the wound to heal (broken jaw), but then the implants were set into my jawbone via a screw type implant then the tooth screwed into that. Damn it was sore for about a week but once that subsided no problems at all.

Not really an issue these days is it??

One. I hate the dentist and I cannot say the surgery part was pleasant. However it's been fitted now for 2 years and has been totally trouble free and the colour match is perfect. I have a number of crowns also and they've been variable, some good and one is a constant niggle. I delayed having the implant for probably 10 years (had a gap) due to concern over procedure and cost. I am a bit of a cynic with dentistry in the uk as its a bit wild west, we don't get second opinions and the cost of the treatment varies wildly, there is no regulation of cost unlike countries where insurance pays. I met one distant relative who was south African and had come to uk to practice dentistry as it was so lucrative, he pronounced the fact that he only did implants and not crowns as they where "better for the patient and better for me". I had mine done in Singapore at a top notch hospital and the surgeon was a specialist, my normal dentist there fitted the tooth.

Anyway summary is I'm very grumpy about dentistry but the implant has been a success and I'm glad I had it done.

I've not 100% happy with mine - it feels like a hardtail compared to a full-susser. Definitely worth it to avoid a visible gap, though.

That's great, just the sort of experiences I wanted to hear about.

Thanks again. 🙂

CG, if you need to talk to someone in the business about things, my wife works in a surgery that specialises in dental implants. If you have specific questions, I can pester her about them if you would like.

Go to Budapest on a tooth holiday. My mother did it 3 years ago and is very happy. It's was less than half uk price.
She did lots of research first mind.

Go to Budapest on a tooth holiday

I did this too about 7 years ago. 5-6 trips over there to get it all done (a single tooth) and it was still half the price of the UK including travel and accom.

Fantastic service, price and result. Would recommend 100%, just give me a shout if you want details etc...

My implants were fitted in 1985 - it was quite a new procedure back then.
They're still rock solid today. Just wish the rest of my gnashers were in as good nick 😉

8 years on from having one.

I am a dental coward and had mine done under a combination of a sedative and finding nemo on the ceiling. Blooming expensive but worth it in my view.

If your dentist offers sedation then I would say take it. If nothing else iI will alleviate b the boredom off the appointment when they put the metal pin in.

Foreign can work out cheaper but if you have problems it can be very expensive in the long term.
There are lots of different implants, think torx Allen bolts Tec and if you have one done abroad and have problems at a later date you may struggle to find a uk surgeon to fix it.
Also if you have problems which require extra visits this may bump up the cost, if it all goes pear shaped you will find it near impossible to claim.
So research well but couldn't advise it.
In saying that there e s plenty of uk dentists I wouldn't let near me so do your research carefully here too.

One other thing I have seen a few times lately is where both uk and foreign dentists have placed an implant but not pointed out other teeth in a patient's mouth which have a poor prognosis. You may be happy to pay for one but what happens if you need another couple in the next few years.
Saw one woman recently now sporting a lovely east European implant on one side and a two tooth denture on the other because she can't afford any more implants.

I had an implant two years ago after living with a gap for ten years. The operation was pretty painless (nothing compared to an extraction) when they drilled in the plug part. The only downside is regular visits to the dentists for the various other parts of the proceedure. I'm not sure how an implant would work going to Hungary or similar, as in all the proceedure to about 4 months from start to finish. Since then the implant has been trouble free.

glad to hear the positive results and Ill let you know my discoveries prob in about 9 months time. I've had my first assessment appointment at the nhs hospital in Brum and got the next appointment in a week or so for the moulds etc. Im not keen on having my jaw and teeth touched now after the break but itll be worth it compared to the false teeth I have now. It'll mean no more party tricky of dropping my teeth at will but maybe Ill be able to whistle again!

My Mrs had an implant after knocking a tooth out in a otb face plant in the Surrey hills. [url= http://www.brightonimplantclinic.co.uk ]brighton implant clinic[/url] have been excellent and loads cheaper than they "normal" pricing. Feel free to email (in profile).

Check who's doing it. Look on gdc website to see if they are registered and if they are on a specialist register. Ask how many implants they have personally placed.

What's a ballpark figure for an implant? I've never really considered it but by the sounds of it it sounds better than a crown

Thanks again for more useful info but there's no way I'd go abroad for treatment.

Two of my front teeth are implants after a backflip that went wrong, titanium screws with ceramic 'teeth', is there anything specific you want to know?

Cost wise mine were 2k a tooth.

Mate is a dental reconstruction surgeon and did another mate's (LBS owner) front teeth after a TT bike crash.

It was done on the NHS as they covered cancer and trauma reconstruction at the time.

Worth checking if your local NHS do if you need teeth after a crash.

One here about 9 years ago. Bizarre experience with the drugs - no sense of time passing and I was convinced people were hiding in the curtain pole when we got back, but thinking about the whole thing before was far worse than the actual procedure. No problems, really. Expensive though (may not be now?).

So I do them in conjunction with a friend who's a specialist surgeon.

They are brilliant and often the best way of filling a gap In your mouth. Not always though.

It is cheaper abroad. This is because the overheads of dentistry in Eastern Europe are much lower. Profit margins in uk dentistry are much lower than you all think. Implants make me less money than doing other simpler things. For example one implant screwdriver costs around £200! BUT if you go abroad and you get trouble you have to be prepared to get back on a plane. Cheaper isn't always better.

Have sedation if you can.

Go with someone you knows recomendation if you can. There are profit driven cowboys in dentistry just like in any industry. Most dentists are genuinely trying to offer a good service in a broken system though!

I've not come across a single implant patient who regrets having it done.

Yup I'd second the NHS route first. Mine were done on the NHS but don't forget mine were done back in 97' now.. I had to go to an independant assessment clinic first (1/2hr appt) and then back to John (my Dentist boat owner who was a teaching Dentist surgeon, lucky me eh) But one thing I do remember is that after trauma (accidents etc.) there are side affects to your mentality and confidnce, this is how I got mine funded.

Honestly it's really unlikely you will get the nhs to fund it. As far as I know it's only post cancer or major trauma (like road traffic accident) that gets funded now. Maybe ask but you have probably got more chance of a lottery win to fund it privately!

@ceepers, thanks for the view from the dentists perspective.

@cinamon_girl, a good friend of ours has all her dentistry done in Belgium at a fraction of UK cost. She is originally from there so doubles up on visiting friends family but it would be cheaper even with travel and it's hardly third-world. I am spending a lot of time in Paris and I will be having some fairly major work done here, about 60% of UK (Surrey) cost and that's in Paris which is more expensive than the regions.

mine's great. weird feeling having the post screwed into my jaw and a bit of a chore with repeated uncomfortable visits to the dentist but it's so worth it, even with the high cost. feels weird and dead at first but you get used to it.

@jambalaya surrey is an expensive part of the uk which is an expensive country to live in. I would bet my (small) house that your Parisian dentist makes as much a year as your surrey based alternative! The uk is a rip off for most things

It's kind of the same as the difference in buying a Santa Cruz bike in Santa Cruz versus Guildford.

Like I said. Traveling is fine as long as you are prepared to travel again if/ when things need maintaining. I recently got a new patient who has had a lot of (nicely done) work on his teeth from his Romanian wife's friend who is a professor of dentistry in Romania. Even though it's all been done to a high standard he's still had to pay to see me three or four times to adjust things because Romania is too far to "pop back"

Yeah, ripped my front teeth out when I was 9 going over the bars onto a newly gravelled road - resulting in 8 hours surgery, 1 week in hospital and 10 years of dentistry to correct - got to a point where one of my teeth fused to the bone and wouldn't respond to orthodontics. Ended up my dad buying me some implants / caps for my 21st birthday. Went to dentist one week, went back a few weeks later to have them fitted and they've been fine since (19yrs later)

Do investigate the nhs funding them as that's how my three are being done! My dentist also said she previously sent someone else and there's were done as well! Although wait til I get mine done before you hog more funding lol

Ceepers - it is worth checking on NHS funding. It'll vary area to area, but the LBS owner that I suggested get in touch with my mate whose a dental surgeon got his done two or three years ago. Possibly pre the ConDem government.
He'd lost the front wheel when flat out on the aero bars of his TT bike. No chance to save himself and hit the deck face first (we think - noone's 100% sure about that bit). His private dentist recommended a private dental surgeon at £6k. When fully informed the LBS owner asks his dentist to refer him to an NHS man and gets the initial reply "I don't know if they'll do that and font you want to go private?" Interesting response.

The nhs does vary by area. (Postcode lottery anyone?!) but you will still be very lucky if you get funded. My local area wouldn't accept a referral to help save a 15 year olds tooth so he didn't need an implant in the future! If the nhs payed fewer managers big salaries or admitted it cant properly afford everything dentistry can offer it might be different.

For the record. The private price (unless you live in London or similar) for a single tooth implant should be around £2300 for something that will last for years and years and that you will use EVERY single time you open your mouth. It's put in over many visits by highly and expensively trained professionals and parts of it are custom one off and hand made.

That's less than the rrp of the bikes many of you own, won't buy you much of a car and is less than many families spend on a single holiday. Honestly if you put your (dentists are all cowboys laughing their way to their own private Caribbean Island) specs away that's actually good value!

Guess I'm the only one who's had a less-than-brilliant experience.

I've had 5 implants that all failed - there isn't enough bone where the teeth should be (adult teeth missing since birth). Attempts to build up the bone using bits of coral and bone from my hip were only partially successful, and the implants later fell out before capping teeth could be put on.

However, the implant process itself was pretty quick and relatively painless. If it's a straightforward implant then go for it, but if any surgeons start talking about bone grafts, or the "limits of their skill" then stick with dentures. There are shiny titantium ones with colour-matched teeth that work really well...

I've had 2 last year to support a 3 tooth bridge. Very pleased having not had teeth back there for 15yrs due to rugby clashes. I'm of the belief you get what you pay for and it's one area I certainly wouldn't take short cuts in. The guy I went too was amazing and actually teaches the procedure at Sheffield Uni, was recommended by my dentist as being top of the pile in the field so that was reassuring. It did cost best part of £6k though but money well spent in my opinion

Blimey, am struggling to keep up with this thread!

Thanks again, will be going the private route and have an emergency appointment this week. Currently in the midst of mega dental work anyway so not happy with extra expenditure.

Ceepers - just to be clear, I'm certainly not suggesting the cost is a lot for what you get, nor am I suggesting dentists are making out like bandits. It's just that if you're paying it can be a lot of money for many people.

@igm in my opinion a lot of dentists are making out like bandits as our "market" for dental works unregulated with no competition. I paid much less in Singapore and Paris for higher quality treatment and as I posted a good friend does likewise in Belgium.

@igm it is a lot of money for most people but life is expensive and more so in the uk than many other places. All dental practices have high costs ( my practice has 3 treatment rooms and costs in the region of 40 grand A MONTH for us to open the doors and we are "average") all staff want decent wages, national insurance, pensions, etc & the amount of regulation that exists already is ridiculous and only adds to cost.

@jambalaya if you know nothing it's better not to post. Yes there are some unscrupulous people in this as in all walks of life but certainly not many.
As I stated before, the costs of everything are different in different countries. Those dentists are not working within our system, rubbish as it is and I bet you they make at least as much at the end of the month as their uk colleagues. As food for thought, a few years ago Specsavers and Boots bought quite a few dental practices then sold them all a few years later because they couldn't make enough money out of dentistry!

@ceepers what on earth makes you think I know nothing ?

As I posted previously I have a relative who came to the uk to practice from South Africa as its so lucrative here. Recently there was one year at his dental school in Port Elizabeth where 100% of the graduates came to the UK to practice. I have seen the books at dentists In UK and France so I have a decent idea of the amounts being made. I had a number of quite detailed conversations with my Singapore dentist who was trained and worked in UK before he kced out there for lifestyle reasons. The private sector in the UK (ie the majority of dentists in South East where I lived) is unregulated with regard to charges and not monitored by insurance companies as in other countries where these insurance companies have scales and limits for treatment costs. I think the treatment costs the NHS will reimburse are too low (that information is available publically) but its a fraction of what is charged privately.

I know a number of GP's and they are nothing like as well off as their equivalent local small town dentists

I vote with my feet and for the past 6 years have had all my dental work done in Singapore or Paris.

Ok so you are a member of the public who thinks he knows about the profession from a limited amount of experience of dentistry in an area of the country that is not exactly typical with regards to costs or incomes. Who has had conversations with a dentist who left the uk because the grass WAS greener somewhere else (although there aren't huge numbers of belgian or french dentists in the uk despite how much we are all raking it in which kinda says something!)

You are comparing us to countries that have wildly different healthcare systems and systems of funding and different general costs and expectations of standards of living.

You are not a member of the profession with many years of experience working in the NHS and private sector including running their own business, so no, you dont know enough, you just have a preconcieved incorrect idea you are looking to justify. Your implications are offensive to the many hard working dentists who are trying to offer a standard of care at the highest level within what is quite frankly a laughable system without going bankrupt or mad from stress (bet you didnt know that dentistry ranks third in the list of jobs that have the highest suicide rate!) If the whole thing was insuarance based we would all be much happier - the insuarance companies generally pay a lot more than the "going rate" for private fees in most of the country

ps isnt internet arguing fun?!

I hope this thread doesn't turn into a "Dentistry should be free" but just to give you another POV my mate (qualified dentist, so too his wife) own a dentist shop and have recently got locum(s) in whilst they sail around the world, they are 4 years into a 7 year "tour"

As far as my opinion on the matter goes, Dentistry should be free, we pay NI and Taxes to fund the NHS, this is part of the NHS.
😉

It would be great if it was free but the NHS cant afford half decent dentistry even with the patient paying most of the costs as it is.

In fact there have been charges for nhs dentistry since 3 years after the NHS was formed.

Here's a good example..... i recently made a bridge for a patient to rplace a couple of missing teeth. This is a treatment that is available on the nhs but the cost to me of buying the alloy and porcelain for the bridge and for getting it made was more than the total fee the nhs paid the practice for the whole job so i was on a loser even if i wrote off the cost of the other materials, heat, light etc as well as working for nothing myself and expecting my nurse and receptionist to work for free. I would have been better off giving the guy £50 and telling him to go somewhere else but thats not ethical so i didn't.

This isnt an unusual situation and you cant run a business where your costs exceed your fees for any great percentage of the time (believe me the banks dont like that!) and this is the problem with NHS dentistry. The only way the NHS model works is by doing a huge volume of work with the cheapest materials as quickly as possible - often why people have bad experiences of treatment at some NHS practices. Personally i and many others believe that this model limits the quality of work & standard of care you can offer, therefore many practices opt out of the NHS to some degree so they can spend more time with people and use beter materials and do a better job.

Thanks to NHS dentistry in the 60's and 70's every dentist used to drill and fill cos that's how they earned their money. No care was taken with amalgam fillings - they were just done in a very sloppy way by using massive amounts of the substance. Preventative dentistry did not exist.

I'm now having these all removed in the hope that my health will improve.

I decided not to. 🙂

I'm now having these all removed in the hope that my health will improve.

It has. 8)

Bumpity bump!

Does anyone who's had a dental implant have any sensitivity or autoimmune health condition? I'm back to facing this topic again and, having had a mouthful of amalgam removed, don't want to reintroduce any metal.

Thanks from a hacked-off c_g

As you know I had an Implant privately fitted which went badly wrong and have had problems with A low immune system and fatigue. It never occurred to me that the 2 could be linked.

Also being a child of the 60's and 70's and being drilled and filled in nearly every tooth to line the pockets of the local dentist,really gave me a huge distrust of dentists.

I've not got an implant... yet! But as soon as the bone is healed from my recently removed post/crown, i will be getting one. Reason being, at the moment I have to put up with a denture and by god it is the worst thing ever. Can't eat properly, can't talk properly and forever contorting my face to feel it with my tongue. Misery. Utter misery.

2 fitted about 15 years ago. Done under heavy sedation, no problems. Until about a year ago when one came out. Then the other one a couple months later. Original installation was private and not cheap but funded by criminal injuries compo. Replacement was at an NHS dental training surgery (final year students, supervised) and was a nicer place but a bit slow.
I like but don't eat toffee

Didn't post first time around, but...

I had implant attempts about 20 years ago. They were not successful due to a lack of bone in the relevant areas of jawbone.

I imagine that techniques have advanced since then, but I will not be trying again. I have a titanium dental plate that I am happy with (I've actually had dentures long enough that it's the opposite to Dez - i feel like I talk funny and don't like the shape of my face if it's not in!)

cinnamon - thanks for the bump, missed this thread first time round and like you, I've been considering it. I have a bridge to keep me looking NOT like a member of the Pogues and the 2/3k price is what I heard when I had the accident. I'd be interested to also hear from people who had the bone implant bit? That was the private dental prognosis, 'mate you've lost bone and its chipped and fractured, it would take 2/3 ops to build it up enough to do an implant, and wold take about 12 months. Completely put me off.

Some good work being done on bone building and biocompatibility by Julian Jones of Imperial College and Robert Hill at Queen Mary College and Delia Brauer at Otto Schott Institut. Bioglass and glass-ceramics matching bone minerals and promoting bone growth.

I have nothing useful to add but just wanted to boast... I had an extraction on Thursday in preparation for a possible implant. It all got a bit complex and hectic, and in a splendid plot twist the dentist fainted. I thought that was my job 🙂

So what is the cost of per One tooth ?

Mine was £2,000 over 10 years ago now.

My dentist gave me a budget quote for around £2000 per tooth a few weeks. She left plenty of if's and but's in there though

in the process of having mine done in Italy, 1500 euro per tooth but is discounted as the dentist is an mtb friend. the implant is in and is now a case of getting the tooth made and fitted...... its taken 9 months so far as he recommended time for the bone to heal an grow after extraction. apparently problems arise when its done too quickly...