Wellness

[nyc1]

Hi all.  

I just went through all of this and am now going for the crown portion next week.

IT WAS NOTHING!   I got the bone graft and the two part implant.  They did the implant itself and then the part that screws into it.

Initially they had to pull my last upper molar.  I had a crown but most of it and part of my tooth fell out one day while I was eating, TOFU!!!!!

  I had the numbing shots for each step and again,  there was no pain.  The worst part of the entire procedure was keeping the gauze in my mouth for a period of time. 

Edited to add.   The oral sureon pulled my tooth and did the implant.  My dentist will now fit me for a crown.

[LdyBugz]

@JeanLouiseFinch   Geez it's so interesting to see how everyone's experience with implants is a bit different or unique.  It really depends on who is doing the work, where the implant is located, if bone grafting is needed, and what the pain tolerance is for someone.

I'm going through my first experience with an implant now.  On  Friday, April 7th, not quite a week and a half ago, I had a bad, bottom molar extracted, the titanium rod put in a bit more towards the front of my jaw, a lot of bone grafting done, and subsequently a lot of stitches on each side of where the surgery was done.  All of that work was done by an maxillofacial surgeon.  

I chose to be totally sedated for the proceedure.  I simply did not want to know what they were doing in real time and I especially did not want to HEAR the sound of someone drilling in my jaw bone!  Ugh!

As expected, I was very swollen for the first few days afterward, but it has really subsided a lot.  There is a special rinse that was prescribed and I do salt water rinses in between.  As for pain, it's been consistent since the surgery.  I get "waves" of throbbing pain.  I'm taking prescribed 800 mg Ibuprofin every six hours to keep the pain at bay.  I also have prescribed oxycodone-acetaminophen, but I haven't taken any of that as I'm afraid to take that stuff.  Still eating soft foods and chew on the other side.

I made an appointment for this morning to see the surgeon again.  There was a real sharp edge where the grafting was done and it was scraping my tongue and making it sore.  So he trimmed the rough edge (OWWW!) and took out all the stitches (Yay!). 

Total cost for the surgeon, I paid $4178 from my wallet, insurance paid $1322.  I go back to the surgeon in early August to see if the grafting is ready for the replacement tooth.  My regular dentist will take care of the replacement tooth.  Estimated cost is $3000.  So, total cost for one tooth is ~$7500!  ...i yi yi...

So that is MY experience, so far.  All in all, I'd call it "tolerable". It can always be a lot worse, right?!

[bargainsgirl]

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@lovesallanimals wrote:

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@Mathgal wrote:

I had two baby teeth replaced with implants.  One required a sinus lift and bone graft, but I didn't find the pain too bad.  I would stick with soft foods for a few days and maybe Tylenol for any pain.  Maybe an ice pack if y have swelling.  I didn't get my crowns until almost 5 months after the implants, but again I had other issues involved.

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Mathgal - My dentist recently told me I will need a bone graft and this sounded horrific.  Being that you went through this, was it very difficult and painful?  I am beside myself with worry over this.  Thank you.

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I've had 3 implants at different times.  One with a bone graft.  All three were about the same.  Advil was just fine for a couple of days.  No real pain for me.The graft sounds scary but it was nothing just took a little more time.   Your doctor will tell you what you can and cannot eat for a few days.  Good luck and try not to worry!

[DrKelli]

I had an implant over 10 years ago--it may be close to 20 years.  I had a bone graft--no problem.  The worst pain was when they put the post in, but even that went away after a day.  As my dentist said--it takes a long time to grow a new tooth.   My implant was one of my front teeth, so I had to have a crown put on the other tooth to 'match'.

I believe I could eat normally after the 'tooth' was installed.  The worst part for me was the gum graft they had to do.  The roof of my mouth was raw for months.