How is Your Dental Implant?

[Life_is_Simple]

Ok, I have some dental issues, and may end up getting a dental implant, even though I was initially opposed.


Do you have an implant?
Was it hard/painful/time-consuming during the first appointment?
Did you have any concern about the materials?
How is it working out for ya?


I am going to talk to my doctor next week and see if he thinks it would be ok for me health-wise. What I am reading online is that some natural dentists are more in favor of zirconia/ceramic implants, as opposed to titanium. Or they favor having the person do materials compatibility testing, which I have had done and can bring the results to my dentist.

[Florence]

My husband has a dental implant. He has had it for just over a year. It was a long process but very successful. He has a titanium post and I think they used cadaver bone which his own bone grew around. He has had absolutely no problems with it and it functions just as his normal tooth. It was pricey because insurance paid only a fraction of the bill.

[Life_is_Simple]

Florence, thanks for the reply. I don't know anyone who has one, so it's good to get this info. Was the cadaver bone because he didn't have enough bone of his own in that area?

[Gardenarian]

Oh, I hope more people reply to this. I'm looking at either implants or a bridge.

Cadaver bone? eek.

[kitten]

I don't have an implant, but my dentist keeps trying to scare the life out of me that it's in the future if I don't straighten up. I do have the beginnings of periodontal disease, which - if it gets worse - means that the bone that supports your teeth is being compromised by bacteria. I'm missing a couple millimetres of bone right now, I guess - it's gone and won't grow back. Worst case is that your teeth start loosening and falling out - so implants would be the next step. I'm on a maintenance program of deep cleaning (scaling) every few months, and if the condition doesn't get worse, I should be implant free. But I've wondered what happens if it does get worse. That they would use bone material from elsewhere to build that bone back up makes sense. They can't take it from your own body, I guess! - I'm very annoyed about the perio thing. My parents made sure I went to the dentist twice a year. Was always a big brusher, not so much a flosser. My dentist says flossing is even more important than brushing. I guess that's where I went wrong...:P