Implants Update
- Thread starter lifesizehobbit
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Your dentist must be pretty cool; mine was adamant - no alcohol (not even mouthwash), no smoking, nothing that slows the tissue healing. Considering the cost, I decided to adhere to the advice. And you're right on the costs of car versus implants; no vacation travel for us this year, and then some. Dental insurance is pretty much a joke just so someone will treat you and then the coverage is stupid.
Anyone considering it, each patient is different (I had to go the long route), but some people get the extraction and implant setup in one visit with about a 5 month healing timeline to final teeth. Realize that once you decide, just ride it out as the outcome is better than some alternatives.
I too will be looking at getting dental implants this year. I have recently relocated south to Dunedin which has a dental school at the university and can hopefully get the work done there at a much lower cost.
Bit of a ramble, but bear w me...
I have a friend that was basically in a crap mood for years... discovered one day on a (seldom visited) dental visit that he had a long term infection in his sinus cavity caused by bad implants from his childhood. He was an army brat and had several from being a skateboarder in the 80s/90s. Evidently the implants used were toxic and causing the infection and pressure in his head for years (hence the constant bad mood).
The cost to fix it was exorbitant and the length of treatment, various steps along the way, were long and drawn out.
Following the visit the dentist, within a day or two, his wife heard an NPR story about US dentists that operates half the time out of Mexico due to extra stringent US policies that they don't feel are necessary. I believe the doctor that was being interviewed was working out of Georgia (could be wrong) and then somewhere in northern Mexico.
So she called. Sent down the X-rays. They said they that this needed treated immediately, that it was on the verge of life threatening.
Basically, within the week, he was in Mexico, where they pulled the offending teeth, and several more, cleaned out what was evidently a massive amount of infection that was in danger of infecting his brain, and put in new implants, all while he stayed in what amounted to an enclosed resort... all for a FRACTION of the monetary cost and in days rather than the months it would have taken here in the US.
Evidently, part of the issue are policies in the US dental insurance side that cause tons of extra delays that many docs don't think are necessary. This leaves people in a state of numerous visits, lots of extra time in one state or another (that is not "whole"), and unnecessary essence... due to US insurance polices, etc, this is the state of affairs.
So some pics have taken to working outside the system, in Mexico, not because that make tons of money more, but because its the right thing to do.
My buddy was, and remains, totally fine from having it all done in one sitting.
And it didn't cost him a car... well maybe a used car, but was low enough that he could afford it, and he felt like he had top notch treatment and the experience was great.
And it was a high quality US surgeon, that just traveled to meet him over the border.
Just food for thought.
I have a friend that was basically in a crap mood for years... discovered one day on a (seldom visited) dental visit that he had a long term infection in his sinus cavity caused by bad implants from his childhood. He was an army brat and had several from being a skateboarder in the 80s/90s. Evidently the implants used were toxic and causing the infection and pressure in his head for years (hence the constant bad mood).
The cost to fix it was exorbitant and the length of treatment, various steps along the way, were long and drawn out.
Following the visit the dentist, within a day or two, his wife heard an NPR story about US dentists that operates half the time out of Mexico due to extra stringent US policies that they don't feel are necessary. I believe the doctor that was being interviewed was working out of Georgia (could be wrong) and then somewhere in northern Mexico.
So she called. Sent down the X-rays. They said they that this needed treated immediately, that it was on the verge of life threatening.
Basically, within the week, he was in Mexico, where they pulled the offending teeth, and several more, cleaned out what was evidently a massive amount of infection that was in danger of infecting his brain, and put in new implants, all while he stayed in what amounted to an enclosed resort... all for a FRACTION of the monetary cost and in days rather than the months it would have taken here in the US.
Evidently, part of the issue are policies in the US dental insurance side that cause tons of extra delays that many docs don't think are necessary. This leaves people in a state of numerous visits, lots of extra time in one state or another (that is not "whole"), and unnecessary essence... due to US insurance polices, etc, this is the state of affairs.
So some pics have taken to working outside the system, in Mexico, not because that make tons of money more, but because its the right thing to do.
My buddy was, and remains, totally fine from having it all done in one sitting.
And it didn't cost him a car... well maybe a used car, but was low enough that he could afford it, and he felt like he had top notch treatment and the experience was great.
And it was a high quality US surgeon, that just traveled to meet him over the border.
Just food for thought.
Best wishes on the implants. My wife had to have one done with the long process a few years ago. She only got the bone graft and said fvck the rest since it is in the back. On the other hand, I went to a periodontist and he extracted the tooth, did the bone graft and set the post all in one visit. I have a bad case of “white coat syndrome” and this guy made the whole process a breeze. It was painless and I was fearless, mostly due to the halcyon. I was back at work the next day. And the whole dental insurance thing is a joke, it cost me nearly $2k out of my pocket!
So yeah, post-extraction - prior to the implants, the dentist was like yeah you can. Now that I've had implants put in and it's healing the surgeon was like - don't do a damn thing, no smoking, no nothing so that your mouth heals.
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