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Got some dental issues, had them a long time really. The most pressing is a front tooth that has had two(!) root canals, and still hurts quite a bit. I've tried to live with it, but five years is long enough. A friend highly recommended a local dentist, and I finally went the other day.
My options:
1) Pull the offending tooth, which has a root fracture, and will never feel better if I continue to ignore it. Will leave a huge, highly noticable gap in my smile. Cost, a few hundred dollars, probably.
2) Pull the offending tooth, and get something called a flipper. A false tooth that pops in for appearances sake and has to be removed for eating. Cost, again, several hundred dollars.
3) Pull the offending tooth, and get a bridge. As far as I understand it, a false tooth that is permanently attached to the teeth on either side of it. Other teeth would need extensive work to prepare for it. Cost, about $3500.
4) Pull the offending tooth, and get an implant. As I understand it, a false tooth that is permanently attached to the bone. Would require actual surgery. Cost, at least $4000.
Note that all these options involve pulling the tooth, and there is no insurance involved. It sucks, but we can afford it. Three and a half years without jobs, and we still have the savings to cover epic things like this. We are very, very lucky. I just try to ignore health issues as much as possible.
We are leaning towards option 4, actually, though a great deal more information is needed. Anybody here have bridges or implants? Tell me about them. Cost, pain, recovery time, functionality, durability, appearance, etc.
My options:
1) Pull the offending tooth, which has a root fracture, and will never feel better if I continue to ignore it. Will leave a huge, highly noticable gap in my smile. Cost, a few hundred dollars, probably.
2) Pull the offending tooth, and get something called a flipper. A false tooth that pops in for appearances sake and has to be removed for eating. Cost, again, several hundred dollars.
3) Pull the offending tooth, and get a bridge. As far as I understand it, a false tooth that is permanently attached to the teeth on either side of it. Other teeth would need extensive work to prepare for it. Cost, about $3500.
4) Pull the offending tooth, and get an implant. As I understand it, a false tooth that is permanently attached to the bone. Would require actual surgery. Cost, at least $4000.
Note that all these options involve pulling the tooth, and there is no insurance involved. It sucks, but we can afford it. Three and a half years without jobs, and we still have the savings to cover epic things like this. We are very, very lucky. I just try to ignore health issues as much as possible.
We are leaning towards option 4, actually, though a great deal more information is needed. Anybody here have bridges or implants? Tell me about them. Cost, pain, recovery time, functionality, durability, appearance, etc.
