Thursday, July 7, 2011

Is it worth it for me to replace my dental implants?

Okay, apparently I have a dilemma. I have dental implants (# 7 and #10 for those dentists out there). The metal of the abutment is showing at the top of the implant (but you can't see it unless I smile abnormally large). My natural teeth, over time from using an electric toothbrush, have actually gotten whiter and the coloring is off now. I was going to have them replaced...thinking "simple enough." Not so. I am a "case" at my dentist's office. The abutment on one side is too far forward and they are too long to replace the teeth and still cover the metal. I have very little gum tissue above the implant. So, here are my options: 1. Do nothing and keep the ones I have. (Noone can tell but me that they look bad) 2. Gum grafting where they add gum tissue from another source about the implant to cover the metal and then replace the teeth after that is done. Now this is a full out surgery which costs about $1490 per tooth (partially covered by insurance) and consultation is between $88 and $208 and all must be paid up front. 3. They can drill down my abutments (the actual metal part) and then add new implants that have a pink top to them that blend in with the gum to help cover up the metal. The bad part with this option is that the drilling may cause the implants to "fail" and if that happens they will have to be removed from the bone completely. That means I would have to completely either replace the implants (a lot of money and a year of healing) or a permanent bridge would have to be put into place if the implants could not be re-implanted into the bone. 4. Have the abutments removed completely and put on a permanent bridge instead where no metal shows. Not a huge fan of the idea of a bridge though at 30 years old, but my options are pretty bleak. Let me know what you think!! I'm pretty disappointed and frustrated at this point at how complicated this situation has become and I need advice!!!
--------------------
I agree with tarnished angel. There is still a chance that the graft may not solve the problem though. But is is the most conservative treatment to do and is not the most expensive. If that would be the case, I would consider option #1. It is too bad that the implants were not placed a little better to have given you a better chance to avoid this problem. I wish you good luck with your decision.
Source

No comments:

Post a Comment