Archive for the ‘Dental Implants’ Category

Problems with Clear Choice

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

I have spent most of the last two years trying to find a viable solution to my extreme dental problems. Two years ago, I had to have all my teeth extracted. I am only 52 years old, and my dentist warned me that if I don’t get some kind of dental implants done, my jaw bones will get smaller and smaller until I won’t be able to even wear dentures.

My regular dentist does not do dental implants, and he suggested I start shopping around to find someone who could do this procedure for me. I visited the Clear Choice Dental Implant Center because they have a reputation for being one of the best facilities in the business. They were very polite, and professional, and I was really impressed with their facility and the thoroughness of their exam. Then came the sticker shock. They told me it would cost more than $55,000 to do full upper and lower implants. When I questioned how it could be so high when I already had all of my teeth removed, they said that there is not any kind of discount for that because they offer free extractions with their dental implants.

That just doesn’t make sense to me! I know from first hand experience that removing all of a person’s teeth takes a considerable amount of time, skill and equipment. For them to say it is “a package deal” makes it seem like they are more concerned with making an extra buck than they are about giving me the care I need. I am not without resources, but there was no way I was going to come up with $55,000 for the procedure, and I was not interested in talking to their financing specialist.

I checked with another facility, and they quoted me a price that was less than half the Clear Choice quote, and also took into consideration that they would not have to do extractions.

What do you make of this? I know Clear Choice has an excellent reputation for being the top place to go for dental implants, but such a dramatic difference in cost is difficult to understand. How do they get away with charging those prices?

William from St. Louis

Dear William,

Your experience is not unusual, but do be careful about only considering price when you are evaluating your options. Poorly done dental implants can be catastrophic, and you want to make sure that the dentist you choose has been thoroughly educated in dental implant placement. Good luck.

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Timing of dental implant after extraction.

Monday, January 18th, 2010

I have to have one of my molars removed, because it has decay that is below my gumline. Both my regular dentist and the specialist he sent me to assure me that the tooth can not be saved, and so we have to remove it. I am on a fixed income, and all of this is very expensive. How long can I stall before I have to get a dental implant?

Augustus in Little Rock

Dear Augustus,

You shouldn’t wait TOO long. Within a couple of weeks, the teeth that surround the empty socket will begin to “drift” into the space. Our teeth move naturally to touch their neighbors, and to meet another tooth when you bite down. This phenomenon will also cause the tooth that should meet the now-missing tooth in the opposite jaw to super-erupt (grow to try and reach the missing tooth). All of this movement can seriously disrupt your bite, which in turn could lead to TMJ problems. All of these problems will add to your costs to correct if you let the situation get out of hand.

You’ve made a good choice to go with a dental implant to replace your tooth, but in the meantime you are going to need some kind of temporary tooth to act as a placeholder. Your dentist should fit you with a temporary partial denture (called a flipper).

Your dentist won’t be able to place the root form for the dental implant until the area is free of infection and fully healed. After that, the root form will need several weeks at least to become fully fused with the bone of your jaw, and only then can the permanent tooth be fixed to the root form.

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Does dental insurance ever cover dental implants?

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

I am missing all of my upper teeth. I’ve been wearing a full upper denture, but it is just not working for me anymore, and my dentist has suggested dental implants. They are really expensive! Do you know of any dental insurance plans that cover implants?

Gloria in Abilene

Dear Gloria,

You might have a tough decision to make. Depending on how long you have been missing your upper teeth, your upper jaw may have deteriorated quite a bit. Many people don’t realize until it is too late that having all of your teeth removed causes your jaw bones to actually shrink. After several years, your jaw can deteriorate to the point where you can no longer wear a denture. It sounds like you might be there now.

And it is a sad truth that you will not find a dental insurance company that will pay for dental implants. If you consider the situation from the dental insurance company’s point of view, it would make little sense to sell you a policy and then pay out many times the cost of the policy for your dental care.

If you or a spouse has dental insurance available through a place of employment, that might be your best chance for getting any help at all with the cost of your dental implants. Though dental plans through employers generally offer the best service coverage, they rarely pay for dental implants. They will pay for the cheapest treatment, which is not going to be dental implants, and many companies have $500-%1,000 annual caps on services, which does not go far towards extensive dental treatment.

An alternative for you might be to get some dental implants to anchor an upper denture. Even a few dental implants will help slow the deterioration of your upper jaw bone.

Talk to your dentist candidly about affordable options.

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Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

I was told today that in order to have dentures I would have to have these bony ridges on the roof of my mouth shaved. Be honest is this going to be as painful as they said? It would seem that my ridges are the worst my dentist has ever seen in over 100 thousand patients. Lucky me. He says without the shaving the dentures will not fit properly. Any advise and all honesty welcomed. It sounds like a horrible procedure.

 Thank you
Salina from Georgia

Salina,
That bony ridge is called a taurus, and if it’s really big it can prevent the proper fitting of a removable denture. I don’t think having it removed is as bad as having all your teeth out, but I wouldn’t call it fun, either. The surgery is a little tricky, so you want to be sure that the dentist doing this has done it before. If you’re nervous about it, I’d recommend being sedated. Sleep dentistry can make any dental appointment a piece of cake.

But I wonder if you’ve fully thought about the option of dental implants instead of removable dentures? When all your teeth are extracted, your body begins to resorb all that bone that used to hold your teeth. As your jaw shrinks, over maybe twenty years or so it will get so that your mouth won’t even be able to hold a denture comfortably. Your face shrivels up with what is called facial collapse. But the placement of dental implants prevents that bone resorption, plus you can go on eating and chewing normally.

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