Bone graft for dental implant?

[Tina Roppolo]

I found out in December that I had a failed root canal due to a really bad infection. The specialist told me that the tooth couldn't be saved and that I'd have to get a dental implant. The infection is so bad that I have to get a bone graft first? I did some research (before my appt tomorrow) and it sounds pretty scary. I usually want to be awake for procedures but I don't know about this one. I'm also scared about going to a dental surgeon ( I really wanted my old dentist to the procedure I'd trust him to take out a kidney!) and I'm scared he'll scare me more or make me feel bad about other work that needs to be done on other teeth. The whole process has really been drug out, on top of me working two jobs and starting school full time and my nerves are shot. A person can only take so much.

 

[Deck2015]

Hi Tina!

You've taken on a lot!! It must take a lot of determination and energy to work two jobs AND attend school. If you can do that, you can make it through this one time pesky procedure.

I had extraction/bone graft in December...I had IV sedation and remember nothing, so I can't advise you if it would have been better awake. I *can* tell you that the sedation was FAST acting and I felt euphoric leaving the clinic...bouncy, happy like an idiot. Very silly.

I did ask the Dental Nurse if most people do this procedure awake or asleep and she said most do the extract and bone graft awake and have implant done while asleep BUT I was so worried I'd literally fight them to NOT take my beloved tooth that I opted for the goo goo juice and was out like a light. I'm sure you could do it awake -- they numb you either way so you won't feel any pain if you're awake, but you may feel pressure or tugging? It's 2016 - you shouldn't ever have to experience PAIN during any dental procedure - they have SO many drugs at their disposal to kill the pain, it's ridiculous.

Geez, I didn't even think to Google bone grafting before I had it done -- I thought it was rather awesome to get "donor" bone for my jaw...I had a stitch too so I guess I just assumed they basically just remove the tooth and literally just plug the "hole" with the donor bone and stitched me up. I don't know...but I can tell you the recovery was very, very easy. Honestly...I was fine after the numbing wore off. You will be too

When in doubt, ask the clinic performing your extraction procedure - it's their job to explain everything to you, the patient. Remember, they do this every day -- you're going to be fine Later, we can compare our gappy smiles and post implant smiles if we get brave enough I just wish I'd had this done before Halloween so I could dress as a Pirate and say "AAARRGGGG!!" to all the kiddies at the door.... HA!

 

[Tina Roppolo]

Thank you so much I can't even tell you. Me and my mom have been so scared and nobody's really given any explanation to anything. I think I'll do the juice too, cause I just don't know if I'll panic or not. Thank god I read something that said you were basically helpless for 3 days after the procedure (and I was scared I'd have to call out work and reschedule exams, they all fall in next week of course when I need to get this done). Which tooth was yours done on? Mine is one of the big molars on the bottom left so I won't have a pirate smile exactly! Lol. How long ago was yours?

 

[Tina Roppolo]

Also how were prices? I feel bad with my parents paying off all these dental bills even with insurance

 

[Deck2015]

OMG, the cost. I'm so with you there, sister. It's outrageous...but I understand why (Dental insurance is terrible, even when it's good coverage!). Not including my uber expensive extraction/sedation/bone graft ($1,500 USD of which my sedation alone was $350), my Implant and Crown for the Implant will cost me an additional $4,200 USD. Such good times. I could literally buy my nephew a car with this money, but he's only 9 and screw that - my sister can buy him a car. A tooth, esp a front tooth, is forever! I do have some insurance coverage for the sedation (shocking) and the crown but nothing for bone graft, implant surgery or extras like medication used during the procedures, donor bone costs, etc. I think when all is said and done, insurance will cover a total of about $800 of the total $5.7k bill. Here' the good news about the cost : Generally, you pay as you go. For example, my extraction surgery paid in full the day of. Next step is the Implant surgery 12-16 weeks following the extract/bone graft. If I can suck it up, I might do the implant surgery awake, saving another $350. If I get ascared (which I will) and say "NO!! Don't do this to me awake!!", then I'll have to pony up approx $2,850.00 day of Implant surgery ($2500 w/o the goo goo juice). I believe it's another 12 weeks later before I go back to my Prosthodontist for the Crown (If I go to my network Prosthodontist who is AWESOME, I believe this crown will only cost me roughly $1300, while insurance pitches in and the clinic writes a bit off due to contractual agreement but I need to confirm that).

This is your TOOTH. And if it's cared for, it should last you forever (though, you may have to replace the crown at some point as I understand it). I fully appreciate the outrageous sticker shock...I had it too...many tears later, I realized that's what my credit card was for and dang it, this WAS an emergency that justified the cost! What else am I going to spend that insane amount of money on?? A trip to Europe sounds more fun...but I digress. :/

I can tell you that I am currently looking into the best Dental College in my state - they have a program for Dental implants that is getting rave reviews and though you have to allow students to examine you, all procedures are performed by a skilled, highly experienced Dentist/Oral Surgeon who is also a Professor. I've heard rumors that people have done it for as little as $1500 up there, but am waiting for official quotes before I get too excited. Consider all of your options, but remember, sometimes the "cheapest" will cost more in the long run -- I'm going to be extremely careful to select the best provider for my Implant surgery. I totally trust my OS to do it, but if I can consult and trust the OS at the Dental College just as much AND save thousands, I might be swayed. In the end, i"d rather pay a few (ok, many) bucks more to get a guaranteed implant surgically implanted by a specialist than a hack who took a weekend course and calls himself an Implantologist (I think I just made that term up, but you get my drift).

Mine is an upper front tooth, front and center! And I have good looking teeth from the outside - so it's not as if this missing tooth blended in. Anyway. Yeah, you can guess that having NEVER lost a tooth before, giving up a FRONT tooth (as a relatively young-ish woman) was traumatic! I'm having to wear a flipper and I can't even tell you how happy I'll be to burn that thing after I have my implant and make sure it "takes"!! I'm going to have a flipper burning party and you can all attend!

So yeah, the Halloween fun would have worked well...but I'm not wearing this flipper until November so the kids will have to miss out on my Pirate costume

Really, my family and I are joking about how silly I was after my procedure (and I don't want to trigger anyone's anxiety about that - some have a fear of losing control or saying something silly under sedation -- trust me when I say, I'm sure they've heard it all and I never lost control).

I get how sad it is to lose a tooth, trust me. I fought this for MONTHS before I agreed to let mine go. But as I understand it, you've exhausted all other options. If you hadn't, I'm sure you'd much rather pony up a few hundred bucks for an re-do RCT (that probably wouldn't take based on your notes here)...So don't beat yourself up about it. You don't want to keep an infected, raging tooth in your mouth. It's just mean and painful. On my way out of the clinic in all my stupid giddiness, the dental nurse handed me a cute little plastic tooth shaped container. On my way home, I looked inside and it was my tooth! I still have it - My parents and I spent THOUSANDS on that bugger and darn it, I'm keeping it! Ask to keep yours to if it doesn't gross you out...I look at it to remind myself how badly infection/painful it was and remember that I too made the right choice.

Are you getting a temp flipper? Is the molar far back? You may very well get away from having to use a flipper. (Flipper cost $375 after insurance -- it just keeps comin' and comin'!).

I would highly recommend the sedation....if you can swing the funds for it, do it. I went to sleep very nervous and woke up so happy it was over...you can only move forward at that point. Have to admit I was horribly depressed about losing the tooth for about a week but you pull up your big girl panties and move on. Adjusting the flipper was/is still difficult. Sometimes, I want to just fling that silly thing out of my mouth so I can talk like a human again but I'd rather slur my words occasionally than run around w/o my front tooth.

A little advice (and your experience may vary, certainly) - but having IV sedation does make you sleepy and the next day, you might still feel just slightly goofy (esp. if you're still taking any scripted pain meds) - but you should NOT have serious pain after your extraction. So, my recommend if you do sedation (and even if you have the extraction awake) is to schedule it for a Thursday/Friday so you can have the weekend to recover...I know you work two (too many!) jobs and have school...do you ever have two days off consistently? Can you schedule a day or two off from work and pre-arrange to skip school for one day? I'm not sure I could have gone back to work the day after is why I make the suggestion..but not because of pain, there really was only mild discomfort. It was more the front tooth/get used to the flipper emotional recovery for me.

You're going to come through this fine. Really, the most painful part is the FINANCING. Just outrageous. Feel free to PM me to complain if you'd like. I'll surely reply in kind

 

[Deck2015]

Just one other quick, hilarious note : Still don't wear that silly flipper at home and have left home now no less than three times AND TALKED TO PEOPLE WITHOUT WEARING MY FLIPPER!! The first time I did it, I talked to strangers waiting with me for an elevator at a hotel. I was horrified when I realized I wasn't wearing it. The next time, it was a relative who had no idea I'd had dental surgery and we all had a big hearty laugh about it. The last time, meh, I sort of didn't care too much. I'll drive down to the store or take my nephew for a ride to McDonald's drive thru (I know, I'm a terrible Auntie, but I'm the FUN ONE!!) without wearing it...I won't go inside of a public place w/o it but I got over not being able to eat out -- we just sit in a corner and I carefully put my flipper in the case before I eat...no one cares.

Again, you might get away w/o wearing a flipper, just depends on what your dentist recommends and what you're comfortable with. Most people aren't going to be looking far back inside of your mouth, and if they are, tell them to mind their own business! Just kidding...but really. Who's going to look?

Would I be uncomfortable not wearing my flipper if it was a back tooth? Probably not as much...I can tell you trips to Target or groceries or car wash would be a big NOPE, NOT WEARING THAT THING! But work, probably yes. School, probably yes.

...The more I think about it, the more I think I will pony up for the IV juice for the implant surgery, or rather, make my trusty American Express pay for it and bill me later. Just because the sedation was that darn good..and fun. Did I forget to mention fun? I took pics of my gappy smile and posted them on Facebook like a boss less than 3 hours post extraction (I was seriously hopped up on pain meds - don't judge). Do I have regrets? Sure. My ex boyfriend from high school now saw me gappy (who cares, right? He wasn't that hot in high school and he's married now so, whatever)...that guy that works in Engineering that I sort of have an immature crush on has also seen it. Ooops. There goes free dinner at Olive Garden. Dang it anyway.

 

[Tina Roppolo]

ok so i went to the appt today and the costs weren't as bad as we thought. I think once its said and done I'll be looking at about $4000 total. He said he doesn't use a cow bone and it wasn't a front tooth so he didnt have to harvest bone from somewhere else. They only want 500 when i get it done monday and the insurance will take some off but yknow i only have a $1000 allowance on that. BUt they did show me a dental credit card that doesn't charge interest the first year and i think we're gonna go that route. My dad wants to take out a loan but I think over the course of a year or even two i can manage that. No flipper cause the teeth next to the space won't shift in four months. He insists on anesthesia that im kind of happy about cause the more i know the less i wanna be awake lol.
I'm actually one of those people that had a phobia about using laughing gas, sedation etc cause you see so many FB videos of people being loopy on meds after procedures! so i learned to get used to the needles but i think for something crazy like this I'll be loopy.
I don't blame you on going that route with the flipper for the front tooth. My front two teeth are gonna need this done probably in the next 10 yrs but I'm gonna have to go the bridge route cause I don't think I'll have enough money for both implants within 10 yrs. :/
I actually had to get 2 teeth in smile range removed due to crowded before my braces were on. (The teeth next to your canines what are those?) I was in high school and cried for days that people would make fun of me and when I got there nobody said anything at all. You feel so stupid worrying when you look back yrs later!
Wait so the flipper is just something you pop in and pop out like a retainer? i wish more people knew about the process of implants and would understand things like the flipper and it taking a year. Screw the ex bf! And as long as the guy in engineering sees you with the flipper in also i think you'll be fine what job do you have that involves engineering?
but i think i'll be ok. the office, surgeon, nurses were really nice. I'll definitely be back on here before monday when i go oh shit im really doing this monday lmao.

 

[Tina Roppolo]

Hey, idk if you've been on for a while but I got my graft done Monday morning! Swelling went down but now I'm having pain.. How long after did you have pain? It's all day I have to take ibuprofen and idk if it should be hurting 5 days later like this

 

[Deck2015]

Hi there -- so glad it all is over for you and went well. I remember still taking Ibuprofen for at least a week post extraction. Is the pain just a nagging irritation or super painful, can't focus on anything? Is it waking you from sleep?

You may want to call your Oral Surgeon and seek his/her advice about your pain level but I wouldn't immediately think you have dry socket or anything drastic happening...remember, you had a tooth pulled - a permanent tooth that's lived in your mouth for many years. The tissues are going to react to that and may ache for a while (also, if the surrounding teeth ache, that's normal too and will most likely go away).