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Hi everyone,
well i went to dentist the other day he says he cant save my bicuspus(top tooth in front on right side)root canal out of question,no tooth to put post on or cap. to decayed. it has to be pulled and a implant can be done. he does not want to do bridge because the tooth next to it is a cap and the other tooth on the other side is a virgin tooth and he does not want to drill into that. so my only alternative right now is an implant. but i cant afford it right now due to unemployment so im going to get it pulled and get a flapper.does anyone have experience with these? i've been reading so many pros and cons. the dentist said it would be perfect for me being its only one tooth.
im very sad about this cause my teeth are in good shape except for this one tooth. luckily im out of work right now and being without a tooth for 2 weeks i can handle.
If the adjacent teeth are in good shape, there's no reason I can think of that you can't have a bridge. The fact that one of those teeth already has a cap makes the bridge a good alternative. If the only reason the bridge wasn't offered was because of a reluctance to drill a virgin tooth, then I would advise you to seek a second opinion. Perhaps in the distant future implants will be the only option considered, but for today a bridge is a very good option.
The option being proposed to you is called a "flipper". I'm not sure why it's called that though. Possibly because you can flip it out with your tongue??? It is otherwise known as an interim partial denture. It is made of hard acrylic and usually has rottwire clasps---soft metal wires that look like paper clips that wrap around your adjacent teeth. Your flipper will have 1 plastic tooth to replace the missing one. The tooth usually looks fine, but it's sometimes hard to make the acrylic and wires blend in. Keep in mind that flippers are not meant to be used for chewing. Because they don't have solid tooth and gum support, putting pressure on them will cause resorption of the alveolar ridge (bone loss).
Why would it be necessary to drill a virgin tooth? I have bridgework that's simply glued to the back of the healthy (virgin) teeth on each side--no drill involved. I'm not sure about bridging to a crown, though.
I was in the same boat as you a couple of years ago. I had my bicuspid break below the gum line, so the dentist couldn't put a crown on it... it had to come out. We decided against a bridge because we didn't want to involve the surrounding teeth which were fine. Only other option was an implant. I didn't bother with the flipper because it's a temp fix. I also didn't want to bother with it because you have take it out when you eat, sleep, etc. It would have been out more than it was in! lol My missing tooth was only noticeable if I smiled really big and someone was looking for it, so I didn't worry about it. Regardless of whether you get the flipper tooth or not, just be aware that the implant procedure takes a long time. It was 10 months before mine was completed. Also any future dental insurance may not cover the implant any way. We had to start a new insurance policy (going from military to retired military) and even though it was the same company, they wouldn't cover any part the implant unless the policy had been in affect for a year. They did cover the crown though.
Katzenfreud is right, yours is a Maryland bridge. It's generally not favored due to reduced retention. Because it relies on a glue to adhere to the adjacent teeth, it is much more likely to pop off---not good, but not completely bad. However, the tendency is for one side to pop loose while the other side stays firm. The side that pops loose harbors food debris and bacteria so it carries a higher cavity risk. Things might be changing nowadays. Dental material companies are experimenting with ceramic bridges that can be glued with a chemical bond, and those seem to hold better than traditional Maryland bridges. Time will tell.
Hi everyone,
well i went to dentist the other day he says he cant save my bicuspus(top tooth in front on right side)root canal out of question,no tooth to put post on or cap. to decayed. it has to be pulled and a implant can be done. he does not want to do bridge because the tooth next to it is a cap and the other tooth on the other side is a virgin tooth and he does not want to drill into that. so my only alternative right now is an implant. but i cant afford it right now due to unemployment so im going to get it pulled and get a flapper.does anyone have experience with these? i've been reading so many pros and cons. the dentist said it would be perfect for me being its only one tooth.
im very sad about this cause my teeth are in good shape except for this one tooth. luckily im out of work right now and being without a tooth for 2 weeks i can handle.
For down the road, I hear you can get an implant in Mexico for around $500 so keep it in mind, that and the price of the trip will be less than an implant in the US.
For down the road, I hear you can get an implant in Mexico for around $500 so keep it in mind, that and the price of the trip will be less than an implant in the US.
You get what you pay for. I'd be really really careful about getting something like an implant done in Mexico. Not saying you can't get a good job done, but...chances are a lot higher you'll get a bad job done.
I think the best deal is at a dental school. From what I hear, it's about $1000. That's much cheaper than a private dentist, and on par with what you'd get in Mexico (implant cost plus airfare and hotel). The downside is that it's a long and tedious process. Because it's a dental school, there are rules and procedures that you have to follow before you can get the implant.
yes we do have a dental school about 45 minutes away. they are taking appts for december. i think i may look into that. it just sucks cause i really dont want that flapper thing. im just afraid it will fall out when im talking to someone or something embarassing like that.
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