so confused! dental implant or braces?

amother

Tue, Nov 30 2010, 3:35 pm

ds had a baby tooth that got infected and had to be pulled. Only problem is that he has no permanent tooth underneath his gums to take its place. His dentist suggesting taking him to an orthodontist for a consultation, and the orthodontist said that we have 2 options - either putting in a space maintainer until he's older, when a dental implant can be inserted in the gap, or braces to push his back teeth forward to fill the gap.

The orthodontist himself recommended the space maintainer and implant, since his bite and appearance are perfectly fine as is, and braces could eventually cause new problems (which he doesn't have now) such as tooth discoloration, cavities, etc. Not only that, but my own personal experience, and this was backed up online, the teeth often shift back years later.

Implants are claimed to have a 95% success rate - but the possible complications seem to be rather horrendous, since this is a surgical procedure involving the bone underneath. Braces, OTOH, don't seem to have such possibly severe complications.

I'm so confused!

bashabelle

Tue, Nov 30 2010, 3:51 pm

I just wrote the longest post I've ever written and then when I went to post it, it disappeared.

b'kitzur, I was in this situation but with 4 teeth and they didn't pull any of them out immediately as they weren't infected. I've been through a lot of pain, I'm 24, still have one baby tooth, one gap in my mouth, one tooth growing in that the drs said never would, and one normal tooth that grew in normally but at age 19.

if I could do it all over again I would probably get implants.

if you want the full story, pm me and I'll type it all up again.

miriamg

Tue, Nov 30 2010, 4:02 pm

I had a similar situation, as have several of my siblings (it seems to be genetic).

I think that it depends on several factors, including:
- is there crowding in the mouth? If so, braces might be able to do the trick
- which teeth? front teeth need to look better aligned than the molars that noone (typically) will see

I have had two dental implants, and am very happy that I chose to do that. On the other hand, one of my siblings had crowding and needed braces anyway, so they just removed those teeth to make more room.

Also, be aware and research the different methods available for dental implants if you choose to go that route.

At this point, you are probably best off taking the advice of an honest dentist/orthodontist who can give you the best advice based on your son's mouth and teeth. (Since the orthodontist stands to earn more on braces -- he wouldn't do any work related to a dental implant -- I would tend to trust his opinion.)

Tzippora

Tue, Nov 30 2010, 4:27 pm

I was born without my eye teeth and my parents had the exact same decision to make. I have two implants and im so grateful for it - I love them and they look ccompletely real!

the surgery was not bad at all, and I had a bone grafy during it. I was awake and just used novocaine shots. recovery was like a couple of days.

let me know if you want the nameof my guy if youre in nyc- he can evaluate and recommeend at least. good luck!

Tzippora

Wed, Dec 01 2010, 11:30 am

grin wrote:

Tzippora, the possible horrendous complications of the implants didn't scare them off?

anything can have horrible complications, uncluding braces. implant surgery is very minor, as it goes, and we used excellent, experienced, dentists and surgeons. what is so horrible that is also even remotely probable to occur?

personally, I was 18 at the time of surgery and tthe pain I feared wasmuch worse than the pain I had. implants are scarier before The fact but may often be the right choice

grin

Wed, Dec 01 2010, 11:51 am

Tzippora wrote:

grin wrote:

Tzippora, the possible horrendous complications of the implants didn't scare them off?

anything can have horrible complications, including braces. implant surgery is very minor, as it goes, and we used excellent, experienced, dentists and surgeons. what is so horrible that is also even remotely probable to occur?

personally, I was 18 at the time of surgery and tthe pain I feared wasmuch worse than the pain I had. implants are scarier before The fact but may often be the right choice

how about this:

Quote:

implantation can cause infection of the gums or bone and can damage the roots of neighboring teeth, the nerves leading to the lip or the sinus cavity. Skilled dentists rarely encounter these complications, but you face significant risks in the hands of an inexperienced practitioner.
Implants may fail - the biggest risk of this procedure is loosening or fracture of the implant. The device may not fit snugly into the socket drilled in the bone or it may fail to bond with the bone. Infection after surgery may destroy the surrounding bone or there may be too little bone to withstand the stress of chewing.

or this:

Quote:

Dental implants can cause injury or damage to other teeth, blood vessels in the gums, or the sinuses. Also, a rare complication of dental implants is nerve damage in the jaw, which causes pain, or a numb or tingling feeling in teeth, lips, gums, or chin.

nothing I read on braces came even close.
aren't you glad you didn't know any of this then? Wink

Tzippora

Wed, Dec 01 2010, 12:12 pm

grin wrote:

Tzippora wrote:

grin wrote:

Tzippora, the possible horrendous complications of the implants didn't scare them off?

how about this:

Quote:

or this:

Quote:

nothing I read on braces came even close.
aren't you glad you didn't know any of this then? Wink

I did know most of them, but also knew the probabilities of them. use great surgeons and most risks are minimal. in my case, at least, tis was the only way to achieve thad t type of result.

it is scary,but I'd be lying if I told you I didn'tthink the fears are overblown if you do your homework.