Dental Implant and open/bad bite

[Dental Impatient]

I had an extraction on tooth 19. I am scheduled for an implant a month from now. I have a notoriously bad bite. My teeth don't touch each other in the front. They do in the back, but in an odd way that's developed over the years. I grind them a lot too, especially at night. My current dentist is not wanting to put a crown on it until my bite is sorted out, but that procedure is extremely expensive and could expose other issues (possible root canals, crown replacements) that will add to the cost. Is it a legitimate danger to put a crown on an implant in this situation? Can it really jar the implant? Should I even be getting one? I don't want to get to the point where I need a bone graft if I decide I want one later.

 

[MattKW]

Too hard to say for sure. Generally it should be OK to put an implant back there; you're simply replacing what was there before. But, once you do the implant, you may not be able to later change your bite because it will "lock" in your current position. Why not get a 2nd or 3rd opinion?

 

[Dental Impatient]

Can you explain what you mean by lock in the current position? Wouldn't the bite depend on the shape of the crown placed?

 

[MattKW]

Orthodontics will move teeth because there is a fibre connection to the bone. An implant forms a direct bone connection, no fibres, so cannot be moved later by ortho. My daughter was missing 2 teeth by chance, had ortho to make proper spaces, then had 2 implants. The orthodontist then used the implants as anchors to finalise the job. So if you're happy with your bite, or don't like the risks or cost of the suggested treatment, then look at doing the implant as the final solution. I'd still suggest you get proper 2nd or 3rd opinions before making any decision.

 

[Dental Impatient]

I see. So orthodontics becomes a lot trickier once I start getting implants. I've never been interested in ortho, it was never recommended to me as a child, and I've heard a lot of bad stories about invisiliign. I've had a couple of grand bite fixing strategies thrown at me, but both have involved crowns/building up or down teeth. I guess that either means my bite is so bad that there's no way to tell if ortho will help, or my teeth don't need it.

 

[Liza]

How mush cost of dental implant?

 

[BeenThere]

I've seen ads in my area for $4,000 to $20,000 (it costs the higher amounts if you need bone grafts), and other ads for $2,000 (but, I suspect those may only be part of the total cost involved -- I'd be Very Dubious about what they're providing for just $2,000 -- it's also something of a specialty, I'd be apprehensive about a dentist doing implants and would have a higher comfort level with a specialist).

In your area, estimates may be free or quite inexpensive (so, you may be able to readily get two or three estimates to get a sense of the cost). Your dentist knows you and what's likely needed, it's a common topic, so your dentist ought to be able to provide a rough local cost estimate or a referral to one or two specialists doing implants in your area so they can advise you.

I was reading up on implants earlier today: Did you know? about 4% of patients are allergic to the titanium used -- it might be worth getting a specialty allergy test before going ahead with an implant procedure (as an allergic response to the metal could greatly contribute to implant failure).