Anyone have some experience with an abscessed tooth, extraction and implant?

[Rick Lee]

Mrs. Lee neglected a chipped or cracked molar for a few mos. and I stopped nagging her about it after a few weeks. She got a dose of reality from the new dentist yesterday - she has an abscess, it's leaking pus and needs to be pulled. Cost est. for the whole thing, including implant is about $5k, none of which is covered by Cigna DHMO. In fact, we chose this dentist because she was the only one pretty close to us who accepts Cigna DHMO and we found her on Cigna's online provider directory. Mrs. Lee is not in pain at all (yet) and doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of this. I had an abscessed tooth as a kid and it was one of the most miserable experiences of my childhood. I think she trusts the dentist's call here, but is wondering if the costs are in line. Anyone know about this?

[Rikao4]

if she's gonna do the implant...
this is gonna be a long haul..
and as you noted..expensive..
pull,heal,prep,install & hope it takes..


Rika

[red-beard]

Not personally, but one of my neighbors had his partial denture replaced with implants. They now implant a screw/post into the bone. The implant is then attached to this. The whole procedure will take months. And the first few months there will not be a tooth there, while the gum heals.

[Rickysa]

Having on done next week...highly recommended. $5k is right around the norm... Upper or lower?

[GH85Carrera]

5K is the base model. I had one molar done that cost over 7 grand. Stupid expensive. I did not have a abscess just a tooth with a root canal.

You might see if there is a local dental school. It will take even longer but it might save you some money.

[Aragorn]

Here is what I remember the costs for this procedure being from a few years ago. The cost for the dental implant should be in the $1500 range per tooth and takes around 6weeks to a few months from implantation to post setting. Dental Implants: Surgery, Advantages, Risks, and Insurance Questions If she will need a bone graft to build the jaw up to accept the post that will take longer (cadaver bone placed in jaw Bone Augmentation Article | Dentures & Dental Implants | Colgate® Oral Care Information Seniors ) Her dentist will charge an additional cost for setting the cap on top of the post (requires fitting and wait of around a month to get the cap made and new appointment. All in all with the bone graft, post and cap it should be in the $5000 area (less if no bone graft is needed.)

[Rick Lee]

I think I saw something about bone grafting on the estimate. Her concern is that the codes on the estimate show much lower costs on Cigna's website. Even though Cigna covers none of this, I thought a Cigna provider would still have to charge Cigna rates to a Cigna policy holder, even if they were paying cash.

[red-beard]

Talk to the dentist. I negotiated a crown down to $1200 from $1800.

[lane912]

See if the dentist will take a trade??

[Iciclehead]

I have 6, just lining up to a 7th, plus every tooth in my mouth is crowned...

Price is in line, it takes a while....bone has to grow around the implant, but the result is permanent.

Dennis

[ckelly78z]

If it's a molar, I would just pull it and live without it, it's absence can't be seen when smiling, and she still has 3 other meat shredders in there.

[Nostril Cheese]

Pliers and a bit of Vicodin. Easy and quick

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Implants are the way to go. Expensive but anything else you'll be paying just as much chasing it for the rest of your life. There's something to be said for a sure thing! I'm hoping they come up with gene therapy soon to just grow new ones when needed...

[Gogar]

Tell Mrs. Lee this:

With teeth, every day is $20. $5000 means she waited about 8 months too long. Wait a month, $600 more bucks.

[Rick Lee]

Well, I hope she takes this one seriously. An abscessed tooth can be dangerous. I told her it can get so painful that she'll happily pay anything to get it fixed. So do it now while it's not that bad. When I had mine, the roof of my mouth was so swollen, it was puffed out to be level with my teeth. When they pulled that molar and put a spacer in there, it flew out when I sneezed a few weeks later.

[Aragorn]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Implants are the way to go. Expensive but anything else you'll be paying just as much chasing it for the rest of your life. There's something to be said for a sure thing! I'm hoping they come up with gene therapy soon to just grow new ones when needed...

New grown teeth have been just 5 years away for the last 20 years.

Replacement Teeth Grown From Gum Cells - D-brief | DiscoverMagazine.com

[gatotom]

I am with ckelly78z, if it is a back molar get that baby out and don't worry about it again. I think it was about a 500 dollar pull for myself, ins. paid it all. Don't miss it especially the stink from the infection.

[FLYGEEZER]

One teaspoon of baking soda & one teaspoon of salt, mix well. Ues cotton pad wet with water and dip into the mix. place on tooth. This will draw the abscess (infection) from the tooth & gum. Dentist will not pull the tooth with an abscess. A couple of days the tooth will be ready for extraction. If she has good teeth on both sides of the "bad" one, then a Maryland bridge will work just fine, for a whole lot less money.

[Rikao4]

serious heart issues can develope as well....
One of my nephews checked out early due to his teeth issues

Rika

[jcommin]

I had an abcessed molar, it was beyond root canal repair and I had it extracted.


Implants aren't covered by my insurance either. It's costly $6K-$8K. I don't have the money to fix it so I have a hole where the molar was.

The money went to college expenses.