Dental Impants

[Adalaide]

I have been working with my dentist for a few months now and am at the point where I have to make some choices. I have two missing teeth. One is next to a tooth that needed a root canal so it was pretty idiot proof to decide on a bridge there. On the other hand, the other missing tooth is next to two perfectly healthy teeth. I hate the idea of grinding the crap out of two perfectly good teeth and always planned on getting an implant. I did have a long conversation today with my dentist about it and at least he was upfront with me being his first celiac patient. (Or at least the first he knows of, but who wouldn't show up and question the stuff being put in their mouth before making a first appointment?)

Anyway, he says he is going to do more research and went over everything with me. He says that it's pretty rare for a healthy person to reject an implant but I'm far from a health person and now I'm paranoid about it. I also worry about my bones. Since I was a very young girl I drank milk like crazy to prevent osteoporosis, but all that may have been in vain. I have no reason to suspect loss of bone density but is this something I should make an appointment with my regular doctor to discuss before considering an implant? Is there any reason that because celiac is an auto-immune disease and I'm still all sorts of messed up that implants would be contraindicated? I really don't think I can bring myself to bridge that gap, if I don't get an implant I'll probably just leave it alone since it's in the back where no one will ever see. It just annoys the crap outta me.

[psawyer]

I'm not sure just what type of implant you are considering, but I have more that one crown and there were no issues. The actual implant is made of machine-ground porcelain and is secured to the base of the tooth with a gluten-free adhesive compound.

The concern is a valid one, but in 12 years I have never found a dental compound that did, in fact, contain gluten.

[Adalaide]

Sorry, I guess I should have been specific. I covered the whole gluten thing with my dentist in great detail before I ever made an appointment and am quite comfortable at his office so no worries there. My concern is actually about having an implant to replace a missing tooth, the type where the drill a hole into your bone and insert a metal rod. I'm not concerned about gluten or anything like that, my concern is that as I spoke with the dentist he says that 3-7% of people can reject the implants. (In the same way that someone's body will reject an implanted organ.) It seems to be an auto-immune response which is why I am concerned, having an auto-immune disease. Or that it's possible that I have bone density problems I am unaware of, which would also cause problems. Open Original Shared Link is a link that shows sort of what it's like, just a metal rod inserted to anchor a crown.

[ravenwoodglass]

I think the dentist can tell from the X-rays he takes if you have bone loss in your jaw.

If you are concerned about the procedure then if this area is the one where you have 2 healthy teeth next to it and the area is not visible I personally would just leave it as is and concentrate your money on areas that are causing problems.

[ENF]

I'm in the initial stages of getting two dental implants. I had bone grafts, in preparation, last week. The procedure went well, this was probably the most difficult part of the process, and it wasn't bad. The periodontist used mostly artificial materials for the graft, plus some of my own bone.

I started a thread about implants some time ago, and Gemini reports having very successful results with them.

Good luck.

Here is the other thread:

[Adalaide]

Thanks guys. I guess as long as the x-rays don't indicate any bone problems there isn't any reason not to go ahead with the implants then. Fortunately in this case money is not a concern. While money is tight and my health insurance sucks beyond all possible reason I do have superb dental insurance. The annual limit isn't high, but I'm not worried. Although I've reached it for this year, I'm all set to get my bridge in January or February. After that I'll wait and get my implant at the same time the following year. As long as there are no complications I shouldn't have any out of pocket expenses. By the time I'm done with my dental work I'll have paid in about 2.5k for my insurance but they'll have paid out about 10k and I'll happily cancel my policy and move on. Now that my celiac is diagnosed I don't expect ongoing dental problems. (Although I have 2 more years to determine that that is the case.)