I lost a front tooth

andrew.donohoe

Hi
The other day i lost my front tooth when i was a attacked by a couple of muggers. I didn't keep the tooth and when i went to the dentist he said my only option is to get a implant which is 4,500 euros. I was just wondering if there is any other treatment that could work.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks in advance.

Big_G

There are several options for replacing lost teeth in the mouth. The cheapest and simplest is a denture. There are two types, plastic (acrylic) and metal (Cobalt Chrome). Plastic is cheaper than metal, but it may be better for just replacing one tooth.

The second option is a resin bonded bridge, made from porcelain and metal, which is more expensive than a denture, but is fixed in place to the back of one or two teeth beside the space. This is it's main advantage over a denture as (IMO) they can be equal in terms of looks (aesthetics), if the denture is well made. Resin bonded bridges can debond frequently, and may not be suitable in particular types of bite, or if the tooth/teeth that the bridge is bonded to aren't stable.

A conventional bridge involves removing a significant amount of tooth structure from the teeth either side of the space, making a set of porcelain fused to metal teeth that sit on the prepared teeth and fill in the missing tooth. This is not a preferred option because if there is a removal of sound tooth involved.

The third option is an implant. These vary in price but are generally around the €5000 mark for a single tooth. This is the gold standard for replacement of missing teeth, and will need much less replacement than a denture or a resin bonded bridge over a lifetime, and is probably well worth the initial expense. Implants have been covered several times in this forum. Try searching around in here and on the internet.

I feel your pain. I lost a central incisor several years ago. I am eventually getting an implant, but at the moment I have a resin bonded bridge.

G

andrew.donohoe

Thanks for the info Big_G thats a real help.

TerrorFirmer

Sorry to hear about the mugging. I was attacked last christmas and had part of my tooth broken, but luckily it looked worse then it was....best of luck.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

To the OP. A dental implant can be a very good option however it need bone to work and look well. After you loose a tooth to trauma you can be left with a big deficit of bone, and if not the bone that is where the tooth was will be 60% gone within 6 months. Also the teeth either side can be effected even though you dont know it yet. Get the other teeth tested for vitality and remember that there is never a better time than now to get that implant. If a lot of bone is gone you can always get some form of grafting but that will add a lot of time to the treatment.

mdebets

andrew.donohoe, sorry to hijack your thread, but I'm in a similar position I got a tooth extracted by my dentist. It's in the back, so it is not visible from the outside.
I'm just wondering what the long term effects are of just leaving the gap and not filling it at all?

lomb

sorry to the OP for what happened i think you can claim compensation from the goverment for what happened not sure on this though.
mdebets-
ideally all teeth removed except wisdom teeth should be replaced. the consequenses of not replacing back teeth is teeth movement on the same arch(tipping) causing an occlusal interference and possible bruxing, hyperactivity and the opposing arch (drifting down of the opposing tooth causing possible intereference on lateral or foward back movement of the jaw) , bone loss so that an implant may not be possible, worse gum disease from teeth that have lost ideal contacts, worse decay, food impaction, bad breath, loss of the functioning opposing tooth with the counter one removed, overloading the remaining dentition as there are fewer teeth especially in later years when clenching habits develop/get worse due to strenthing masseters meaning teeth crack up and being pulled, collapsing face and bite,massive wear of the front teeth that people see not designed to chew but only to shread, inabilty to chew foods properly resulting in various problems, loose front teeth due to gum disease and overloading of the remainign teeth that arent designed to hold up your bite.

in reality, the above happens very slowly over many years (except initial bone loss and drifting of other teeth in some cases). economical reality and peoples low expectations about what others cant see and poor advice in some cases mean that most people are 'happy' to loose back teeth. i see people every day that i see in various phases of the above. i take alot of back ones out even though i give an option to repair them when they are repairable, most opt for removal. traditiionally bridges were used on well off people who could afford them, but they eventually usually result in loss of that whole side if/when the bridge fails. people less well of were given dentures that they never wore unless it was a 'smile' tooth people see. implants are probably the only thin that predicatbly replace teeth.
something to thing about though.