I'm going through this at the moment. One tooth on a bridge has lost it's bone (I have peridontal bone disease) so it's basically b*ggered. I can't have an implant, so my only recourse is a denture.

I'm dreading it......

Can you not have an implant with a bone graft?
I have an ordinary premolar implant because I somehow managed to crack a perfect tooth and split the two roots apart. Cost an arm and a leg but it was painless and looks great too. I didn't want a bridge as the teeth either side are still perfect and I'm always reluctant to compromise a perfect tooth. I once a temporary denture when I knocked a tooth out in a car accident and had to wait for the swelling to go down before they could make a bridge for me and I gagged and lisped for 6 months till I got my bridge.

Apparently not, and at £1500 each, I'm pretty sure the dentist is almost as miffed as me. I'm also diabetic, which makes it a little riskier......

That's a shame, my dentist doesn't do them so I had to go to a specialist which cost me £2500 but I'm chuffed to bits with it.

Can you tell me if having an implant is painfull Lissa. The thought of putting them into bone makes me shudder. I still have my own teeth, but, like me, they are getting a bit old and tatty and I have a few large old fillings, which I am sure won't last a lot longer. I know implants are expensive, but once they are done is that it - no repairs or anything.

Implants work by integrating into the bone...and unfortunately with smokers the bone doesn't always intergate properly if not at all resulting in a higher failure rate

Bone grafts before dental implants are possible, it's a big job though!

The implantologist would make sure you are either completely numb before doing anything. Some patients prefer to be given a GA. You may feel slight discomfort after the procedure but that is the same with any dental treatment. You are right by saying the implant should last forever if it is succesfull...but on top of the implant a crown is placed and that may need to be replaced over time

I'm worried now! I have to have two bAck teeth out plus impacted wisdom tooth, this will leave me nothing with regards to back teeth on the bottom right. I don't have a choice as i had abscesses under two of them few months ago so the teeth which are always breaking and just fillings, need to go. Was meant to go in August but the date coincided with my mum going into hospital so had to cancel & he can't do it now until end Sept

I've been having horrendous neuralgia which dentist says is due to these teeth, currently taking anti inflammatories and very strong painkillers

Thing is, I was going to go for two implants, my dentist never said I shouldn't have the Implant s because of abscesses. - can someone clarify this for me please - I need to know as two back teeth implants is very expensive and I really don't want to get a loan for such a large amount of money if I will end up having to get them out because of abscesses forming again in the gums?

From my own experience, my dentist told me he just couldn't recommend implants because of my previous history with abcesses, and if I took it further and went to a cosmetic dentist I know he would say the same. Same with my front crown, he said he can't promise it won't get infected again, but touch wood it hasn't and it's been about 10 years now. Why don't you Google cosmetic dentistry and see what they say about those implants, because I'm sure they give all the reasons why they won't do it in certain cases and you could be one of them.

Good luck with your teef anyway, nothing but trouble as far as I'm concerned, seem to have spent most of my life in that dentist's chair and now look at me, no back teef at all!!! Well, I got one!!!