If I am not mistaken, that was probably MarilynC

yes it was MarilynC.

edit to say her name here is like this
marilyn_c

I know I saved the dentist info but I have to find where I saved it to lol.

This post was edited by ravencajun on Wed, Mar 19, 14 at 13:03

Great! Thanks - I'll search.

Just in case no one else knows..... she had full mouth (I believe) Dental Implants done. It costs many $$$$$ to do. I and my DH each have one, and they were in the neighborhood of $1,000 each. For us, it took months, as you have a pin implanted into the bone, and it takes different times for different folks to heal well enough to have the replacement put in place. The extraction has to heal some as well. Very cool.... but $$$$$.

My implant cost $4000! I wish I could have found someone to do it for $1K. Even at $1K per tooth, that comes to $28,000 and I bet it cost a whole lot more than that. Still, implants are almost like natural teeth and a billion times better than dentures.

If I could find someone to do it for $1K - I'd do it in a heartbeat. DH's cost something like 8K - of course, it all depends on where you live.

PS.... I really can't remember how much mine cost.... just a lot and DH and our insurance paid for some of it, so please don't think it was cheap. I forget how well my DH treats me sometimes by not letting me worry about cost!

Well I was going to have 2 implants done..I had the extractions and have a snap in for the missing teeth. What I was not told was what my insurance would cover..they did not cover the $400 partial, they did not cover the $400 each spot for bone builder gel. Just to have the teeth pulled and space prepped plus the partial..4000k of which insurance paid half, maybe.
This was 2 years ago. I refuse to finish the process. Because I have other teeth that need a decision.
I am seriously thinking about the full implants in a few years.
I only wear the partial in public. Soon as I am home it's out!

I think it is Dr Wayne Brueggen in Houston and the All on 4 procedure. Google that. And go to you tube videos there's some videos of him. It's full replacement. I would love for my husband to have it done but it is extremely expensive much more than the prices mentioned. It is the best alternative to full dentures, you still have your upper palette open so much more like with regular teeth.

I understand that it's very expensive. But - I also can't think of anything that'd give me more value.

A co-worker of mine spent over $40,000 on her implants. And an acquaintance got an upper denture but tells everyone it was implants.

I wonder why there is such a stigma connected with dentures. Society has accepted makeup, fake hair color, fake breasts, face lifts, and on and on, but dentures seem to be different, and I don't know why.

My implant cost me $4000 but was worth it. I had three crowns put on my front teeth and had them all professionally whitened. That cost me about $5000 but it's your smile after all and I am happy I spent the money.

I am thinking the all on 4 is around $50,000.
I don't know about a stigma with dentures. The problem with them for many people is they hurt, don't fit good, get food stuck in them, and with the solid material of the upper denture you can not touch your own flesh with your tongue and you lose a lot of sensation and taste because of that. My father had dentures and both grand parents and my sister has them. Some people say food has very strange almost nasty taste which I guess is due to the material the dentures are made of.

I think I would have a hard time with dentures. My mother could not wear hers at all they made her gag terribly. Having a sensitive gag reflex makes it almost impossible to have something up top touching the roof of your mouth.

If I had the money I would absolutely do that procedure if I was in that type of teeth situation. My husband has lost several teeth and has a large bridge. He was a heavy smoker for years and the bone is just so eroded there is nothing to hold the teeth in place. Another of the wonderful things cigarettes do for you.

Yes, I had dental implants. It wasn't inexpensive, but I have no regrets on how much it cost.

I don't have a stigma about dentures, I had just heard so many horror stories on how hard they were for some people to get used to them. Very difficult to get a good fit on the lower denture.

The nice thing about the all on 4, is they do it all in one day. I went in at 8:30 in the morning and I came out at 6:30 that evening. I had about 18 teeth pulled, and four implants placed on top, and another four on bottom, and the arches of teeth were "screwed" onto the implants.

The first set of teeth you get are the temporaries and you wear them for about 6 months, until the grafts have a chance to "take". In that time, you have to be careful about what you eat....no biting food with your upper teeth....like pizza, and some restrictions like that, but I was surprised....there aren't that many restrictions and by eating food that is tender....that you can cut with a fork, you can eat anything.

Here is the part that most people have a hard time believing. Not only do you get a set of nice looking teeth in that first day, but there is little, if any pain. I didn't take as much as a tylenol for pain. I had none. I could tell I had "work done"....I had a full mouth of teeth for the first time in memory, but no pain.

There is a chain called Clear Choice that does the same procedure for about $10,000 less. I decided to go with Dr. Brueggen because I had researched him for so long, and also because he is a person that is extremely easy for me to relate to. Very down to earth....easy to talk to.

Would I do it again? Oh, yes. No regrets at all. Very pleased.

GREAT! Thanks, Marilyn. I searched for your original post and the picture but couldn't find it. I'm going to print out what you just wrote and take it to the dentist with me.

Yay!

Thanks for the input marilyn I am glad I got the doctor right!
I could not remember his name for the life of me but I finally found that you tube video you had posted about him.

I have to say Marilyn's teeth in person are fantastic and I think I have only seen the temporary ones. Have I seen the final ones Marilyn? I agree the one day and you have a full mouth of teeth is a great aspect and is worth a lot of money in itself. The no pain is definitely worth some money.
I wonder if insurance would pay for at least part of it.
Hubby would need teeth pulled which would be very easy since they are falling out so easily. Insurance might cover some of that but am curious if it would cover any of the all on 4?

Raven, I still have the temporaries. I put off getting the permanent ones, and now I can't remember why. Then I wasn't happy with the perms, and even though I had signed off on them, they are making them over. There were a few little tweaks, and my knee surgery was coming up. I told the girl in the office to make my appointment any time, but I was having surgery around Feb. 10. So she called me the weekend before to say she had an appointment for me on Feb. 10th. I told her, I couldn't do it then....going in hospital. I told her I would get back with her once I got the PT schedules worked out. I have been going to PT twice a week, plus I fractured my arm....seeing one doctor for that, going back to see the knee doctor and my regular doctor and then the last two weeks I have just been absolutely worn out. The knee surgery left me anemic, so I had two units of blood and I haven't been able to bounce back. I understand this is common. Add to that, I have been unable to sleep for the past two weeks. I might get to sleep an hour...if that. So, I have been worn out. I told her yesterday I would call the first of the week and make an appointment.

I think the all on four covers everything...including pulling teeth and I doubt if that would diminish the cost. It is pretty much a set price. Although insurance would probably cover that....I don't think it would make a difference in how much Brueggen charges. I could be wrong....but I think that is correct. I don't believe insurance covers any of it, as far as what Brueggen goes. I remember him saying on one of his videos that insurance doesn't cover it, but they have ways of financing it. I couldn't afford to finance it, and wouldn't have been able to have it done, but Jody got an insurance settlement from being hurt on the job, and that is where the money came from.

I hate having my picture taken....but here is a picture that shows my teeth a little bit. I bent down to take a pic of me and my dog. Well.....at least I got the teeth in the pic.

Gorgeous and so natural looking!

Oh, Thanks for the pic of that beautiful smile. It's wonderful! Those are temps? And I hope you're feeling your best soon, sleeping better before much longer. I'm useless without decent sleep.

Raven, I don't know about this specific procedure where everything is done at once, somehow my guess is that it wouldn't be considered 'medically necessary' when dentures could be thought of as an alternative unless you have a policy much more generous than ours.

DH has one implanted tooth, replaced one that had been crowned for many years and it seemed to be the best although most expensive option his dentist suggested. It wasn't covered, we paid.

I have a friend who needed three at her dentists advice. She has fairly liberal insurance, works for a school many years although not in a teaching position, and she's been having to do the three slowly, one at a time. One implant and 4-6 months later, the permanent tooth, maxes out her coverage for the year so then she waits for the next period of annual benefit. Two are completed now, she'll have the last tooth with old crown removed, implant done next school year.

OMG Marilyn I had no idea you had been going through all of that. I knew I had not seen or heard from you in a while. Wow so sorry to hear you have been having so many medical issues. I sure hope things are going uphill now and you are on the mend.
That is a great picture! Your teeth and that smile should be on the doctors website! I keep asking hubby to at least go see him or one of the doctors that do the all on 4 but he is trying to ignore the fact that his teeth are slowly but surely getting less and less. The front he has bridges but at some point the teeth the bridges lock to are going to be loose too.
Keep in touch Marilyn!
I think my garden club is taking another bus trip to Mas nursery and the Kemah boardwalk for lunch maybe you could meet up with us!. I think we are doing it in May.

morz8 that is probably the case with our insurance they won't pay because he could get dentures. Which are not cheap either of course. It really is a shame that dental insurance does not pay more than it does.

You are beautiful, Marilyn C!

Yes, those are the temps. I liked them so much, I am having the permanent ones made exactly like them.

Raven, I am not afraid of hardly anything, but I had such a fear of dentists. That was why it was so important that I felt comfortable with Dr. Brueggen. Plus, since it was all done in one day....even though he said it would be practically painless, I felt like no matter what happened, I could handle it for one day.

Yes, let me know when you are going to Maas, and I will try to meet up with you. By the way, Nita is coming soon, like in a week or so, I think....maybe we can all get together then.

Marilyn.....very pretty teeth....pretty lady too! They look FANTASTIC!

OK Marilyn I will email you the date we are going to Maas.
I talked to Ntt recently and she told me Nita would be coming back soon.
Definitely let us know.