Thanks, Lee! I've been very happy with my almost immediate recovery, as I was expecting something much worse. Since I have no pain, I tend to forget that I just got the implant, and so I have to remind myself to be careful. I had a sandwich for lunch, and I hope bread crumbs didn't get stuck back there. I rinsed out my mouth very well. I make bean burritos frequently and always have the ingredients to make my bean dip recipe. I used up the last of the tahini making the hummus (which I expect to go fast), and so I'll have to remember to pick some up at the next Arab or Lebanese market I go to. We need more lavash, but I can get that anywhere. The tahini is much cheaper at the Lebanese market. Annie, Kevin and I both have mouth guards to wear at night, and I never ground my teeth until fairly recently. I do notice myself doing it when I'm working intensely on a furniture model. I'll make a note not to make popcorn, but that gets stuck in my teeth even when they are normal! I might make some Avgolemono soup with Greek meatballs - I have frozen ground turkey I could defrost, but I need to use up the poached chicken meat first, I think. Of course I could freeze that and defrost the other. Lars

Thanks for all the replies and glad none of them were negative and discouraging! Expensive seems to be the key word! Terllyn, your son getting his tooth knocked out reminded me of my nephew. He was about 12 I think when he and a playmate had a bb gun duel over a little girl. My nephew got one of front teeth knocked out. I don't remember how it was fixed. Doubt if they had implants back then. That would have been about 60 or so years ago. Wanda, since you live in NVA, do you know about the Affordable Dentists in Winchester? Their prices are listed as about half what my estimate here is. They have offices all over. Patti, I don't have dental insurance, but it probably wouldn't cover it anyway. Monica pa, Gold implants? You have actually "put your money where your mouth is" haven't you? That is incredible. Oj, I'm guessing you didn't take him up on his offer? Veta, your experience sounds pretty much like what I have read and heard about. BTW, welcome to the table. It is more interesting here than in Lurkdom Sue, fortunately I have good bones, according to the one Oral Surgeon I have seen so far. Yes, the implants will be for the lower plate, not individual teeth. The one OS, who was recommended by my Dentist, is a (DDS, MS) Diplomat of the Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Impressive, huh? His estimate for 4 implants is $3,312..00 plus I would go back to my dentist to have the clips put on. I have called several Dentist's and talked to someone just for information. Some don't do implants; those who do run from $2800-$4500 depending on the number needed. They all use the Mini implants. I think I'm convinced that I should do this, but it is hard to decide who to choose to do the work. I don't personally know anyone who has gotten implants. I appreciate all your comments. They have been helpful and if you have any other thoughts, advise or suggestions, I would like to hear them. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Affordable Dentures

IdaClaire, I am in the dental profession and want assure you that implants are the "standard of care" now, meaning that if a single tooth needs to be replaced it might be your best option. I work at a dental school in Boston 2 days/week, where we see patients who travel many miles for the discounted fee at a dental school. However, since you have a dentist you trust and you also trust her judgement in referring you to a good oral surgeon, you can go forward with confidence. You are correct in that implants are a good option vs. bridge when "virgin" teeth are involved. Re: Springroz's comment on the cost " What I do not understand is why insurance covered most of the endo, but almost NONE of the crown....as if you had a choice to do the crown!" Your insurance company will pay up to the maximum allowed per calendar year. That is it. So if you had endodontic treatment on a tooth or teeth you may have used all your benefits for the year. Therefore the crown would not be covered in full. Anyone with dental insurance can request that a pre-treatment estimate of all costs be sent to the insurance company before beginning treatment. The ins.co will send you a determination of benefits. This way, you know up front what the ins.co. will cover and what you will have to pay out of pocket. If you want to maximize you benefits, you may be able to have the implant done now and the crown done in January or later.

All on 4 or implants in a day is a way to place two implants on the lower, two on the upper and make dentures that anchor on to those. It's a very specific procedure and it is typically for patients who have been without teeth in the implant sites, have adequate bone in those sites, are free of infection and meet a number of criteria that make such a procedure possible. You can also have an implant restored in a day (although not with the permanent crown) either in a spot where you have been missing a tooth and there is adequate bone, or if you have a tooth that can be removed leaving enough bone to place the implant in the socket and achieve primary stability enough that it can be loaded immediately with an abutment and a single (usually temporary crown). Both of these situations are referred to as immediate loading. I will not place implants for immediate loading. I also don't do immediate placement into extraction sites, because I only do guided surgery where the placement is pre planned on a CT scan ahead of time and a guide is fabricated to place the size and position that has been planned. (It is possible to do this for immediate. but one needs their own CBCT scanner and a fabrication method for the guide onsite). I will refer people to others for extraction and immediate placement, but I never recommend immediate loading. The failure rate goes up. I have only seen a couple All-on-Four cases in person and the were both failing. I am going to say something that may seem mean, but this needs to be put into perspective. If you had 6 teeth that needed to be removed and these teeth were infected, this did not occur in a day. Teeth are not inanimate objects that happen to be in your mouth. They are living tissues. You had a chronic infection and a chronic disease, periodontitis, (whatever the origin) that took some time to develop. Why would you expect this condition to be cured in a day? Please be patient. I am not judging or assuming anything about how the condition developed. I treat some very advanced disease and I know there are many factors that may lead a patient to end up with hopeless teeth. But it really isn't realistic to expect a chronic condition to be treated overnight. You also have to be aware that once you have the implants, they are a part of your body and they need to be maintained. On one hand implants are very successful. On the other hand fully two thirds of implants have been found over time to have some sort of inflammatory process around them.