Tooth implant help

[ammiga]

A few years ago I needed to have a tooth removed. It was badly infected and cracked into three pieces.

I'm supposed to get the post for my implant this evening. Of course, I just started looking into the safety of a titanium post, and now I'm thinking this is a bad idea.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with implants and what type of post to get? Having a permanent metal fixture in my mouth is not sounding like a great option.

[HappyMonkey]

I would probably go for a permanent bridge that is just a floating tooth attached to the teeth on either side. I think implants over time can degrade the bone they are inserted in.. so I have read. That way you don't have to take it out at night.. and it looks natural. I think a dentist that specializes in cosmetic stuff might be able to offer you a few different options.

[weliveintheforest]

I have two missing teeth and hope to eventually get a zirconium implant to replace the top one.  I am not even close to being able to afford it, so I'm hoping that by the time it's available in Canada I will have the money.

I am resistant to getting a bridge because I don't want to mess with the existing teeth, but I know people who have bridges and seem fine with it.

[Baby_Cakes]

Is it a molar or a front tooth?

You could do a bridge, but I'm fairly certain that the two teeth surrounding it would need crowns.  That's a lot more work than just an implant (albeit cheaper) and compromises the other teeth.  Also, a bridge won't last as long as an implant.

I unfortunately had three teeth that were in bad shape, three molars, and needed two crowns and an implant in the middle.  I chose the implant for longevity (I'm only 30).  I really appreciated that my dentist went through both options, and said I could choose the bridge since I needed the crowns anyway, but that it would not last as long as the implant.  In 15 years or so, I'd be looking at more work.

I've had the implant for over 2 years now and have had no problems or issues.  It wasn't an especially painful procedure (the extraction was far worse) and over the time time took for everything to be completed, I had a payment plan worked out.

[ammiga]

It's the second to back tooth on the bottom of my mouth.

This is so hard! I'm very leary about having metal permanently drilled into my bone. I definitely do not want to destroy the surrounding teeth. Are those my only two options?

I ended up canceling my appointment to have a new consult and research this more.

[Snapdragon]

zirconium implants is a non metal option- does the exact same thing as a metal post but isn't metal. It is available in Europe and it may have recently been approved in the USA- I am not 100% sure but look into it.