Implant - Too late to get one?

[scot82]

I unfortunately had to lose one of my front teeth due to trauma to my mouth in June 2007.(my other front tooth was saved and crowned)

I have since had a dental bridge fitted using my 2 surrounding teeth in Jan 08 (I had a partial denture inbetween whilst my gums were healing). I've had my bridge now for a few months and am slightly disapointed with the results aesthetically especially as the gum where the missing tooth was has noticeably receeded.

I'm wondering if it is too late for me to consider having the bridge removed and replaced with an implant? I'm guessing that the surrounding teeth prepared for the bridge will have to be crowned also? I'm wanting to achieve the most natural looking smile I can. Can anyone suggest a good cosmetic dentist in the Glasgow area and also a ballpark figure on cost?

I'm a 26 year old male and my teeth are in otherwise healthy condition.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Dr Pav Khaira]

Its not too late to place an implant. It does sound like you will need a grafting procedure to correct the bone loss and gum recession you have had.

Now that the teeth have been crowned they will always need crowns. It is not possible to give a guide to cost as this very much depends on the complexity of what needs to be done. A single tooth implant without grafting is normally in the range of £2200-£3000. Do bear in mind the crowns you will also need.

I am unable to give you advice as to who can help you in the Glasgow area. If you go back to the main site there is a denist search facility there which may help

I hope this answers your questions

Kindest regards

[scot82]

Since my last post I had my implant fitted in August of last year. I also had my natural teeth whitened. Last week I had my temporary crowns removed and replaced with my permanent crowns. I am due to go back for a check up on them next week.

Whilst the final results are better looking aesthetically than my previous bridge on the NHS, I have since noticed that my permanent front crowns appear to protrude more than the natural surrounding teeth. They also appear slightly bigger. I suspect that this was a necessary evil in order to compensate for the gum recession I've experienced and an attempt to give the illusion of symmetry all round.

Before I had the implant fitted, I enquired as to whether I would require any kind of gum/bone grafting as I could not understand how it would ever look the same again without this. I was advised that this would not be necessary and that he could achieve a good result without this so I went along with his recommendation.

Now that I see the final result, I feel a little disapointed. Is it worth bringing this up when I go back next week for my check up? Would there be a reason why they would have not wanted to opt for a graft from the onset? Does this mean I can't get one now in the future?

I look forward to any advice you have.