Tooth replacement -Urgent solution required

[Sumrana]

Hi,

I have just had an apesectomy above my front teeth and i need one tooth replacing.

The tooth that needs replacing is a crown that snapped, it currently has a screw in it as a temporary solution which caused my tooth to crack and cause an infection in gums leading me to have an apesectomy.

I now need to change this tooth as a sense of urgency; the ideal solution is obviously an implant... the only problem is i am going travelling in 8 weeks for 6 months and am not sure about the time scales for the implant.. also i fear the area will need healing after the screw is taken out. i wanted to find out about other solutions...whether a bridge might be the best solution...

Please could you advice on my options considering the limited time, the costs and timescales involved.

Mnay thanks,

Sumrana

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your post. When a tooth is removed, we usually wait 6-8 weeks before we place an implant. This is so that we can provide the implant with primary stability and also so that any infection in the area resolves. There are dentists out there who place in implant straight after tooth extraction but we at Pearl Dental Clinic rarely do that. The reasons being that we would be unsure of primary stability and no infection being around.

Now, if you are going to be away in 8 weeks time and not around for implant placement, then the bone in the socket region will start to resorb and shrink back. So if you have implant placement after you come back in 6 months, you will almost certainly need bone grafting/bone augmentation for implant placement. Once the implant is placed, its usually loaded with a crown around 2-4 months after implant pacement.

Alternatives to implant pacement would be a bridge, a denture, a gap (which I am sure you would not want with a front tooth). A bridge, a denture could certainly be made in the 8 weeks time that you have. One option you have is to have a temporary bridge or denture for now and then have an implant when you come back. You are likely to need bone grafting/augmentation for that implant because of the delayed placement.

A bridge costs around £350 per unit, a denture costs between £395-£595. An implant costs between £1395-£1695 plus bone graft costs should you need it.

I would recommend that you see a dentist/implantologist asap, to discus your treatment options.