Tooth bridge vs. a dental implant - opinions?

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vailr

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,365
55
91
Dick Van *** Mystery Illness Solved? Actor Blames Dental Implants
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/dick-van-***-mystery-illness_n_3366200.html

Dick Van *** ✔ @iammrvandy It seems that my titanium dental implants are the cause of my head pounding. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for all your replies
4:33 PM - 30 May 2013
 
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tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
18,954
577
126
Yeah, do the implant first and then in 15 years when it has to come out due to bone loss and whatnot, then you can still do the bridge.
 

tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
18,954
577
126
It seems that my titanium dental implants are the cause of my head pounding. Has anyone else experienced this?
It amazes me how often dentists are unaware how much the innervation of the teeth are connected to the rest of the face and head, or evidently don't know that the upper teeth essentially make-up the floor of the maxillary sinus.

My mom had a root canal done years ago where one or two of the wires that are inserted into the nerve canal had penetrated into the maxillary sinus. She had TMJ-like symptoms and inflammation in her jaw, facial pain (e.g. like with sinus infection) for about 10 years. You could even hear the popping noise coming from her jaw when she chewed. The current dentist couldn't offer her an explanation or help.

New dentist took some X-rays on her first visit and noticed the root canal wires sticking into her maxillary sinus. That tooth was bothering her and he recommended pulling it, so they did. Inflammation went away, TMJ-symptoms went away, popping went away, facial pain and headaches went away within about one week, after some horribly foul or bitter drainage.
 

sjwaste

Diamond Member
Aug 2, 2000
8,757
12
81
It amazes me how often dentists are unaware how much the innervation of the teeth are connected to the rest of the face and head, or evidently don't know that the upper teeth essentially make-up the floor of the maxillary sinus.

I'm not sure if I've posted this here before, but back when I was 21 or so, I seriously thought I was dying. We ran to the hospital, three different times. Each time, I lost feeling on the left side of my body, starting in the face, and radiating down to my neck. Basically, I was certain I was having a stroke. Each time, the hospital checked my eyes (they can see stroke symptoms looking at blood vessels through the pupil, IIRC), ran a CT, and always sent me home with a case of nothing. I saw a neurologist who didn't like any of this and sent me in for a head and neck MRI. The MRI came back clean. Each time, this would happen for a few hours. The symptoms eventually stopped happening, or I learned to ignore them, not sure.

Anyway, about a year later I went to the dentist for a routine exam. They picked up from my rear molar xrays the slightest tip of the crown of a wisdom tooth. They were growing perpendicular to my other teeth, along my jaw line. Obviously, they needed to come out before they pushed into the roots of my molars. I went to an oral surgeon who took the 360 xray, I forget what it's called. He came back into the room with the films almost laughing. I'll never forget his first words then, "You do have wisdom teeth and they are wicked impacted. Here, look, the crown is moving along your jaw line and the roots are pushing back into this nerve canal. Are you having any issues losing feeling in your jaw or face?"

Fuck. A 3 hour surgery later (OR not office), he had them out cleanly with no nerve damage. Got my implant that day while I was under, too!
 

lykaon78

Golden Member
Sep 5, 2001
1,174
9
81
Didn't read past OP but I have an implant. Broke a tooth and had opinions from two independent dentists that said a bridge was out of the question because drilling down two healthy teeth to make a bridge was stupid (my words... not theirs).

I had to see an oral surgeon to install the post and my dentist installed the porcelain tooth. Total cost was about $2,600 8ish years ago.

Only problem I have is that my teeth have shifted ever so slightly creating a gap between the implant and my natural tooth on one side of the implant. That gap is a magnet for food, especially meat, so I have to carry floss or utilize a toothpick to clean it out. So far I've lived with that for about 2 years so its not bothersome enough to do anything. Dentist suggests that a simple filling will solve the problem (no drilling) or seeing an orthodontist to really fix the problem.
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
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Thank you for the experience. I wanted some first hand knowledge as I'll see 2-3 dentists and need some info.

Can I ask what tooth?