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Today's visit was longer than I expected, but hardly unpleasant at all.
I was there for them to take impressions of my teeth, so they can make the dental implants and bridge. I expected it to be very unpleasant, because at last spring's visit to make the temporary "flapper" (which never did get comfortable), it took three tries before they got a usable impression.
I mentioned this up front, and they did the first two (out of three) impressions with a smaller tray for the modeling material. It also helped that this modeling stuff hardens faster than the one from last time, so I didn't have to carefully hold still for as long after biting into it.
It will probably take the lab six to eight weeks to make the implants and bridge, and they'll call me to make an appointment once they know.
This is going to be expensive. The paperwork they had me sign for this, after warnings about possible complications, said that I'd been given the chance to discuss what it would cost. So I asked the dental assistant, who said she'd have to go get the dentist; he in turn had the receptionist call my insurance company. The answer is that it will probably be between six and eight thousand dollars, which Vitaly said is a major discount from $12,000-$16,000. They had me pay $4,000 today, and will contact me when they hear back from the insurance company. I called Aetna a few weeks ago, on Adrian's behalf, to ask about coverage for implants, and the agent told me they're not covered at all. (She and I happen to have the same health and dental insurance, so I could call and give them my own membership number rather than saying I was calling on her behalf.)
ETA: There is of course no way to do this masked, but there were very few other people at the dentist's office, and the dentist and his assistant were both masked. I put on a fresh N95 mask, and used the Betadine iota carrageenan nasal spray, before leaving the house today, and am hoping those protect me from covid, flu, and whatever else might be going around.
I was there for them to take impressions of my teeth, so they can make the dental implants and bridge. I expected it to be very unpleasant, because at last spring's visit to make the temporary "flapper" (which never did get comfortable), it took three tries before they got a usable impression.
I mentioned this up front, and they did the first two (out of three) impressions with a smaller tray for the modeling material. It also helped that this modeling stuff hardens faster than the one from last time, so I didn't have to carefully hold still for as long after biting into it.
It will probably take the lab six to eight weeks to make the implants and bridge, and they'll call me to make an appointment once they know.
This is going to be expensive. The paperwork they had me sign for this, after warnings about possible complications, said that I'd been given the chance to discuss what it would cost. So I asked the dental assistant, who said she'd have to go get the dentist; he in turn had the receptionist call my insurance company. The answer is that it will probably be between six and eight thousand dollars, which Vitaly said is a major discount from $12,000-$16,000. They had me pay $4,000 today, and will contact me when they hear back from the insurance company. I called Aetna a few weeks ago, on Adrian's behalf, to ask about coverage for implants, and the agent told me they're not covered at all. (She and I happen to have the same health and dental insurance, so I could call and give them my own membership number rather than saying I was calling on her behalf.)
ETA: There is of course no way to do this masked, but there were very few other people at the dentist's office, and the dentist and his assistant were both masked. I put on a fresh N95 mask, and used the Betadine iota carrageenan nasal spray, before leaving the house today, and am hoping those protect me from covid, flu, and whatever else might be going around.
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I'm glad it wasn't as painful as expected (except to your wallet, ouch)
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I think those dental tourists are getting a single tooth replaced, which would be simpler and hopefully lower-risk than what I'm getting, but it still seems risky. And I would much rather be going home between dental appointments than to a hotel room in a strange city. The people my mother mentioned who are doing this are probably closer to my age than hers, but even at 50 or 60 rather than 90, healing takes longer than when I was 20.
As a side note, when the assistant was asking me to pick a color for the implant, she gave me the choice of matching my top front teeth as closely as possible, or something lighter "in case I decided I wanted to get my [natural] teeth whitened." I was startled, and told her that I'm 61 years old, hadn't ever wanted my teeth whitened, and didn't think I would in the future. The assistant expressed surprise at my age, because "you have great skin," and asked how I do it. So clearly they're getting some implant patients significant younger than me.