December 2010 - Ryan Perry, DDS

I have a tooth that has to come out. I’ve seen two different dentists (my regular dentist and a endodontist) and they both say that it can’t be saved, because there is decay below the gumline. I don’t have any kind of dental insurance, and I’d like to wait a while to save up the cost for the dental implant. Is there a limit on how long I can wait to get this procedure done?

Lily in Ann Arbor

Dear Lily,

If possible, you should not delay this any longer than is necessary for the socket to heal from the infection. The reason for this is that as soon as a tooth is removed, the teeth that surround it begin to move to close the gap, and the opposing tooth (the corresponding tooth in the opposite jaw) will begin to super-erupt to meet a tooth that is no longer there. These are all natural tooth movements that happen because our teeth shift to”touch their neighbors” when a tooth is removed.

These movements can cause changes in your bite that can result in serious problems. Headaches and TMJ disorders can result, and the longer the situation continues, the more lengthy and expensive the healing process will be.

As soon as your socket is healed, you should get the root form for the dental implant placed. This will probably take several weeks to heal, so in the meantime, you will need some kind of temporary denture appliance such as a dental flipper to keep the surrounding teeth from shifting. Think of it as a sort of dental placeholder.

Baton Rouge dentist Dr. Perry supports this blog as a source of clear, accurate dental information.

I’ve been wearing upper dentures for many years now, and they just don’t seem to fit anymore. They are really uncomfortable, and I have sores all the time. My dentist says that I need to get dental implants, but there is no way I can afford that on my own. I’m on a fixed income. I could afford monthly payments, but my dentist says I have to have the whole amount up front.

My question is what kind of dental insurance will pay for dental implants? The monthly premiums would be manageable, if I could find a kind that would cover the implants. So far, all of the companies I have talked to will not cover any portion of dental implants, or really much of anything at all.

Kevin from Columbus

Dear Kevin,

You will not find a dental insurance company that will cover dental implants. This makes sense, if you think about it from the point of view of the dental insurance company. They would not stay in business long if they routinely sold policies to people and then paid for benefits worth many times the value of the policy. The best dental insurance policies are usually available through employers, and what they are really doing is purchasing a group discount for their employees. This is paid for with pre-tax dollars, and is considered a benefit of employment. Even policies through employers will not pay for dental implants, though.

Have a candid conversation with your dentist about how you can get this done in a manner you can afford. He may be able to find a way to work with you on a payment plan, or could find a lending agency that will work with you.

You say you have been wearing dentures for many years. This may mean that you will also need a procedure called bone grafting to build up the bone of your jaw before your jaw bone itself will be strong enough to support the root forms of the implants. When all of your teeth are removed, your body will reabsorb the bone of your jaw, making it impossible to wear dentures or support a root form. This leads to a condition called facial collapse, which can be very expensive to correct when dentures are no longer a possibility.

Though it is too late for you, we’ll use this chance to urge other readers to try to save their teeth whenever possible. It may seem tempting, if you’ve suffered years of trouble with your teeth, to just get them all pulled and go to dentures, but this is never the best solution. If there is no alternative, even getting mini-implants to support a denture is a better option to help maintain the integrity of your jaw bone. Even a few small implants can slow and even stop the bone loss that can lead to facial collapse.

This informative blog is posted courtesy of Baton Rouge dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

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What kind of dental insurance should I get so they cover dental implants?

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