Dental implants before & after photos
89%
28 reviews
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Dental Implants Cost $10,300 average cost

Incredible Results! - Greenville SC

1 post
Comments (6)
Updated 15 Jun 2011
Posted 6 Sep 2008
Worth It
Spent: $20,000 in Greenville, SC

I was missing 4 upper front teeth from birth. I had a partial for 10 yrs prior to implants. I had put it off for many years due to cost of procedure. The money has been well spent and it has done wonders for self-esteem.
The surgery was very painful. Many, many shots and stitches. I was very swollen up to my eyes with bruising on my face the week following. I also had a bone graft from the lower jaw which I hear is common as bone loss occurs with missing teeth. After 4 months I went back to have the healing caps put on. A month and a half later they were removed and the fitted for crowns and veneers of the 2 natural front. The result was amazing! People knew something was different but it was so natural that many times they couldn't figure it out. I got so many compliments. Most have no clue that I have implants!

Updated on 15 Jun 2011:
The four upper implants are still holding up great. The only exception is a slightly loose crown on one of them that needs to be repaired.
After the original implants I had two more placed in the lower jaw (bottom canine teeth). These were placed by my regular dentist in 2009 which was a BIG painful and costly mistake. I thought that I would save a few hundred dollars and let him do the implants. I had never felt such pain in my life after the surgery. One of the implants became infected immediately and began a 6 month process of going back and forth to him to treat it. He replaced it a few months later after the implant began showing through the gum and I showed him that it was loose (He originally thought that it was fine when it began showing through the gum). The infection again returned (like a big pimple on the outside of the gum). I couldn't understand it. He blamed it on a faulty implant but after the infection returned with the second implant, I didn't believe that. My regular dentist kept trying to reassure me that it was just a minor surface infection. I eventually sought out my original periodontist who placed the original 4 implants.
The periodontist removed the implant and grafted bone to replace what had been lost due to infection. He said that the infection was working its way over to my adjacent healthy tooth! My periodontist was able to repair the damage and successfully place a new implant a year later (2010).
Because of the financial impact of paying for the surgery twice plus the cost of bone grafting and repairs, I still do not have crowns on these two teeth.

Heed my warning: GO TO A PROVEN PROFESSSIONAL FOR DENTAL IMPLANTS!

 

This review is the subjective opinion of a RealSelf member and not of RealSelf, Inc.

My Doctor:

My rating:
Definitely recommend my periodontist!
Vote: 18 members found this review helpful

Comments (6)

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4239anon (3 posts) 28 Apr 2010
My daughter is having this done on May 6th and I am really, really nervous about it....How careful did you have to be after the grafts but before the implants? What cautions did they give you? What were you able to eat? What did they give you to treat the pain and how long before you were back to your normal routine? I would apprectiate any answers you could give. Thanks so much and your smile is absolutely beautiful!!!!
Tom at RealSelf (Community Manager - 606 posts) 13 Aug 2010

thanks so much for posting the pics.  really helpful.  Are you still very happy?

Peter Mann, DDS (80 posts) 19 May 2011
Congratulations! The results look amazing.
JoJo (139 posts) 13 Jun 2011
wish mine looked that good, I had a failed bridge and had to have 2 other teeth removed before my implant surgery, even though I had bone grafting the implants are higher up on my gum line then all my other teeth so I don't smile big anymore or you can see it :-( also my 2 front teeth must have shifted and look different now too. it is better than having NO teeth but I am only 60% happy with the end result....
JoJo (139 posts) 15 Jun 2011
BTW I HATED my Flipper too!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glad to be rid of it 4 good! Your teeth look marvolous!!
andrewcalifornia (1 post) 18 Jun 2011
thank you for posting this. I'm having grafting surgery this month by a periodontist who is way more expensive than my dentist, but I know he places several implants a week unlike my regular DDS.

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