Crap, I lost a Front Tooth. I Look Like a Meth-Head Pirate!

11 years ago

P.U.S.S.Y?
WTF? You must be bored...

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Daniel Evans

11 years ago

When I lose teeth I just replace them with mint Tic Tacs.

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ace21 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Daniel Evans

When I lose teeth I just replace them with mint Tic Tacs.

That's a fantastic idea lol You must be saving a fortune on your dental bills, teeth are not cheap :p
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HeySal

11 years ago

LOL - how'd ya lose it?

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bravo75 11 years ago

Originally Posted by HeySal

LOL - how'd ya lose it?

It's been kind of loose ish for a while. I was eating an apple yesterday and out it came. It was only a matter of time.
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laurencewins

11 years ago

Be glad you only lost ONE tooth. I don't have any. Imagine how THAT would feel and you won't feel so bad with your tiny problem.

It's a bit like the saying
"I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes...until I met a man who had no feet."

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Alexa Smith Banned 11 years ago

I've only ever lost one tooth, right at the back, which came out when I was chewing a ftira, and I'd swallowed it before I realised. I hadn't felt it at all and didn't even know it was loose. Fortunately it didn't do any harm and it doesn't show, and I don't need to do anything about it: the dentist compared earlier X-rays and said it wasn't a full-sized tooth and hadn't really been doing me any good, anyway.

Good luck with yours, Bravo. (You'll need an implant, perhaps? ).
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derekwong28

11 years ago

It still takes around $2500 for a simple dental implant. It could cost up to $5000 if it involves bone grafting and/or sinus lift. So if you look at it this way, it is really ouch!

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bravo75

11 years ago

Originally Posted by derekwong28

It still takes around $2500 for a simple dental implant. It could cost up to $5000 if it involves bone grafting and/or sinus lift. So if you look at it this way, it is really ouch!

My dentist told me the best way is to use a bridge. This will put me back around 800 Euros.

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tagiscom 11 years ago

My dentist told me the best way is to use a bridge. This will put me back around 800 Euros.

I would ask around, it may take some effort, but l am sure you could find a dentist, that could do it, asap!

It may cost more, but since we are getting close to the silly season, some, should cancel their bookings?

Shane
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derekwong28 11 years ago

Originally Posted by bravo75

My dentist told me the best way is to use a bridge. This will put me back around 800 Euros.

I don't like bridges because it affects the surronding teeth. I have got a gap right now that I don't know what to do. It will cost at least $4000 to do a dental implant with bone augmentation. But the gap is not visible so I do not feel it is something that I must deal with.
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Lucian Lada

11 years ago

Originally Posted by derekwong28

It still takes around $2500 for a simple dental implant. It could cost up to $5000 if it involves bone grafting and/or sinus lift. So if you look at it this way, it is really ouch!

That's why a lot of Europeans come to Romania or other countries to fix their teeth. It's about 3-4 times less the cost, if not cheaper, and the quality is comparable.

Something similar happens in the plastic surgery field. A lot of people go to Budapest, Hungary, boob or nose jobs, for example, and I think I've seen complete packages (flight ticket + surgery + accommodation).

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Alexa Smith

Banned 11 years ago

Originally Posted by bravo75

This will put me back around 800 Euros.

That's bad enough, isn't it?

I feel a rant coming on about how much dentists charge, but will (just about) manage to repress most of it, pausing only for the observations that over here they typically earn considerably more than most MD's, which somehow "doesn't seem right" (albeit that their job's perhaps about as boring as you could find, and that collectively they have significantly high incidences of backache, drug addiction and suicide, not that I instinctively look at these things as a medical sociologist, you understand

).

Originally Posted by Lucian Lada

That's why a lot of Europeans come to Romania or other countries to fix their teeth. It's about 3-4 times less the cost, if not cheaper, and the quality is comparable.

Yes, indeed: dental tourism - especially for multiple implant surgery - is a rapidly growing sub-niche of surgical tourism (not that I instinctively look at these things as a marketer, you understand

).

Originally Posted by Lucian Lada

I think I've seen complete packages (flight ticket + surgery + accommodation).

Definitely. Widely available in that form. British tourist-patients go to Hungary, Romania and other countries, and can save quite a few thousand on the deal, using the services of dentists often trained/experienced in exactly the same places as their colleagues here. It's not quite a "global market" but it's gradually moving in that direction.

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LarryC

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Lucian Lada

That's why a lot of Europeans come to Romania or other countries to fix their teeth. It's about 3-4 times less the cost, if not cheaper, and the quality is comparable.

Something similar happens in the plastic surgery field. A lot of people go to Budapest, Hungary, boob or nose jobs, for example, and I think I've seen complete packages (flight ticket + surgery + accommodation).

In the U.S. many go to Mexico for cheap dental work.

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Lucian Lada

11 years ago

Originally Posted by bravo75

My dentist told me the best way is to use a bridge. This will put me back around 800 Euros.

That's a lot of money. I had a bridge "job" done for me, admittedly it was for a grinder, and it cost me around 150 euros, in Romania. Of course, there are places where it would have costed 250-300, but still.

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

I feel a rant coming on about how much dentists charge, but will (just about) manage to repress most of it, pausing only for the observations that over here they typically earn considerably more than most MD's, which somehow "doesn't seem right" (albeit that their job's perhaps about as boring as you could find, and that collectively they have significantly high incidences of backache, drug addiction and suicide, not that I instinctively look at these things as a medical sociologist, you understand

).

Yes, they earn a lot more than MD's, and I don't really know why this happens, since it's not that a big of a problem to loose your teeth than, say, a liver affection.
You lose your liver, you die. You lose all of your teeth, and you can still survive - and to lose all of your teeth you need some serious damage.

Probably that's why so many people are fed up with the prices dentists charge, and I think they slowly transform themselves into a luxury than a necessity.

And I also think it's in trend to discharge dentists as real doctors, and you can see a reflection of this in the pop culture, especially in some sitcoms where dentists present themselves as doctors, and MD's poke fun at them, implying they aren't real doctors, if I recall correctly.

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

(not that I instinctively look at these things as a marketer, you understand

).

Well, what were you looking for, then? Feet implants, so you can wear more shoes at once?

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Definitely. Widely available in that form. British tourist-patients go to Hungary, Romania and other countries, and can save quite a few thousand on the deal, using the services of dentists often trained/experienced in exactly the same places as their colleagues here. It's not quite a "global market" but it's gradually moving in that direction.

I don't blame them. When I travel I always get my travel insurance to cover dental emergencies, because I don't want to spend all of my travel money if I ever get in this kind of trouble.

I have a friend who actually is in dental school, and he sometimes tells me how much a dentist charges abroad for simple operations, not to mention more complex ones - I'm always appalled.

Originally Posted by LarryC

In the U.S. many go to Mexico for cheap dental work.

Well, Romania, Hungary, and probably Bulgaria, are to Europe what Mexico is to the U.S., so that makes sense.

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derekwong28

11 years ago

The problem with dental implants is that the prices of the implants are tightly controlled by the companies. That means that any reduction in prices are due to dental fees. Whereas you can expect a much larger reduction if your dentures, crowns and bridges are manufactured in a low cost country.

What really gets me is that a life changing and potentially dangerous operation like LASIK generally costs less than $2500 for both eyes. Just how can you compare and eye to a tooth?

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seasoned

11 years ago

Originally Posted by derekwong28

The problem with dental implants is that the prices of the implants are tightly controlled by the companies. That means that any reduction in prices are due to dental fees. Whereas you can expect a much larger reduction if your dentures, crowns and bridges are manufactured in a low cost country.

What really gets me is that a life changing and potentially dangerous operation like LASIK generally costs less than $2500 for both eyes. Just how can you compare and eye to a tooth?

With the implants, a lot of labor is involved. The REALLY expensive part about implants is the anchors though. So with a large number of teeth missing, they can have an almost semipermanent denture. Maybe not the greatest but probably a decent tradeoff.

And thanks for mentioning how Lasik is dangerous. HERE, they try to make it sound great and safe. I am a member of the maybe 5% that absolutely should NOT have it. I spoke with some honest surgeons, and they made it sound SCARY for me. I have known over a half dozen that have had it done and only ONE, that actually had RK, had problems. Still, a recruiter got 20/25 vision with lasik. Since his twin brother had PERFECT vision, HE wanted to be as good. He asked the doctor to bring him to 20/20, and the doctor saidhe was nuts and talked him out of it. The chance of 20/20 was too low, and the chance of complications was too high.

Steve

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derekwong28

11 years ago

Originally Posted by seasoned

With the implants, a lot of labor is involved. The REALLY expensive part about implants is the anchors though. So with a large number of teeth missing, they can have an almost semipermanent denture. Maybe not the greatest but probably a decent tradeoff.

And thanks for mentioning how Lasik is dangerous. HERE, they try to make it sound great and safe. I am a member of the maybe 5% that absolutely should NOT have it. I spoke with some honest surgeons, and they made it sound SCARY for me. I have known over a half dozen that have had it done and only ONE, that actually had RK, had problems. Still, a recruiter got 20/25 vision with lasik. Since his twin brother had PERFECT vision, HE wanted to be as good. He asked the doctor to bring him to 20/20, and the doctor saidhe was nuts and talked him out of it. The chance of 20/20 was too low, and the chance of complications was too high.

Steve

Steve, I actually had a pretty nasty complication with LASIK.

I had the first operation in 2002 when both eyes were operated on. I had a horrible time recovering from it with dry eyes being the main problems. Both were left with a bit of myopia and astigmatism. My surgeon recommend that both eyes be operated on again and that was when the trouble started.

The R eye was alright but I was left seeing double images in my L eye, especially with traffic lights. It was a really nasty experience although I was luck it wasn't my dominant eye. To make things worse, they were only just beginning to understand what it was and be able to measure at that time. What I had was high order aberrations or irregular astigmatism. This was not nothing that could be measured at a optician's shop. Not only that, there was no approved treatment at that time. To try doing so could have left me with up to 2 Dof far farsightedness.

It took another 4 years before a treatment was approved. The surgery was one of the most scary experiences I had. My eye was continuously lased for more than one and half minutes. When I work up the next morning, the vision on that eye was completely blurred. It appeared 1.5 D of myopia had been introduced. However, the double images have gone and my vision recovered within a month. Suddenly I woke up one morning and the vision in that eye was clear. It was as if a miracle had happened.

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Alexa Smith

Banned 11 years ago

Originally Posted by seasoned

And thanks for mentioning how Lasik is dangerous. HERE, they try to make it sound great and safe.

Here, also. Provision of surgical treatments very gradually continues to relate a little less to clinical judgment and a little more to marketing. I don't suggest that's necessarily intrinsically appalling, but undoubtedly "that's the way it is".

Originally Posted by derekwong28

I actually had a pretty nasty complication with LASIK.

My mother is an eye surgeon. It's highly selective and not-statistically-significant information, admittedly, but I happen to know that neither she nor any of her immediate colleagues would themselves be willing to undergo this procedure (and I wouldn't).

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derekwong28

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Here, also. Provision of surgical treatments very gradually continues to relate a little less to clinical judgment and a little more to marketing. I don't suggest that's necessarily intrinsically appalling, but undoubtedly "that's the way it is".

My mother is an eye surgeon. It's highly selective and not-statistically-significant information, admittedly, but I happen to know that neither she nor any of her immediate colleagues would themselves be willing to undergo this procedure.

I believe the take-up rate for eye surgeons is actually higher than the general population, although they were reluctant to undergo it at first. The first ophthalmologist to undergo LASIK in Hong Kong got my cousin who was an ophthalmologist in the UK to do it for him. He then LASIKed my cousin in return and they then advertised this in the local press.

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Alexa Smith Banned 11 years ago

Originally Posted by derekwong28

I believe the take-up rate for eye surgeons is actually higher than the general population

Yes, this wouldn't altogether surprise me, when you look at the numbers of ophthalmologists who are effectively incentivized in favor of it, though? I'm a notorious skepchick but I'd like to see the figures just among ophthalmologists not themselves financially associated with LASIK clinics.
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seasoned

11 years ago

Originally Posted by derekwong28

Steve, I actually had a pretty nasty complication with LASIK.

I had the first operation in 2002 when both eyes were operated on. I had a horrible time recovering from it with dry eyes being the main problems. Both were left with a bit of myopia and astigmatism. My surgeon recommend that both eyes be operated on again and that was when the trouble started.

The R eye was alright but I was left seeing double images in my L eye, especially with traffic lights. It was a really nasty experience although I was luck it wasn't my dominant eye. To make things worse, they were only just beginning to understand what it was and be able to measure at that time. What I had was high order aberrations or irregular astigmatism. This was not nothing that could be measured at a optician's shop. Not only that, there was no approved treatment at that time. To try doing so could have left me with up to 2 Dof far farsightedness.

It took another 4 years before a treatment was approved. The surgery was one of the most scary experiences I had. My eye was continuously lased for more than one and half minutes. When I work up the next morning, the vision on that eye was completely blurred. It appeared 1.5 D of myopia had been introduced. However, the double images have gone and my vision recovered within a month. Suddenly I woke up one morning and the vision in that eye was clear. It was as if a miracle had happened.

Before eyedoctors touched my eyes, I had 20/25 vision, and was told that my vision was THAT poor because of mild astigmatism. NOW, I don't know WHAT the 20/20 would be, but have MORE astigmatism, and am a +4. That is WITHOUT surgery of any sort. BOTH are contraindications of lasik. GRANTED they can now supposedly work with astigmatism, but there is a limit and it still isn't great. and they can supposedly work with far sightedness but, IIRC, even a +2 is iffy.

Glad to hear they corrected your problem though, even if they DID originally exacerbate it.

Steve

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hardraysnight

11 years ago

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derekwong28

11 years ago

Another thing is that UK ophthalmologists seem to be more hostile to LASIK than ophthalmologists than other countries. This is particularly so because many were taught that you should not carry out an operation unless it is necessary.

There are also a few side effects which affects all those who have had LASIK. After LASKI, presbyopia is much much prominent. LASIK doesn't cause it but make the problem much worse. Another is a reduction in contrast sensitivity. That means that even if you have 20/20 vision, the sharpness and colors are duller than before.