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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 21, 2014 - 10:04pm PT
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Micronut, my wife has about half a Grand Cherokee SRT in implants in her mouth.
Can I use her mouth as a down payment?
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 21, 2014 - 10:07pm PT
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How many miles on it Reilly?
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Aug 21, 2014 - 10:17pm PT
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at 3-4k an implant, for those of us on a time and dollar budget who maybe had wisdom teeth come in... thoughts? I've been needing to take care of those but considering my car cost 1/8th as much I'm wondering how the heck I can come up with that?
Any Mexican doppelgangers?
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 21, 2014 - 10:35pm PT
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Greg are you missing a tooth or have a bad tooth? And where?
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Aug 21, 2014 - 10:42pm PT
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A pair in the back, my wisdom teeth. Kinda falling apart : / too much... rock climbing?
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JOEY.F
Gym climber
It's not rocket surgery
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Jan 12, 2015 - 08:15pm PT
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I'm only resurrecting this to say that the doc can't call in you pain meds to a pharmacy to be waiting for you after your procedure. In California, at least, you have to take the script in yourself to get it filled.
I was unpleasantly surprised at this after today's semi-epic day in the chair, but all is well.
Also, thanks again Micronut for all your good info.
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wayne w
Trad climber
the nw
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Jan 12, 2015 - 08:42pm PT
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G Davis,
A friend recently had a lot of dental work done in Costa Rica, at a clinic with a very high standards. The total was a mere fraction of what the cost would have been here.
PM me if you want the info.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Jan 12, 2015 - 09:08pm PT
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Okay, I'll bite, my dentil hygiene went completely off the rails after spinal surgery.
In need of periodontal deep cleaning I sat in the chair of mid evil torturous invention five out of ten planned times at a cost that sent us into debt.
I was very embarrassed to take a year to pay off the debt. I had both side top back molars yanked then.
in hind sight a mistake not to have tried to use the tooth tops to create implants ?
and now the next in line are both very loose. the upper right is fully rotted below,
at the root/gum line juncture.
I live, run-out, on the edge of a dentil emergency with no pro in. Fully committed in the splatt zone.!
Insight and fear of the costs, have me in a holding pattern, while I wait for some sort of insurance or for death and salvation .
been told that they can use the old tooth that is good ?
except for the gum receding and loose ness I have little pain, some cold sensitivety.
Getting long in the tooth sucks , truth.
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?
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Mar 13, 2015 - 12:51pm PT
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uh oh. Had crown prep a week ago and the last few days it's been hurting...not much...but more like I "feel" the tooth...slight pressure feeling. Called dentist...he thinks I may end up needing a root canal. I've never had one and almost faint at the thought of it but I also know this crown prep doesn't feel like any other crown prep I've had.
I'm scared shitless to tell you the truth. Crowns I can deal with...but root canal?????
Any words of wisdom since I don't have them either.
Scared in Santa Cruz
Susan
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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Mar 13, 2015 - 04:13pm PT
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Root Canal - two words that strike fear in the hearts of men and women.
Followed closely by two more words that strike terror in the same - "Rubber Dam".
Start practicing now by shoving a Von's plastic grocery bag into your mouth while lying upside down for 3 hours as someone in a mask trickles water down your nostrils.
I cannot decide if the Rubber Dam was invented by the S&M crowd or has Dick Cheney been hired as a consultant for the ADA.
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?
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Mar 13, 2015 - 05:17pm PT
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^^^ ha ha good one. Breath play I guess.
I did have experience with the "rubber damn" (sic)...as my dentist in the 70s used one (or I assume it was) for his general dentistry work. I recall this big rubber thingy over my face.
Susan
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Mar 13, 2015 - 05:37pm PT
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I just got a gold crown put in on a molar that was cracked. My only other crown from 25 years ago was initially porcelain and I hated it, it kept falling off, then chipped and was sharp. The gold one is nice and smooth and has never given me any trouble.
So for the new one I went gold again. My insurance covers 50% and the Dr. told me my portion would be about $500. AFTER getting it all done, they tell me they need over $750. I guess because the price of gold went up and I have to pay for 100% of the gold.
So its a total cost of $1,250 a reasonable cost for a gold crown?
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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Mar 13, 2015 - 05:59pm PT
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1250 sounds about right. Check around your house for some old gold chains from the 90's - might be able to swing a trade.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Mar 13, 2015 - 07:03pm PT
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Ballpark for sure, but my insurance (FEP BC/BS Blue Dental) picks up 50% of all crowns, including precious metals. Isn't a porcelain crown spendier than gold?
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 14, 2015 - 11:59am PT
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Susan. Calm down....breathe......unlock your white knuckles from the keyboard. A root canal done by a specialist (an endodontist) is really, truly, honestly no big deal these days. Most people go right back to work and are wide-awake while they have it done and suffer very little discomfort after work. Doing the procedure, with good local anesthesia, you will feel absolutely nothing.
But I highly recommend spending the money and seeing a specialist. A good general dentist can do a good root canal but honestly they have a higher failure rate and hire postop complication rate and studies show they take considerably longer to finish the procedure.
The hardest part is the cost. It really can get expensive but is far cheaper than eventually losing the tooth and needing a dental implant. However, with that said, if the tooth has very very deep decay, by the time you add the cost of a root canal and the cost of a crown, you are a good bit of the way toward an implant which is often a lifelong fix. I would look your dentist in the eye and say "does this tooth have at least a 10-15 year prognosis with a good root canal and a good crown." If he fidgets at all and thinks the tooth may be on a downhill trend then I would highly recommend extraction and a dental implant which is also really not that big of a deal.
Good luck, and feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
Scott
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 14, 2015 - 12:02pm PT
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Fet,
Yes, gold has gone up significantly. It is a fantastic material for the mouth but has gotten very very pricey. The newer porcelains are way stronger than even the porcelains that were around 5-10 years ago. So I would definitely go all porcelain (Emax.....Lithium disilicate) these days, but gold is still a fantastic option for the back molars.
There is also an entire catalog of imprints you can put into gold molars. My favorite is the martini glass or the Yosemite Sam that is often seen on mudflaps.
Happy chewing.
Scott
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 14, 2015 - 12:04pm PT
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BVB,
Gold has become so pricey that these days a really good porcelain crown can actually be cheaper. And many offices are milling the porcelain crowns with CAD CAM machines from a solid "nugget block" right in the office, which reduces the lab bill over time and can be even more affordable.
It has nothing to do with cosmetic or not cosmetic, just the price of materials. As the time for the dentist to prep the tooth and cement it is the same.
Scott
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John M
climber
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Mar 14, 2015 - 12:17pm PT
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Don't listen to him man.. He is just trying to get you into his chair and then he will give you drugs and then make you….
listen to climbing stories
oh the horror!!!!!
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?
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Mar 14, 2015 - 02:42pm PT
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Thank you MicroNut. An endo I would be seeing as even my general said that.
I'm not jumping right in at the moment as it's calmed down and it's beginning to feel more like the tooth in front of the prepped one is maybe the culprit. When I tap on it, it "hurts" but when I tap on the prepped one, nothing. Wondering if it got traumatized during the prep from all the work getting the existing crown off its neighbor. He really struggled getting the crown off.
I have excellent dental insurance but blew over half of it on the new crown.
I'm headed out to Moab in a few days and saw there is an endo exclusive practice in Grand Junction and thought it might be more cost effective than a Santa Cruz endo.
I still get light headed even trying to say those two words....but I've been getting lots of encouragement so I gotta stand tall!
Thanks again!
Susan
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Mar 14, 2015 - 02:52pm PT
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Do not put off a needed root canal either...doing so means you may end up with an abscess, then you may hit the dental lottery: removal of expensive dental work and tooth, bone graft, dental implant. Not fun!!! And very high dollar.
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