Need advice on a getting a dental implant

[andycam]

I have lost a front tooth and need to get a dental implant to replace it. Can anyone recommend a tried and tested alternative to paying over ?2000 for one. Anyone used a deal from groupon / wowcher? Really would like to get this sorted ASAP as it looks horrible.

[Sue]

A bridge might be cheaper?

[Cyclemonkey]

Andy if you can find the money I'd really get an implant. The lifetime costs are actually cheaper than other solutions. I had one this year and it is impossible to tell the difference between the implant and a normal tooth.

I got mine done at the Townley Road dental practice and they were brilliant. I think some places offer payment plans if money is tight. You could also try the dental hospital at Kings but i think implants are very rarely offered on the NHS.

[BigED]

Andycam - implants in the UK are hideously expensive - ?2.5k is typical all-in - more if you need a synus-lift.

I would recommend looking at www.smilesavershungary.co.uk

They do London consultations on Saturdays and you get quotes for having the work done in Budapest or London. I've had work done there (not an implant, though that is still a possibility), though a friend has had three implants there.

Depending on how much work you are having done, it could be massively cheaper to have the work done in Budapest. And they are excellent dentists. I had a consultation and quote from an ED dentist and I wasn't impressed with either. (Actually, it was Townley Road, and I see Cyclemonkey had an implant done there and thought they were brilliant, so that probably counts for more than my experience).

The clinic in Budapest specialises in implants, has well qualified staff and excellent patient/customer care, including after-care in London. I don't have any connection with them, other than as a satisfied customer (as satisfied as you can be with dental pain, anyway).

The problems with implant dentistry in the UK is that it is very expensive comparative to a lot of other countries and, unless you go somewhere that specialises in implants, they may not be doing very many of them - always ask how many implants your would-be dentist has done. They all have to start somewhere but it I were paying top-whack I would want to know that the dentist working inside my gob is skilled, qualified and experienced.

Places like Kings and the Eastman will generally only take you on for implants if there is something congenitally wrong (and hence medically interesting) or if there is some kind of reconstruction work needed (again, medically interesting). And you'd be letting a load of dental students loose on your gnashers. My recoillection of dental students was that they were all fearsome drinkers, but I guess they must sober up sometime.

Good luck, wherever you go.

BigED