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Started By
Message
Dental experts-is this normal/reasonable?
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:41 am
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:41 am
I was supposed to have my top front tooth removed today and an implant put in its place. They were to insert some kind of pad that eventually a crown will be attached to. I was to wait 3 months before getting the crown put in so the wound would heal. I was under the assumption that there would be a temporary tooth put in its place so I wouldn't be toothless for 3 months. My dentist informed me today that the VA does not approve of a temporary tooth. I don't see how they expect me to go with a missing tooth for three months, but maybe that's normal?
10
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:43 am to indytiger
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:43 am to indytiger
This was done at a VA dental office?
The temp crown should not be unbundled from the placement of the implant body.
Did the dentist offer to "sell" you a temp crown?
The temp crown should not be unbundled from the placement of the implant body.
Did the dentist offer to "sell" you a temp crown?
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:44 am to roadGator
No the VA doesn't have the personnel to do it, so they contracted out to a private one.
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:52 am to indytiger
They should have given you something like this:
No, you should not be walking around toothless.
No, you should not be walking around toothless.
This post was edited on 3/23/16 at 10:54 am
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:53 am to indytiger
Do you have the fee the VA agreed to pay for the implant body placement and any procedure codes from a claim form, receipt, EOB, etc.?????
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:55 am to indytiger
An implant is different than a normal crown since there is nothing to attach a temporary to during that lengthy healing process (unless it's an immediate load implant, which I've never been a fan of). And there is a decent lab fee attached to making a "flipper" - which is a removable appliance generally considered temporary (unless you're at LA Dental Center 
) - sort of like an ortho retainer that has a false tooth attached. A flipper and an implant would be considered totally separate entities according to insurance companies, with separate fees. And insurance isn't going to pay for both a removable and a fixed replacement for the same tooth.
That being said, if I had a patient that couldn't afford to pay for a real lab-fabricated flipper for the healing process, I'd make them one with some ortho acrylic and a polycarbonate temporary crown for no charge (at most it would take my lunch hour to throw one together and cost me almost nothing). I would do this often if it's any type of emergency situation. There is a week or two for the lab to do their work so it requires planning ahead. You just don't let a patient walk around with no front tooth unless you're a dick of a dentist. And most dentists simply use common sense and build it into the cost of the implant if they know that some type of temporary isn't going to be covered.
) - sort of like an ortho retainer that has a false tooth attached. A flipper and an implant would be considered totally separate entities according to insurance companies, with separate fees. And insurance isn't going to pay for both a removable and a fixed replacement for the same tooth. That being said, if I had a patient that couldn't afford to pay for a real lab-fabricated flipper for the healing process, I'd make them one with some ortho acrylic and a polycarbonate temporary crown for no charge (at most it would take my lunch hour to throw one together and cost me almost nothing). I would do this often if it's any type of emergency situation. There is a week or two for the lab to do their work so it requires planning ahead. You just don't let a patient walk around with no front tooth unless you're a dick of a dentist. And most dentists simply use common sense and build it into the cost of the implant if they know that some type of temporary isn't going to be covered.
This post was edited on 3/23/16 at 11:04 am
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:56 am to indytiger
Got any chicklets?
Posted on 3/23/16 at 10:57 am to 911Moto
My brother's dentist (or the lab) made a temp tooth out of his actual tooth that got knocked out. Not sure of the cost but it was incredibly real looking since it was real.
Posted on 3/23/16 at 11:01 am to Kingpenm3
That is one ugly flipper.
Posted on 3/23/16 at 11:04 am to indytiger
Put another vote in the Trump column!
Posted on 3/23/16 at 11:10 am to indytiger
LA Dental Center might be one of the cheaper options to have a flipper made for those few months, but ask your dentist what he would charge you for a flipper. Because when you go back in 3 months, you're looking at several more weeks before you actually have a tooth in place.
Posted on 3/23/16 at 11:16 am to indytiger
This is normal procedure. I've actually had a "gap" where one of my molars is missing for over a year. I hit my deductible early last year, and did not want to shell out a few thousand for the new tooth, so I waited until this year.
I've just been lazy setting up an appointment this year to get it done. I checked with my brother who is a dentist, and he said its fine to live with a gap in your mouth like this. Just make sure to clean it often, especially the hole in the implant (where the threads will are located for the post)
I've just been lazy setting up an appointment this year to get it done. I checked with my brother who is a dentist, and he said its fine to live with a gap in your mouth like this. Just make sure to clean it often, especially the hole in the implant (where the threads will are located for the post)
Posted on 3/23/16 at 11:36 am to nicklsu
There is quite a bit of an esthetic difference between a "top front tooth" and a molar. If your brother routinely leaves his patients walking around without front teeth, he is a money-grubbing douche.
And if he leaves them walking around with threads exposed in an implant, he is incompetent.
And if he leaves them walking around with threads exposed in an implant, he is incompetent.
This post was edited on 3/23/16 at 11:39 am
Posted on 3/23/16 at 11:36 am to 911Moto
Green arrow.
Posted on 3/23/16 at 11:44 am to indytiger
I wouldn't trust the VA.
Posted on 3/23/16 at 11:53 am to indytiger
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