Implant or denture to replace a broken tooth?
Have you ever been in a similar situation before?Sometimes, the unexpected hits you out of nowhere and affects exactly those who are the least prepared. By now almost 15 years ago, I visited my grandmother for a few days during my summer vacation. It was mid-August, my parents were out of town traveling, and most of my friends were spending time with their families on one of Europe’s many beaches – and so, it was the perfect time to go see granny.
Teeth and almonds are a hard combination
As probably everyone knows, grandmothers are the best cooks – and as far as desserts are concerned, this statement is 200% true! In my own grandmother’s case, it was a yummy almond cake that was always on the menu. “I’m already looking forward to dessert, Grandma. How about a few almonds as an appetizer?” I asked her while she was putting the finished cake into the oven. “Sure – here you go.” she said as she snacked on a few almonds herself – and then contorted her face in pain. “Ouch – these almonds are pretty hard…” she complained shortly before she realized that her left front incisor had crumbled after biting into one of them.
Top dentist needed quickly
Oh great – so instead of eating cake, we were off on a search for a dentist with a specialization in dental prosthetics. Our family’s general dentist was the first person we reached out to and he gave us the contact details of one of his peers who focused on dental reconstruction. Unfortunately, that colleague happened to be unavailable at the time (thanks for the info, answering machine…). ”So what do we do now? Maybe take a look at the phone book?” asked my grandmother with a concerned tone of voice. “Let’s take a look online – should be faster.” I responded and whipped my laptop out of my bag. Over the next 2 long hours that I spent on online searches and phone calls, I had to make the painful realization that quickly finding a skilled dentist with a specialization on prosthetics in Vienna was exceptionally difficult. Fortunately, I finally came across the contact details of a good dentist and even managed to secure an appointment with him for my granny in the afternoon on the same day. “I’m so lucky that you thought of using the internet for this.” she said with a smile as we headed out to the dental office.
A difficult choice: dental implant or denture
After arriving to our appointment, the dentist diagnosed that my grandmother’s chipped tooth would have to be removed and discussed his available treatment options with us. Fortunately, he also provided very solid information about the cost of each option:1. Overdenture – long life span, requires 2 crowns per tooth, a single tooth can cost up to EUR 400
2. Dental Implant – life span of up to 20 years, individual implants can cost between EUR 2,000 and EUR 3,500
“Oh my, this is really quite expensive…” I heard my granny mumble in a concerned voice. “I’m sorry to tell you but high-quality tooth replacements do come at a price.” the dentist admitted and gave us a little space to talk through our options. After two lengthy conversations with my grandmother and then the dentist, we decided to go with the denture for starters, and to pay for it through a combination of insurance and an installment payment plan. Fortunately, everything turned out well and we managed to handle the financial aspect successfully too over the next few months. Still, it would have been great to have all of this treatment option and pricing information prior to the actual appointment. “Ah well – hopefully next time…”
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