Dental Implant done while out of country - implant no longer there?

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NO way Jose!

Whenever I have had implants the dentist waits about 60 days for the post to set in the bone before affixing the crown. IMO one of 2 things happened. One, no post was ever screwed into the bone; or two, the post was not allowed to set properly and came out with the tooth. Either way it sounds like a botched job.

George

Most probably he did not have an implant done. If he did, it would be visible in an Xray. Once an implant is placed in the bone, after healing, a "screw" post is placed above the gum to which the crown would be made on top of.

There are some cases, where you can place an implant and a tooth immediately, but those cases are very infrequent as you do need time for the implant to bond to the bone. Putting something on top of the implant allowing pressure to be put on it before it has bonded will cause the implant to fail.

You and your husband need to go to a US dentist to get a full set of Xrays and exam as crowns don't normally fall off unless there is a problem underneath. It is not normal to have 3 crowns fall off, but I can probably bet my bottom dollar why :

1) They shaved the tooth to a tiny tapered stub which gives the crown nothing to hold onto
2) As there is nothing to hold onto, it is easy for taffy to pull it off as the crown does not have enough surface area underneath to grip onto in addition to the severe taper - it makes it impossible to retain
3) The crowns are grossly overbuilt where it joins the tooth so when you floss there is a ledge that you can catch on and floss it off

The standards in Mexico is way lower and the old proverb remains true - you get what you pay for. You paid 20% of what it is normally but will cost you 250% to repair the damage properly as it is now much more work to get that "work off" and try to repair how much has been butchered off. Sorry to say but I've seen many of these people who went to these "fabulous dentists in Mexico for 20% of the cost" to get work done and less than a 6 -12 months things start falling off. It happens consistently and it will continue to happen. Unfortunately the only people who can tell if you had good work done is another dentist who looks in your mouth, uses instruments to feel around and xrays. It may look good but if it isn't done properly it will be a problem. All patients really know is if the dentist had good chair side manner and was gentle in the mouth. They don't know whether they had good work.

Don't wait, go get an opinion in the US immediately. Stay away from most foreign dentists in Asia, Europe and Mexican/South American countries. Canada and the US has the highest standards for dentistry. When you have a problem in these foreign countries, there is no recourse - there are no dental licensing boards that will be able to assist you. It would be hard even if there was as you are so far away. You are on your own. In Canada and the US, if you have a problem that can't be resolved you can approach the dental association if a poor job has been done.

I really shake my head when I see these cases as I am always shocked by the damage and how extensive it is to fix what we can. Some are way too butchered to be able to redo with the proper height and contours underneath to retain proper crowns.

flexible said:

One of the timeshare respresentatives at the resort we were at for a few months mentioned one of the "liners" in the sales office (liners have breakfast with prospects) was a dentist.

Our understanding is the dentist only worked about 8 am to about 12 noon for the timeshare then went to his dental office in downtown Cancun from about 1-8pm or so. Our understanding is that most of his patients came either in the afternoon or evening after work.

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This part gave me a chuckle. So, is he a dentist because he's a lousy timeshare salesman, or a timeshare salesman because he's a lousy dentist?

Sorry, I know your situation is unfortunate. Good luck, I wish you the best in this situation.

Do you check credentials ? Ever worry about sterilization procedures in the office ? Research the procedure aforehand ?

Agree wholeheartedly with the posts above and without meaning to sound harsh here, doing due diligence with regard to your health
problems can go a long way.

I've never had an implant but my dh has. If I recall the whole procedure took about 8 months. It wasn't something that was done in one visit. Did the implant only take one visit? Your story does not make sense to me.

I am in the process of getting implants, I asked my dentist about these same day implant ads everywhere. He said they are not true implants, the socket is not implanted and allowed to fuse into the jaw bone. He said they are just glued in.

I had my first implant last December. There are new procedures that allow it to be done more quickly. The specialist I was sent to was wonderful (I think he travels teaching at conferences, etc) and was able to do the implant in about an hour, which included removing the root and grafting the implant to the bone. I asked him why others require multiple visits and he explained to me how he uses a newer more advanced technique to graft it to the bone (don't remember any of the details...maybe something about etching the titanium implant??). I then had to wait about 4 - 6 weeks to check that it was successful, then went back to my regular dentist for the crown to be put on. I would never trust any implant that was done and crowned the same day. But sometimes it really depends on the health of the bone and how much it needs to grow back to secure the implant.

So if the dentist who did the implant actually didn't prepare the area properly or didn't graft it correctly it may be possible that the implant just fell out. Then if the bone grew back over the hole there may be no evidence an implant was ever there. I am just guessing at a possibility to say maybe the denitst did do an implant but his 'procedure he developed' failed.

I think the missing information is what was in place when the implant was done? was there a crown placed at the same time? If so there had to be something there to attach it to. If no crown was put on then he should have been able to feel the nub of the implant (they screw a little cap over it that is removed to screw on the final crown). If all he felt was gum then definitely no implant was ever done. If there was a crown then when it fell out the implant should still have been attached (assuming it never fused to the bone)

I've heard there is excellent medical and dental care in Mexico, but I'm not sure I would trust a dentist who was also a part time TS salesman to be totally honest.

I agree with Ace2000 OP, didn't getting implants from a TS salesman raise questions, if not red flags? I have no idea where the 'implants' went, but strongly suspect they weren't properly screwed into the jaw, allowed to heal in there, then a crown solidly attached.

In short, OP, you were 'took'. I hope it doesn't take 10's of thousands to fix the mistake. I wish Ken well. Having been on the downstream end of orthodontics, gingivitis, multiple root scrapings, extractions and finally full dentures, I can sympathize with those looking for a 'better way.' So far no shortcuts are evident to me.

Jim

SmithOp said:

I am in the process of getting implants, I asked my dentist about these same day implant ads everywhere. He said they are not true implants, the socket is not implanted and allowed to fuse into the jaw bone. He said they are just glued in.

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Lol, with implants, they don't use "glue" except for the cement they use to cement a crown to an implant. Same day implants most frequently refer to implant systems which are used under dentures where the implant can be immediately loaded with a denture - as the load is much less with a denture taking the brunt of the forces, it is usually possible. Most conventional implants for single or multiple tooth replacement do require minimum of 6-8 weeks healing before placing the top portion on. If bone grafting is involved, the healing time will be even longer.

I remember a cute sign one time about making choices, you can take 2 out of 3 :
Cheap
Fast
Good

Cheap and fast job will not be good
Good and fast job will not be cheap
Good and cheap job will not be fast

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flexible said:

I sincerely appreciate your insights on the mechanics of what might have happened.

Our next visit to the USA could be April 2013 at the earliest but we are seriously considering extending our summer Europe 2013 plans followed by another Mexican winter so we might not return until late Spring 2014.

We understand and believe that "If you don't have your health, you don't have anything." But jumping on a plane to go to the USA where we do NOT know any dentists where near or home, is not as simple as it sounds. My husband began building the house we now live in over a lake in 1962. When his late wife got non-hodgkins lymphona in the early 1990s, he had got a 5th wheel to park near Stanford University for many months during so he could be with her and during her lenghthy treatments.

Rural areas in the USA do NOT have access to medical care that some other Americans think we have. My husband complained about numbness in his feet. I had to beg our local small hospital staff to answer "Where would you take a relative in their 80s to see a neurologist?" Eventually they asked a doctor who mentioned a great neurologist in Napa County - that is 2 counties South of us. Ken's retina specialist is one county South of us.

He has DD214 papers as a WWII veteran but was unaware that he needed to apply for the right to medical services before an Presidential Executive Order restricted those medical benefits to "income eligible veterans." Meaning unless the restriction to personal income is not lifted, he will never qualify even though the Veteran's administration brings specialists to our rural area to provide services to veterans with incomes below the threshold.

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It's funny that you say you don't know any dentists in the US but would trust a timeshare salesman/dentist ??? There are many great dentists in California and in fact a way higher portion of dentists there per capita than most of the the other states.

If you are in a rural area that does not have access then you may have to go to a major centre to get the proper care. As you seem to be traveling quite extensively it seems like the both of you are mobile enough and have sufficient income to be pay for these services.

I do question why/how they are placing implants on a patient in their 80's with multiple health problems - this is a recipe for disaster. As some people had picked out, the healing is dependant upon the quality and health of the bone. The quality and health of bone in a medically compromised patient in his 80's is not the ideal candidate for an implant as healing may be a bit of an issue, predisposing you to a compromised outcome.

If you fly to any major centre in California, I can get you names of some highly trained dentists who will take excellent care of you within your state. Or if you go to Vegas or Scottsdale there are a few there that I can send you to. Seattle is another option for you. I do appreciate you have extensive travel plans but you might want to consider taking a bit of a break to address the dental issues as they will only get worse and the more damage that occurs, the less they have to work with to save the tooth/teeth. What's more important - traveling/business or your health ?

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Request for Brian or a TUG admin

Would it be possible to COMPLETELY remove a thread I made the mistake of posting last night:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1380575&posted=1#post1380575

I should have known better.

I have often gone for long period of times without replying to other people's requests for information or asking a question because of how quickly it can become ugly. I feel the comments are "personal attacks" including "how funny" the problems of old people who choose to travel while they have enough health are very disturbing.

I deleted my original posts, all my replies to others clarifying questions they raised. I can send a copy of the thread when it reached the point that I realized personal attacks against us had gotten out of control.

While I appreciate your policy about not removing posts in general since many have valid information about timeshares and some resort/timeshare programs tell people they will refund money IF the TUG post is removed.

flexible said:

Would it be possible to COMPLETELY remove a thread I made the mistake of posting last night:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1380575&posted=1#post1380575

I should have known better.
I have often gone for long period of times without replying to other people's requests for information or asking a question because of how quickly it can become ugly and I feel the comments are "personal attacks" including "how funny" the problems of old people who choose to travel while they have enough health are.

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Flexible

No one is making a personal attack on "how funny" the problems are. We are pointing out some of the reasoning on why you have work done in a foreign country or why you don't seek work in the US does not make sense.

You and your husband are obviously fairly well off from some of your posts and ability to travel, so money should not be an issue. You do not have access in rural areas, but you are able to travel to around the world and to major centres to get on a plane, so you are able to get around.

You do not know any dentists in your state, but you trust a dentist/timeshare saleman in a foreign country work on you. So that tells me you are very trusting as such I would think you would readily go to a dentist in your area.

I apologize if it seems like people are picking on you as I know I am not. I am trying to point out that you can get the help you need if you want it, but it does not seem like you really do as none of the reasons you give for making your choices make sense to me at least. I was hoping that I could help you resolve your issue and help you make some better choices. We all have errors in judgement, myself included, but I am always willing to see where I can learn from it to do better.

If you feel this way that people are attacking you then I will refrain from commenting on your posts. I am sorry if I have offended you. No one is begrudging "old people" traveling, I think it is great you are able to travel around the world. Without health, all the money, possessions or luxuries in the world does not mean much when you can not enjoy them.

[Duplicate]

I thought the replies were informational and helpful. Perhaps flex is a bit embarrassed, but there's no need to to suggest the people that took the time to reply were out of line. Sheesh, we live in a world where peoples epidermis is no longer thin, but some appear not to have any. If you don't like the answers, don't ask the question.

I'm in favor of at least locking the thread and want to apologize if flex took my post in a negative way.

The OP has received informative answers and the thread is now closed.

Flexible, your second thread has been merged into this one, and I'll ask TUGBrian to make a determination of whether to delete the entire thread. FYI, the best way to get admin eyes on a post/thread is to report it by using the little triangle icon under a User's name.