Yesterday, I went to the regular dentist's for the bite impression for the implant.  It's no fun sitting there when two people have both of their hands in your mouth, but they were having difficulty with getting the impression and the post was apparently not doing what it was supposed to do.  Well, they got it done, and will call me when the permanent crown is ready.   This is going to be a little over $650, even with insurance.
This morning, I spent 2-1/4 hours in the endodontist's chair.  The only pain was the initial stick of the needle, and that was hardly noticeable.  One other small instance where he was cleaning out one of the channels, but he gave me another shot of anesthetic and no more pain.  All-in-all, while it wasn't the most pleasant experience, it certainly was not torture.  He didn't force me to hold my mouth as wide as I could, in fact, that makes it harder for him.  He takes his time, and explained that while other endodontists in the office are quicker and see more patients, he chooses to be thorough.  Throughout the procedure, he was explaining what he was doing, sometimes he'd explain the function of the tools, and he'd diverge onto other subjects, especially while talking with the assistant. 
He had done my father's procedures, and Dad really liked him, and this was my first time with this doctor doing the procedure.  One of the other doctors did my first two root canal procedures years ago.  I'm pretty pleased with the results, and go back in early January for the follow-up. I don't know what this will cost, I know the last one I had there was $1,100, of which I believe I paid 60% of the total.
 

Last edited by joekc6nlx (11/30/2021 6:15 pm)

Had the prep and temporary crown installed yesterday.  Tedious but not painful, took a bit less than 1 1/2 hours.  I'll get the permanent crown in a couple of weeks. And I'll pay for it at that time; no dental insurance, I decided when I retired ten years ago that it probably wasn't worth it.  In fact, the crown will likely cost significantly less than the dental insurance would have; this is the only expense other than routine cleaning and checkups in that time.
This is my first experience with a woman dentist, and she was excellent, interestingly she's lefthanded so was working from my left side.  Given the location of the tooth, this actually made it easier for everyone.

Seems to be a Thing these days. Having an implant put in m'self. Also sitting here with a hole that's healing up at the minute.. I'll have to ask about a retainer. Not sure a dental school does that.

nighthawk wrote:

I'd forgotten, or perhaps repressed all memory of this thread, but I broke a molar in December, it's now been removed, the hole it left filled with bone graft material, and I get a retainer next week to keep my teeth in place till the implant goes in. Joe, if you see this, what's it like now? My dentist is quite reassuring, but that's his job.

It's been great, so far.  No pain, no shifting, and while my dentist told me before that I didn't need that tooth, I'm glad I had it done, because it does make a difference when I'm eating. 

Exactly what I had to do, Griff-ji.  They wanted a CT scan of my jaw, then she did the implant, I had to wait 3 months for the implant to heal and ensure it wasn't being rejected.  Then they did the impression of my teeth opposite, and then when the crown was finished, they put it on.