Implants or Partial

Oh wow, I feel for you! Implants should NOT look fake if they are done by a highly skilled prosthedontic technician. My BIL makes them in his in-house lab and has amazing results. He only has a few years of experience, but I have seen what good dental implants look like, and they REALLY look as good or better than natural teeth. Just make sure that whoever you go to do the implant uses a high quality lab. Ask for references so you can check up on patient satisfaction.

My suggestion is that you start shopping for dentists. I've seen implants and they look just like real teeth. If your implant doesn't, then you have the wrong dentist. You need a dentist that specializes in implants; not every dentist has the experience or knowledge.

I would ask your oral surgeon for some recommendations, but keep in mind that dentists, doctors, lawyers, & all professional people, often refer their clients to professionals that they do business with. It might be better to call the American Dental Association and ask for at least three referrals of dentists in your area that specialize in implant dentistry.

When you go see them, ask to see pictures of their FINISHED work, not just pictures of the procedure itself. You're interested in what your new teeth will look like and the best way to do that is to look at each dentist's work in that area. A good dentist will keep a portfolio of "before and after" pics of his/her work.

Good luck!

Implants are definitely the right way to go, but you have to have the right dentist. I worked in the "tooth" business for 13 years, and in my time, I saw plenty of wonderfully done implants. If you aren't happy with the work that was done, then try not to be worried about offending your dentist. It's your body, and you have the right to go somewhere else for your future work. Make sure you check out lots of different doctors and have them show you examples of their work. Good luck on your search!

i have caps on my entire front, i was under the impression implants are for people with no teeth to adhere bridgework to.

Keep in mind that they will not feel or look realistic to you for awhile, because they arent real, and you know what you are used to looking at.

I had a really small teeth, freakishly small, so the caps i got were actually smaller than average teeth still, but it still feels like they are too big, even though compared to everyone else i know they are smaller.

be sure to get as close as your natural bite as you can

I have two implants on my bottom front teeth with a bridge of 4 connecting them. I am VERY pleased with the effect. However, I also had work done on the tooth next to one of the implants by a different dentist at the beginning of the process. This tooth does not look as good to me as the others. That is the reason I switched dentists before the implants went in. Unfortunately, I also made a complete dentist switch. This was hard because I was otherwise happy with my dentist. But I've now been with the new dentist for 17 years! If you don't want to make a complete dentist switch, see who your implant specialist would recommend as a dentist, consult with that person, and go to them for just his procedure. If your regular dentist is concerned, just explain that you went to the new dentist because they specialize in this treatment but you love to come to him for all your other dental needs. If he's professional, he'll not push the issue.
Good luck. I'm very happy with my implants. My sister has dentures across her top teeth and they made them too small. Completely ruinded her beautiful smile because the size of the teeth don't fit her mouth. She can't afford to redo it right now.

Corina,
I can hear what you are saying! They are your teeth and you need to feel confident in your appearance and your smile. First of all, if you can avoid dentures I totally would. Once you remove your teeth you open yourself up to a whole bunch of other issues in the mouth. If implants are done properly, and you seem to have a lot of confidence in your Periodontist, than keep going forward. The problem seems to be with who you have restoring your implants. You want to see someone who specializes in Restorative Dentistry. A Prosthodontist is a dentist who continues on in their education after dental school, and specializes in dental restoration. They are the ones you want making your implant restorations especially if they are your front teeth. A typical Prosthodontist has an acute attention to detail and is very good at making "fake" teeth appear natural. Prosthodontists typically work closely with Periodontists, so your periodontist might be able to lead you in the right direction. You can also get in touch with the American Academy of Prosthodontists to find out who is in your area (or close enough) and who is board certified (not necessary, but nice to have-just proves they went the distance with their training). You should also see their portfolio of work completed and also should feel free to ask for references. No one should be offended, as they should feel confident in their skills, and they should also know that if you as a patient don't trust them, your relationship will not be comfortable for either of you. General Dentists are trained in all areas of dentistry, and some are good in the area of restorative dentistry, but you'll really have to research them to be sure. You will know that a Prosthodontist has made the choice to focus on restoration. Good luck and I hope you find someone who is a good match for you. Your smile is so important, you want to love it!

i would say you might need a different dentist. since the dentist is the one that fits you for the crown that goes on the implant, and that is the part you see, thats what you should do. don't worry about offending him. i woudl say talk to him about your concerns though. more then likely he takes pride in his work, and if your unhappy he should fix it for you at no charge. otherwise you can get referrals from your oral surgeon

A coworker had her teeth knocked out in an accident yrs ago. She had all four top teeth implanted and you would never know. As long as the doc knows what he is doing, \go for it. Also, definitely get a dentist in place. I was supposed to get an implant-got halfway there with the procedure with a specialist and my dentist I had recently switched to decided that she was not going to do just the last part which is the crown because she is supposed to do the whole thing (total ego). Then I lost my job so I never got to get it finished.