In case anyone has considered it or is curious, here's my story. Again, it's only been ten days, but here you go:


I had this done at ClearChoice Dental in Atlanta. It was about a 4 hour drive, but the place I checked locally wanted $90k, and that wasn't in the cards. Went to the original consult and they did some imaging of my jaw and teeth. Asked what I was looking to gain, and came up with a price. $48K, none of which would be covered by insurance.

I clench my teeth. Hard. Always have. Plus, I think I have some hereditary teeth issues, as my whole family suffers. Front teeth were worn to the point where they were just about useless and the molars were cracking and just failing. Had multiple root canals and crowns, and after three crowns failed in a week, I had to do something. Dentist suggested root canal and crown on every tooth. I wanted something more permanent, especially considering three teeth that had been treated this way had now failed. I couldn't deal with the thought of dentures at 40 years old, so I began looking at implants. Saw the commercials on TV and figured a consult couldn't hurt.

The day of the procedure, I walked in, met with the doctor/dentist and went over the plan. I was getting "arches", basically all upper teeth on an arch, and same for bottom. Typically this is called "all on four" because they use 4 implants to secure the arches, but because I exert such pressure on my teeth, they opted for 7 on top and 4 on bottom. They Attached the arch to 5 implants on top and left two "buried" in case we'd need them later.
I walked in to the room, got in the chair and got IV sedation. They said I would be in a twilight, but I don't remember anything, so I must have been out cold. When they woke me up, I could feel that my jaw was empty, but no pain. Went to a recovery room and went to sleep. Only woke to take meds. After about 5 hours in recovery, they fitted me with the teeth I'll wear during the healing process. Then they cut me loose and I was headed home.

When I got home I took a pain pill and slept for 22 or 23 hours, waking only for pain and nausea meds. The pain was real. I was also still sick to my stomach.

By day 4 I was only taking Motrin for pain, but I was still pretty miserable. Eating was a no go, although yogurt and apple sauce worked ok. I was able to slurp some ramen noodles but no chewing. The roof of my mouth was so sore that drinking or eating felt like gargling with acid, and not the good kind. Each day got a little better.

Today is day 10, and my mouth is still sore, mainly the roof. My gums are not as swollen and the pressure seems to be subsiding.


If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

I'm trying to figure out what to ask...this is interesting...

ETA:  Is this a normal thing?  Replacement of an entire set of teeth?

before and after pics?

I have bad teeth too I have had 11 teeth pulled and fillings on most of the others. I have said if/when I get to where I can't eat a steak I would do something about it. For that kinda $$ I will either have to win the lottery or get a blender for the steak. Did they say how long before you should feel "normal"?

I wouldn't say normal, but apparently it's happening more and more. Several people I have known for a long time had this done and I never knew until now.

This.

They said the total healing process would be 4-6 months. Somewhere in that time frame, I'll be fitted with the permanent teeth, which are made out of zirconium.

As for the money, when I first figured out it would be this much, I had serious sticker shock. The more I thought about it, the more I was able to accept it. Now, I didn't have $50k laying around, but think of it like this; a lot of people spend 30-40k on a vehicle that will last 5 years? 10? This will last your lifetime, and affect your quality of life a heck of a lot more than a car.

Not at this time. I'm actually not sure I have a pic of before. Even when I smiled big, you couldn't really see my teeth.

Good point!
Did you get to pick the look of your new teeth or do they just kinda put back what you had? Did they say if people tend to bite the inside of their mouths getting used to the new teeth?

Why was none of it covered by insurance? Considered cosmetic and/or elective?

As far as the shape, I didn't have much input, they had to approximate what my teeth looked like because mine were so far gone. They also had to open my bite up quite a bit, which made things more difficult. I did get to pick the color, and will get to pick again when it's time for the finals. My wife said "too white" wouldn't be good, but when paying $48k, is there such a thing as too white?

Considered elective, because I could have had all my teeth crowned. I am going to try to get them to cover SOMETHING, but my hopes are not high. Hell, I have two separate dental insurances, maybe I can get them to cover the extractions, at least.

A coworker recently had this done in Costa Rica.

I looked into the dental tourism thing a lot. Thing is, I have the worst luck in the world, and I'd probably die of some infection while being held hostage by the only ISIS cell in any of those places.

Genuinely interested.

Coworker needed a full mouth restoration (whatever that means) IIRC around 50k worth of work in the US was 10k there.

Did you have pockets larger than 8mm?

i must not have read for content.  who did the work?  I will one day need my front two replaced with implants, as i had them knocked out 15 years ago, but for now they are still hanging on.

I've heard of people getting this type of work done over seas.   The cost of a first class plan ticket and the procedure is still less than what it cost in the US.

I see the dental tourism was already discussed.  Can't fault you OP, not sure how I feel about dental work in costa rica.

Why don't you just stop clenching your teeth? Are you unable to control yourself? It's baffling that no one asked this before now.

a good friend of mine just went back to his former home in Bosnia to have all 32 teeth replaced, cost was about $4800, I paid $1200 to have one crown done here.

The thought of having that done makes me cringe...................I have a tooth in the rear that has been removed and the area prepped for an implant, and the one in front needs a root canal. I have bad teeth as well, and will probably opt for false teeth if it ever comes to that

I clench my teeth too.  And grind them side to side.  Not as much as when I was younger but it still occurs during times of stress or poor sleep.  Oftentimes I wake up with sore face and head muscles if not a full on headache.  I'd love to stop clenching but I cannot control it - it's involuntary, at least for me it is.

If I got to pick my teeth I'd want the Gary Busy set

I'm not really sure. Probably? Most of my teeth were just nubs from all the clenching. I'm assuming you are talking about the gums, and I honestly don't know.

What he said. Almost identical for me.