A few years ago, you got a dental implant, and you’re definitely a fan of this replacement option. It looks and feels pretty much like the rest of your teeth, so you’ve basically forgotten about it since then.
Until one day, it feels loose. Your dental implant is failing.
Will removing a failed implant be an easy process? What can you expect moving forward? Before your dentist can answer this, you need answers to these critical questions.
How Soon After Placement Did the Implant Fail?
The timing of your implant failure matters. It plays an essential role in finding the root cause of the problem. For about the first six months after placement, the jawbone should be growing and enveloping the implant, which means there are plenty of potential downfalls. On the other hand, if you’re experiencing implant failure several years after placement, then the number of possible causes is usually small.
Why Did the Implant Fail?
Diagnosing the reason behind failure can help your dentist know how to approach removing it and potentially trying again. In some cases, the patient’s jawbone wasn’t strong enough to support implants in the first place, or they had a pre-existing infection (like gum disease) that prevented the tissues from growing around the implant. While the area attempted to heal, the implant may have been moved around too much to become properly integrated with the jawbone.
In later cases, the patient may have failed to properly maintain the implants, causing an infection called peri-implantitis. Or perhaps they were putting too much stress on the tooth by chewing hard objects like ice or grinding their teeth. Once your dentist determines the cause of the problem, they can create a treatment plan to set you up for success.
What’s the Process of Removing a Failed Implant?
If failure occurs early, before osseointegration has occurred, removal is pretty simple. At this stage, the process is easy and involves relatively little discomfort because the jawbone has not accepted and grown around the implant. All your dentist would need to do is open the gum tissue and take it out with needing to damage the jawbone.
For more advanced cases of dental implant failure, the jaw bone has enveloped and bonded to the implant post, which means a small portion of the jawbone may need to be removed when taking out the failed implant. There is also a higher risk of causing damage or fracturing to jawbone in this process.
Ultimately, you may be able to get another dental implant at some point, but obviously something needs to change before you can undergo another procedure. By answering these questions, you can get a clearer idea of what went wrong and how you can enjoy success in the future.
About the Practice
At Beck Dental Care, our four dentists have unique professional backgrounds, but they all share a passion for helping patients achieve their best smiles. Not only can they provide dental implants for those who have lost natural teeth, but they can diagnose and treat failed dental implants with their years of experience and advanced training. If you think you could have a failing implant, contact Beck Dental Care through the website or by calling 931-388-8452.