Dental Implant Failure & Salvage Aurora
There May Be Time to Save Your Smile
Generally speaking, dental implants maintain a very high success rate when placed by a trained professional. However, there’s always going to be the inherent risk that they fail, even if it is extremely rare both in the short and long-term. If your dental implant is showing signs of failure or something doesn’t feel quite right, we may be able to save it if caught in the earliest stages. Keep in mind that the only way this is possible is if you give our office a call as soon as you notice any issues.
Why Do Dental Implants Fail?
There are two main reasons why dental implants can fail: failed osseointegration and infection (a.k.a. peri-implantitis). When an infection develops in the gum tissue surrounding the implant, it can travel to the connective tissue around the titanium post and destroy it. This leads to the supporting jawbone structure to weaken and eventually fail completely. If an infection develops, it’s usually because of poor oral hygiene.
Alternatively, there are instances where the titanium post could fail to fuse with the bone tissue. Our office does everything possible to ensure your jawbone is prepared to receive a dental implant to prevent this complication. The implant could also fail as a result of physical injury or a pre-existing medical condition negatively impacting the healing process.
Symptoms of a Failed Dental Implant
Dental implant failure does not exclusively happen in the early stages immediately after the implant is placed. If early implant failure occurs, it’s usually during the initial healing period prior to the abutment or restoration being attached. However, late-stage implant failure can occur several years after the placement and restoration phases were performed. Keep these symptoms below in mind so you know when it’s time to call:
- Severe pain or discomfort
- Gum recession, especially around the implant
- Difficulty biting down or chewing food
- Micro-movements or looseness in the implant
- Swollen or inflamed gum tissue around the implant
How Dental Implant Salvage Works
Even if you have the slightest suspicion that your dental implant is failing, don’t hesitate to give our office a call. The earlier an issue is caught and handled, the more likely we can save the implant from needing complete removal. Your care will also be more affordable compared to extracting the implant and performing treatments to make a new one viable (if this is possible).
During dental implant salvage, we’ll perform an exam to better understand what caused your tooth replacement to fail, then create a detailed treatment plan from there. In certain cases, we may suggest a deep cleaning (or scaling and root planing) as well as prescribe antibiotics to get your infection under control.
If damage to the implant and surrounding organic tissue is too severe, an extraction may be the only way to effectively treat you. Once we restore your oral health, we can then revisit your tooth replacement options.