Dental Implant Failure

A dental implant is a metal post attached surgically to the jaw bone to support artificial teeth. Once the implant is in place, an oral surgeon or restorative dentist will mount an artificial tooth on top of it.

Even though there is a high success rate for dental implants, there is that small percentage of people that encounter failures. Months or years later, your dental implants may fail. If you are thinking of getting implants or have them already, here is some information you should know about implant failure and potential complications.

Factors Affecting Dental Implant Success

Numerous factors determine whether or not dental implant surgery will be a success. Let us have a look at some of them:

• Gum Disease

If you have unhealthy gums, you don’t qualify as a candidate for a dental implant. Gum disease is an infection that can cause damage to your jawbone and gums. Left untreated, the infection could spread to the area of the implant and cause failure. Make sure your dentist treats your gum disease before you get an implant.

• Smoking

Because smoking restricts the flow of blood to your gums, it can cause implant failure by slowing the healing process. Studies indicate that the dental implant failure rate is higher in smokers-20%. Smokers can meet the implant eligibility criteria. However, quitting smoking a week before the procedure and maintaining that for two months after the placement may bring fourth better outcomes.

• Insufficient Jaw Bone

For a dental implant procedure to be successful, you need to have sufficient bone that acts as a support for the implant. If you do not have sufficient healthy bone, placing the implant will be impossible.

One cause of insufficient jaw bone is osteoporosis. This is a condition that develops when your bone density decreases. The fragility of the bones increases and so does the risk of fractures. An insufficient jaw bone can also result from gum disease which can cause bone deterioration in your mouth.

• Medical Conditions

If you are suffering from an autoimmune disease or live with conditions such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis that slow down the body’s healing process, dental implant failure is likely. With the slow healing, osseointegration is possible- a condition where the implant integrates with the jaw bone.

Using some medications can also cause dental implant failure. For this reason, you have to discuss any prescription or OTC medications with your dentist. Researchers have found that people on antidepressant and heartburn medication are likely to experience implant failure because the medications reduce the growth of new bone thus affecting the fusion of the implant and jaw bone.

• Poor Dental Hygiene

After undergoing dental implant surgery, your ability to practice good dental hygiene impacts on the success rate. If there are limitations affecting your range of motion or interfering with your ability to properly brush and floss your teeth, you aren’t eligible for the dental implant procedure.

• Inexperienced Professional

Different surgeons have different skill levels. If you fall for an inexperienced surgeon, there is a high chance of failure. You may be referred to an oral surgeon by your dentist but you can also choose your own.

Experienced surgeons know the exact number of implants needed to support a replacement. This is of importance because very few implants can exert excessive stress on your implant, thus failure. Also, having the procedure done by an experienced surgeon prevents iatrogenic trauma-injury to your periodontal tissue caused by your dentist’s activity.

Go for a highly experienced surgeon and discuss the process with them together with the recovery plan. Here are some questions you can ask them during your visit:

• For how long has the surgeon practiced?
• How many dental implant surgeries do they do yearly?
• What is their success rate?

Early Dental Implant Failures

These occur within the first 3-4 months after the procedure. They include:

• Pain and swelling
• Infection at the site of the implant
• Implant micro-movements
• Allergic reactions to the metal in the implants

Late Dental Implant Failures

• Tissue or nerve damage especially when the implant is placed too close to a nerve.
• Rejection of the implant by your body. Signs include fever, chills, and swelling.
• Loosening of the implant that results from injuries to the implant site.

It is important to know your odds before going through the surgery. You are not alone in this. Need to have dental implants fixes near Broadway Mall Center? Visit us at Broadway Mall Dental Center. We offer dental implant surgery near you in Hicksville, NY.