1. Broken or Damaged Dental Implants
While rare, dental implant fractures and even complete breaks can occur. Typically, physical damage to implant prosthesis often happens in the same manner as would happen to natural teeth: a careless bite into an apple, a traumatic accident, or attempting to use your teeth as a tool. While these accidents and mistakes are no fault of the oral surgeon or prosthodontist who placed the implants, sometimes implants structurally fail for reasons that are not the patient’s fault. That’s why getting your implant procedure done by an experienced prosthodontist who does this type of work day in and day out is so important.
Dental implants can fail when they are poorly fabricated or incorrectly placed in a suboptimal location that does not take into account the compressive and shear forces of a patient’s bite. An implant that is, for example, placed at the wrong angle or in the wrong location can fail.
A good example is Fernando who came to ArtLab Dentistry after having a major implant failure. He was experiencing immense discomfort and pain due to loose implants. The old implants had caused so much damage over time that we had to place long implants in his cheeks to provide him relief and give him his dream smile.
Even if a dental implant is off by only a few degrees or a few millimeters, disastrous consequences can develop. Another reason for failure is a lack of jaw bone depth required to structurally retain and anchor the implants. Complete x-rays and other imaging exams of a patient’s jaws should be done to determine if they are actually a candidate for conventional implants. Typically patients will need 5 to 15 mm of jaw bone depth, depending on the sizes of the screws required. Without adequate bone depth and osseointegration, the dental implant will fail.
2. Dental Implant in the Wrong Location
Location, location, location. Properly locating and fitting a dental implant is key to a successful result. Implants embedded in a suboptimal location can negatively impact a person’s oral health, comfort, and daily life. Incorrect placement of implants can cause damage to other teeth, damage to soft tissues such as gums, jaw pain, and discomfort, problems eating, chewing, and speaking, and can greatly detract from a person’s overall appearance.
Our patient, Irene came to ArtLab Dentistry seeking my advice after a previous dentist had placed four dental implants in each jaw. Due to poor placement and improper angles of the dental implants in the upper jaw, the front teeth would repeatedly break, the first time this happened was within a month after the dentist inserted the dental implants.
We were able to help Irene by creating two frameworks to correct the angulation issues. We were aided by a sophisticated computer-aided design program to build a primary titanium bar to which the prosthetic could be attached. Today Irene’s new teeth are strong, resilient, and she has a beautiful smile.
A healthy set of natural or artificial teeth should fit together precisely. This prevents the collection of debris, allows for efficient biting and chewing, and is the basis of a beautiful, attractive smile. However, when a tooth is slightly off, even if only slightly, this oral and dental balance is lost. Misplaced dental implants can cause chronic inflammation of the surrounding tissues, fracture or break regularly as a result of natural bite forces, shift in unexpected ways, and simply not look good.
3. Infection
One major concern with improperly placed or damaged dental implants is the risk of infection. If the dentist follows standard sterilization techniques and precautions, the chance of infection is very low. However, improperly-placed implants greatly raise the risk of swelling, infection, and implant failure. In severe cases, infections can also spread from the location of a bad implant to the rest of the body. Even worse, when the area around a dental implant becomes infected, it can actually result in bone loss and recession, making restorative work that much more difficult.
As a leading prosthodontist, I have observed over the last several years a lack of price transparency when it comes to dental implant costs. Patients did not know the questions they should be asking a prosthodontist or know precisely what they needed with regards to features and quality, or what was considered a luxury.
Like many other, Marigor was referred to me by another doctor. We developed a treatment plan that addressed the infection and other concerns. Today Marigor has properly fixed dental implants. She can chew, dine out with friends, and she loves her beautiful smile.
Do You Have Problematic or Damaged Dental Implants?
Whether as a result of poor quality execution by an under-qualified dentist, negligent dental care, or a simple accident, sometimes dental implants fail.
While resilient, they aren’t indestructible. Repairing bad implants requires the steady hand and wide breadth of experience offered by a prosthodontist that specializes in repairing as well as replacing shoddy and failed dental implants.
In all my years of experience as a prosthodontist, I can say there are no two cases alike. Each of my patients requires custom solutions. If you are experiencing pain, discomfort, inability to eat in public, fear, and want to have your life back. I would love to meet you and give you hope. Contact me today and schedule a consultation and at the very minimum let’s see what the possibilities are for you.
Considering Dental Implants?
Incorrectly executed dental implant procedures are more common than you might imagine. Repairing bad dental implant work can be expensive and entail an additional recovery period. It might not even be possible to repair the structural damage to a patient’s mouth.
The best solution is to avoid the problem altogether by having your dental implant procedure done by a true implant specialist. By selecting Dr. Mamaly Reshad of ArtLab Dentistry for your dental treatment, you’ve chosen one of the most highly skilled and acclaimed prosthodontists in the world. You can feel confident that you are in good hands as you either begin your dental implant journey or course correct towards a better you.
