Dental Implant Failure & Salvage – Oak Point, TX
Keep Your Dental Implant in Excellent Shape
Dental implants are designed to be a durable and lifelike solution to tooth loss, but they can fail if the tissues supporting them become infected or if the patient suffers an oral injury. Thankfully, the skilled dentists at the Elegant Dentistry can address a failing dental implant with effective restorative treatments or a gorgeous replacement device. Here’s a quick look at why dental implants fail, signs that may say your implant needs help, and how the friendly staff at the Elegant Dentistry can address the problem.
Why Do Dental Implants Fail?
When a dental implant is compromised, it usually happens for one or more of three reasons, those being:
- Failed osseointegration: This happens when the titanium post of a dental implant fails to properly fuse with the patient’s jawbone, which deprives the device of the sturdy foundation it needs to function.
- Peri-implantitis: This issue is when the gum or jawbone tissues supporting a dental implant are eroded due to oral infections, and it is typically the result of poor oral hygiene.
- Injury: Implants can be knocked loose by blows to the face or broken out of position by the chronic stress of bad oral habits like grinding or chewing on ice or non-food items.
Symptoms of Failed Dental Implants
While more than 95% of dental implants are still functional ten years after being placed, appliance failure can potentially happen at any time. A few common symptoms of dental implant trouble include:
- The restoration being loose on the implant post.
- The implant being loose in the gums or jawbone.
- Redness, puffiness, or swelling in the gum tissue supporting an implant.
- A soft, warm, fluid-filled bump called an abscess forming in the gum tissue supporting an implant.
- Pain when chewing.
- Changes in dental alignment.
- Signs of oral infection like fever, fatigue, chills, or a nasty taste in your mouth.
How Dental Implant Salvage Works
If you suspect that your dental implant is in trouble, please don’t hesitate to contact our office so we can schedule you for an appointment. It’s always preferable to address oral health problems in their early stages, and receiving necessary care sooner can help you preserve your natural oral structures and avoid the need for more costly treatments later. If the dental implant has not properly bonded with your jawbone, we may be able to encourage it to integrate with your oral tissues adequately. If the device is compromised by infection, we can usually address the problem with periodontal therapy. However, an implant that cannot be saved will have to be removed and replaced.
