Failing Dental Implants

Have Failing Dental Implants?

You Need a Surgical Expert

If you’ve completed dental implant treatment and have swelling, pain, or infection around your implants, you need care from a surgical expert like our oral surgeon. While dental implants are considered the preferred option for replacing teeth today, you can still experience complications and even failing dental implants. One of the biggest contributors to implant failure is under-engineering. If too few implants were placed or inserted in the wrong location or angle to support a prosthesis, or your bite wasn’t properly adjusted, this will cause an unequal distribution of pressure.

Any excessive force on an implant can result in prosthetic fracture, bone loss, infection, and eventual failure of the implant(s). You’ll need the expertise of a trained dental implant surgeon to assess your situation and remove the implant, if necessary. An implant expert like our oral surgeon will also have the level of skill and necessary technology to replace your dental implant—and do it right. If you’re noticing signs of ailing or failing dental implants, don’t wait to get treatment from our team!

Causes of Dental Implant Complications

Excessive stress on implant(s)
Improper angle and location
Unadjusted or misaligned bite
Chronic teeth grinding
Poor oral hygiene
Dental trauma
Systemic disease

A Solution for Failing Dental Implants

The most common solution for failing dental implants is a total replacement of the implant itself. We will determine this after an evaluation and x-rays. But in most cases where the implant(s) hasn’t responded to either nonsurgical or surgical intervention (peri-implantitis treatment and bone grafts), this is the best option for your health and function. In general, there are two techniques for removing a failing dental implant from your bone. One is to cut a small portion of bone, sometimes with a piezo-electric device, around the implant edge so it can easily be removed. Another technique is to “reverse torque” the implant out of the bone. In all instances, our goal is to preserve as much of your natural bone as possible for more predictable and lasting implant success in the future.

Expert Care after Dental Implant Failure

A failed dental implant doesn’t disqualify you from being a candidate for one in the future. It simply means it’s critical that you receive treatment from a qualified clinician with the skill to do it correctly. Our oral surgeon is part of the only dental specialty to achieve the highest level of education and training in surgery, including dental implants. We also use state-of-the-art surgical technology and materials scientifically proven to withstand the forces of biting and chewing.

Our oral surgeon offers fully guided implant surgery to remove virtually all room for error, with exact and consistent results. Working closely with your restorative dentist, we can deliver a personalized treatment and a new smile that provides long-term function and aesthetics. You can have a smile that lasts—and it begins with the expertise of our surgical team!