Saving Your Dental Implants from Failure
When Dr. Russo performs a dental procedure, including a dental implant, his goal is to give you a healthy smile that lasts. And with advanced training, experience, and technology like guided implant placement, you get the best in dental implant care from the very start. Our team is also there for the long term to make sure your implants look and feel great for 30 years or more. And with a success rate of over 95%, they usually do! But if your implant should encounter any problems, either early on or down the road, we’re here for you. Learn more below about dental implant salvage in Orlando, FL, and don’t hesitate to give us a call if you have any questions.
Why Do Dental Implants Fail?
Implant failure occurs when the jawbone can’t provide the necessary stability to keep the implant in place. This can happen in the short term if the implant doesn’t successfully osseointegrate, or fuse, with the bone when it’s first placed in the jaw. Since gum disease or poor jawbone density are often to blame, we’ll carefully evaluate these factors before your procedure to ensure that it will be successful. When necessary, we’ll recommend preliminary treatment such as gum disease therapy or a bone graft to help prevent any problems with osseointegration.
In other cases, the initial osseointegration phase is successful, but the implant fails several years later. Oftentimes, poor oral hygiene or other maintenance issues cause the gum tissue and bone around the implant to develop peri-implantitis, a type of gum disease in which it becomes inflamed and infected. To prevent this, it’s crucial to keep the gum tissue clean and healthy with daily brushing, flossing, and regular checkups with us.
Signs and Symptoms of Dental Implant Failure
Here are some common signs that your implant is failing or beginning to fail:
- Red, swollen gums that bleed when brushing or flossing
- Receding gums that expose the implant post
- Persistent bad breath (a sign of infection)
- A loose implant post
- Pain or discomfort when biting down
- The crown, bridge, or denture attached to the implant has become loose
How Does Dental Implant Salvage Work?
Each case is different, so treatment will vary depending on the situation. You could simply need professional cleaning to reduce inflammation around the implant. In other cases, we may need to remove the implant so we can treat an infection within the socket. After the tissues are healthy again, the implant would be re-implanted.
Also, while we make every effort to save a failing or damaged implant, it’s important to remember that there are cases in which implant salvage isn’t possible. As an experienced implant dentist in Orlando, Dr. Russo will start with a thorough evaluation before giving you a prognosis and making treatment recommendations.
