Dental implants will let you eat anything you want, stop your jawbone from deteriorating, and provide your new teeth with a strong, stable foundation; we highly recommend them if you ever find yourself with a gap in your grin. But while implant surgery has a success rate as high as 95%, there is a risk, however small, of failure. At Winegar Dental, we can locate and treat the cause of implant failure, giving us a chance to save your smile! Contact us today to schedule an appointment with Dr. Winegar if you think your new teeth are suffering from complications.

Why Do Dental Implants Fail?

As rare as implant failure is, it can have a few different causes. One of the most common issues is a condition called peri-implantitis. When the gum tissue around the dental implant becomes infected, the bone underneath could break down. As result, the implant post becomes loose and might even de-attach from the jawbone altogether.

If you smoke or have diabetes, your odds of implant failure will be higher than normal. This is because they impede the body’s ability to heal itself; osseointegration (the process of the implant becoming one with the bone) depends entirely on the mouth healing properly.

What are the Symptoms of Failed Dental Implants?

Just as there are different reasons for an implant failing to join properly with your jaw, there are also different signs that such failure has occurred. In many cases, you’ll experience a radiating pain in the area around the implant post. If there’s an infection, you’ll probably see red or inflamed gums. Also, any difficulty chewing or biting could mean that your tooth is not as secure as it should be. Finally, if you can wiggle the implant post even slightly, it’s a sure sign of an issue that needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

Keep in mind that implant failure can occur shortly after the surgery or several years later.

• Early Dental Implant Failure: Remember that there’s a difference between normal discomfort caused by surgery and the radiating discomfort caused by implant failure. If your pain lasts for more than a few days or grows worse, it’s better to be safe than sorry and call us right away.
• Late Dental Implant Failure: If your implant pain returns long after the procedure, or if you suddenly have trouble chewing foods that never gave you trouble before, you should consider it a possible sign of implant failure.

How Does Dental Implant Salvage Work?

The first step is to examine the implant site and take X-rays of your mouth in order to narrow down exactly what’s wrong with your implants. After that, we can start planning your treatment, which will be different depending on the source of your implant failure. For example, if the gums have been infected, we may be able to leave the implant in place while reducing bacteria levels with antibiotics and good oral hygiene. On the other hand, if a significant amount of bone has been lost, we’ll likely need to perform an advanced procedure such as bone grafting to help the jaw regenerate. In these cases, the implant might have to be removed. Once your mouth is healthy again, Dr. Winegar may be able to try and place a new implant.