What Can Be Done If My Dental Implant Becomes Loose?
Dental implants in Richmond and elsewhere on the whole have a pretty high success rate of around 95% but failures do occur from time to time. Generally speaking failure occurs early on in the procedure but sometimes implants can loosen and fall out several years later. Consequently any pain around the implant area or loosening of the implant is cause for concern and you should make an appointment with your implant dentist right away regardless of how long the implant has been in place.
Cause of loose implants
Implants that fail early on in the procedure are usually as a result of the implant not bonding properly with the surrounding bone in a procedure known as osseointegration.
This in itself can be caused by a number of factors including insufficient bone, poor bone quality, bad implant placement, overloading, certain health conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes, and smoking.
Dental implants that loosen many months or years after successful placement may have been affected by severe gum disease or peri-implantitis which can cause inflammation and loss of bone. Other causes can be bruxism or tooth grinding, poorly made abutments and crowns, or health issues which affect the density and strength of bone.
How can loose implants be treated?
The first course of action is to make an appointment with your implant dentist to determine whether the cause lies with the implant itself or with loosening or damage of the prosthetic teeth. He will carry out a thorough oral examination checking for signs of redness, inflammation and bleeding of the gums, which is an indication of infection, and he will use imaging to look deeper for signs of infection and bone loss around the implant area.
Although when caught early it’s often possible to treat any infections or issues and save the implant, if the implant has become unstable then quite often the only course of action is to remove it. In some cases another implant can be placed right away but other times bone augmentation may be required to provide a more stable platform before another implant can be placed. Every case is unique and treatment will be decided after considering the patient’s overall oral and general health and, of course, the damage to the existing implant site. This will be discussed with you following the examination in order that a treatment plan can be put into place.
We do all we can to ensure the success of a dental implant in Richmond including ensuring that the patient’s oral health is in tip top condition, providing top quality implants, giving detailed post operative care instructions, and closely monitoring the procedure from start to finish and beyond. If you’re interested in restoring your smile with dental implants then why not come and talk to us. We offer a complimentary consultation which can be booked by calling us on 020 8876 5277 or you can find out more information on our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk