Nowadays, dental implants are considered the healthiest and most lifelike solution for replacing missing teeth. Thanks to modern techniques and preparatory procedures such as bone grafting, implants have a success rate of well over 95% and could very well last the rest of your life as long as you take proper care of them. Unfortunately, as low as the risk of failure is, it’s nevertheless a real possibility. Read on to learn more about 3 possible causes behind complications with your dental implants.

1. Failed Osseointegration

Osseointegration is the most important aspect of placing dental implants. This natural process is what allows the titanium posts to join with your jaw and effectively become part of the bone. Doing so gives the implant proper stability and prevents the jaw from breaking down.

If osseointegration does not take place as expected, the implant could come loose or even fall out entirely. This kind of failure can occur for any number of reasons. For example, there might not have been enough bone density for the process to work. You might also experience osseointegration issues if your jaw suffers from trauma due to a sudden impact or some other kind of external force. Your periodontist in Belmont will need to figure out the underlying cause behind the failure in order to correct it and possibly attempt the placement of a new implant.

2. Nerve or Tissue Damage

There are many nerves in your mouth hidden below the gums; if one of them becomes damaged because an implant was placed too close to it, you could notice any number of unpleasant symptoms, including chronic pain, tingling, and general numbness throughout your mouth. Of course, a skilled periodontist will be well aware of this risk and take advantage of modern techniques such as computer-guided surgery in order to precisely place the posts in a safe position.

3. Peri-Implantitis

Are you making sure your mouth stays clean after dental implant surgery? Poor oral hygiene following the procedure could lead to an infection in the tissue around the implant. As a result, the surrounding bone could start to break down, and the post could come loose. The proper treatment for peri-implantitis depends on how severe it is; sometimes your periodontist might be able to treat it without affecting your implant, but in other cases the post will need to be removed altogether so that the infection can be fully removed.

No matter what the cause of your dental implant failure, you’ll notice key symptoms that will let you know something is wrong such as severe pain, inflammation, and a mobile implant post. Call your periodontist as soon as you notice any of these warning signs so that you can try to save your new smile!

About the Author

Dr. Alexander Schrott specializes in the field of dental implants and periodontics and has been board -certified in both the United States and Germany; he’s also a proud Fellow of the International Team for Implantology. If you’re worried that your dental implants might be failing, you can schedule an appointment at his Belmont practice, Schrott Perio Implants, by visiting his website or calling (617) 484-9240.