Ensure your dental implant is a success by knowing the potential complications so you can act fast with this guide to possible dental implant problems.

If you have or are considering getting dental implants, you may have some concerns. And, unfortunately, dental implant problems do happen.

The good news is, we've written you this guide to tell you all you need to know about these problems. Also, these problems are rare and most of them are simple enough to fix.

This guide explains the most common problems, their causes, and what you can do if you experience them. We also explain the dental implant infection signs to watch out for.

Don't let unfounded fears stop you from getting implants. Learn what you need to know about dental implant problems from this guide.

What You Should Know If Dental Implants Start Causing Problems

To start with, let's ease some of your concerns. The first thing to know is that dental implant problems are quite rare. Dental implants have a very high success rate, as high as 98%!

Next, if you do experience problems, get to the dentist as soon as possible. They may be able to save the implant if they can get to it in time.

Otherwise, the implant will have to be removed. Then, you'll have to wait for your mouth to fully heal before a replacement implant can be installed. In this case, it could take a year before you can get another implant put in.

Reasons For Frequent Implant Problems

As we said, implant failures are rare. So if an implant fails twice or even three times, there's definitely an underlying issue to blame. There are two common causes for repeated implant failure.

One is that you are ineligible for implants for one of the reasons we explain later in this guide, like low bone density. The second is that the dentist performed the procedure incorrectly.

You should be able to determine which is to blame by getting a second opinion from a different, reliable dentist. Even get a third opinion.

What to Do After Failed Implants

If the new dentist says the procedure was done wrong, talk to the dentist who installed the implants and request a refund. If you believe you're a victim of negligence or malpractice, you should also seek legal counsel.

On the other hand, if it turns out your body is ineligible for implants, you should still seek a refund. Most dentists will refund what you paid for the implants or at least credit it towards an alternative procedure like veneers. Of course, this depends on the contract you signed with your dentist.

Dental Implant Infections Signs

Signs of dental implant infections include:

Your implant feeling loose
Difficulty chewing
Swelling and/or redness of gums
Recession of gums
Blood or pus around the implant area
Lasting bad breath or bad taste in the mouth
Pain or discomfort
Fever

These symptoms and the infection itself can get much worse very fast. If you've experienced these signs, see a dentist right away. If your regular dentist can't fit you in immediately, try your doctor, urgent care, or the emergency room.

Common Dental Implant Problems/Causes

Now, let's address any problems you might be having with your implants. In general, good health, hygiene, and lifestyle choices will increase the success rate of implants. Here are some common dental implant problems and their causes.

Infection

Infection is the most common complication of any surgery. No matter how well the procedure area is disinfected, there's still a chance of bacteria or other foreign material entering the wound.

This is doubly true of dental procedures since your mouth is loaded with over 700 species of bacteria. So, while it's possible that the dentist is to blame for postoperative infection, it could also just be bad luck.

Furthermore, there are other conditions that increase your chance of infection after the implant procedure. Most of the time, it's improper dental care before or after the procedure that increases your risk of infection

For example, gum disease is an infection in and of itself. If you have gum disease prior to the procedure, the infection may spread to your freshly-wounded surgery area. Alternatively, infection can occur when patients fail to obey the dentist's post-surgery care instructions.

Improper Healing

Slow or improper healing can be caused by many factors including certain health conditions and lifestyle choices. Some of the most common causes are:

Heavy smoking/drinking
Cancer
Autoimmune disease
Arthritis
Diabetes
Improper dental hygiene
Dentally unhealthy diet

These conditions decrease your body's ability to heal, which prevents osseointegration. Osseointegration is the process in which the implant becomes fused to the jawbone permanently. Unsuccessful osseointegration will eventually cause the implant to come loose or fall out completely.

Not Enough Bone

Another condition that can hinder osseointegration is insufficient jaw bone or poor bone density. Oftentimes, when a tooth has been missing for several months or years, the bone underneath will erode.

In fact, protecting against this bone loss is one of the benefits of dental implants. Still, when this erosion has gone on for a long time before the implant is put in, there may not be enough bone left to fuse with the implant.

In this case, the dentist should perform a bone graft before attempting the implant. If the implant is attempted anyway, it can't solidly anchor itself to the bone and will most likely come loose.

Other conditions, like osteoporosis, can cause the jaw bone to become less dense. When the bone density is too low, the implant won't fuse.

Allergies/Foreign Body Rejection

Lastly, sometimes the body just won't accept the implant. In many transplant/prosthesis procedures, it happens sometimes that the body's immune system attacks the foreign body the doctor is attempting to install. When this happens, it's possible that the body will never accept the implant.

On the other hand, the patient may simply be allergic to some material the implant is made of, such as titanium alloy. Quite commonly, the patent isn't even aware of the allergy until the procedure is performed. If an allergy is to blame, it's possible the dentist can use an implant made from other materials.

Do You Need Help With Your Dental Implants?

Now, here's the best news. You won’t encounter these dental implant problems when you get services from the Dental & Implant Center of Edgewater.

The Dental & Implant Center of Edgewater in Edgewater, NJ offers problem-free dental implant services from experts you can trust. We do it right the first time so you won't have to worry about dental implant infection signs.

Set up your appointment right now through our contact page.

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