I’m not sure what’s going on. I had bone grafting done to get a single implant placed. When that was done, we did the implant procedure, waited the appropriate healing time and then did the implant surgery. The implant broke within the first two weeks. We started over, but now it’s broken again. I don’t know if I can keep doing this. If I’m going to go for round three I’d like to get a second opinion on what could be going wrong.
Andrew
Dear Andrew,
The thing that’s going wrong is your dentist. Dental implants don’t easily break. If they do, it is usually for one of two reasons.
Your Dental Implants are Faulty
To get quality dental implants in the United States costs several hundred dollars. We have high standards and make requirements about the material used and steps to prevent infection. Other countries don’t have those restrictions. Therefore, some of them will produce implants cheaply. Some dentists will try to increase their profits by purchasing from these dealers. Unfortunately, some of them are so poorly made they’ll break, as yours have.
When that happened your dentist should have realized he didn’t purchase the right materials. If he used the same type of implant again, it is either incompetence or a lack of integrity. Neither makes for a great dentist.
Your Dental Implants Were Improperly Placed
Our biting force is fierce and it doesn’t just happen in an up and down motion. When you chew, you do it in a rotating grinding motion. Dental implants have to be placed in a way they can withstand that type of force and motion.
If your dentist isn’t using cheap, subpar implants then he’s not placing them properly.
As you can see, neither of these scenarios are great for you. You need to make a decision. If getting a dental implant is quite important to you then you’ll need to go to a different dentist. As your procedure has failed twice you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting a refund. Then, it will be time to find a better implant dentist. Look for a dentist with post-doctoral training with dental implants. Then ask their success rate. It should be at least 98%.
If you’re just tired of dealing with it, a dental bridge is a reasonable option. It’s possible your dentist is more experienced with that. The only downside to a bridge is you have to place crowns on both adjacent teeth in order to support the false tooth.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Susan Dennis.