My son is a hockey player. He’s damaged teeth before but never lost one… until now. We’ve always heard not to use dental implants because of the danger of ripping out bone if it happens again. I totally get that, but he’s planning on being a hockey player for a while. I am aware that the longer he is without an implant, the more of his bone that he’ll lose. Is there any way to preserve his bone? If so, what type of replacement do you recommend?
Susie
Dear Susie,
I am very glad you wrote. You have so many good things in your questions. Whenever you have to extract a tooth it is very stressful. Yes, he will lose bone if there is not a dental implant there. Yes, there is a danger of bone being ripped out. HOWEVER, that danger is only there if there is something anchored to the implant, like a crown.
Here is my recommendation. First, get the dental implant placed. This will protect his bone. But, do not place the dental crown on it. As I mentioned above, that is where the danger lies. Instead, get a temporary, removable tooth replacement, such as a dental flipper. This way if he gets knocked in the mouth with another puck or a hockey stick, the flipper will fly out but his dental implant will remain secure in his jaw.
You do want to make certain that the dentist who does his procedure has post doctoral training in dental implants. This is a very advanced procedure with countless horror stories about things which went wrong from dentists who didn’t have adequate training. Dental school is not enough. In addition to their post doctoral training, ask them what their success rate is. You want at least a 95% success rate.
This blog is brought to you by Portage Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.