Dental implants are the most natural-looking, comfortable, and functional dental solution for persons looking to replace one or more teeth. Whether you have a set of dental implants that have not been functioning properly, or you are considering getting a set of implants and simply doing your due diligence; this article will provide you with useful information for your research.
Although it rarely happens, there are instances when a dental implant may fail to heal or take as expected. The failure of dental implants can be caused by a variety of factors ranging from the dentist’s skill level, standards of post-procedure care, personal health factors, and the habits of the patient e.g dental hygiene or smoking habits.
Signs Of A Dental Implant Failure
Signs of dental implants failure include but are not limited to loosening or shifting of the implant in the jaw, inflammation or swelling of the gums, and severe pain or discomfort. You should contact your dentist immediately.
The following are causes of dental implant failure:
Poorly Moulded Impressions
When a dental impression of your teeth is poorly made, then the medical laboratory will manufacture a crown that is not a perfect fit with your jaw and the neighbouring teeth. Any small mistake in the impressions will result in a gap between the crown and the gum. Any gaps from imprecise impressions might affect your dental health in several ways e.g. bacterial infections.
Gaps between the crown and the gum can also cause the artificial cement that binds the new crown to the implant bed to leak into the gum, further exposing you to bacterial infections. Skilled dentists avoid such problems by taking impressions expertly and under high magnification to get an exact geometric fit.
Misalignment Of The Implant
A skilled dentist will align your implant so that it is stable and perfectly surrounded by the jaw bone. Misaligned implants usually manifest through crowns that are misaligned with the neighbouring teeth, the recession of the jaw around the implant and visibility of the dark metal that attaches the crown to the jawbone. Repairing a misaligned implant is a much more intricate and risky procedure than the first attempt.
Peri-Implantitis
Peri-Implantitis is a bacterial infection that manifests as an inflammatory response soon after the dental implant treatment. It most commonly affects patients with smoking habits, certain pre-existing conditions like diabetes and those with poor dental hygiene practices.
This is a serious condition that can affect the gum and jawbone surrounding the implant eventually causing dental implant failure. More often than not, after successful treatment of peri-implantitis, the dental implant requires to be replaced.
Allergic Reactions And Foreign Body Rejection
Dental implants and the materials required for the procedure are all foreign elements to the human body. Biomedical research has selected the non-reactive elements and compounds for the components of an implant. However, it is important to let your dentist know of all your known allergies in case your dental implant calls for custom materials.
