Loose Dental Implants, Failing Dental Implants

Loose Dental Implants

Dental implants are the gold standard to replace teeth. But there’s a 2% failure rate. If you’re in the market for implants, or have ’em already, here’s how to avoid loose dental implants.

Nothing is foolproof.

Prevention is key

Good oral hygiene is just as important for implants as your natural teeth.

Pain around the implant

Don’t ignore any discomfort, as your dentist can easily treat this. Serious infections, sometimes caused by a loose implant, can result in the loss of that implant.

Implant tooth feels loose

Ignore the loose screw at your own peril, as it can lead to the fracture of the screw and/or infection.

My bite is off

Your bite should be comfortable and not prematurely hitting the implant tooth, as this can lead to bone breakdown.

The bottom line

Here’s a couple of other tips:

• Don’t ignore any symptoms
• Have regular periodic check-ups with your dentist and discuss any concerns
• Practice good oral hygiene and if you are not sure about implant care, ask your dentist

Where to go from here

Your dentist can determine if the implant or screw is loose, or maybe the cement has washed out.

Depending on what is learned, here are some possible fixes:

1. Loose implants are removed and the surrounding area is bone grafted for future implant placement.
2. Loose screws can be tightened.
3. Screw retained crowns are easier to tighten.
4. A cement retained crown needs to be removed, so one can tighten the screw that attaches the abutment.  Sometimes a hole can be drilled through the top of the crown to access the screw. Otherwise, the crown may have to be cut off — costly because you may need a new abutment as well as a new crown.

Generally, it’s best to have a screw retained implant crown, because it can easily be accessed to tighten for repairing the porcelain.

A more detailed explanation about dental implant failures can be found here.