First things first, dental implants have an almost impossibly high success rate.
If you’re missing teeth and are planning on getting dental implants, there’s a 98% chance they’ll be a success.
But, just to make your chances even better, let’s look at the 3 most common reasons dental implants fail and look at the precautions you can take to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
Peri-implantitis (i.e. gum disease)
If your gums around where you’re planning to get an implant are infected, they can cause all kinds of future problems for your implant – including implant failure.
How to avoid it
Make sure to see a qualified implant specialist who will recognize and treat your gum disease before you have your implant placed. Once your gums are cured of the infection, they’ll be healthy and will be an optimal home once again, for an implant.
Also, practice excellent oral hygiene after your implant is placed. Future gum disease is completely preventable by you. Don’t worry, your implants are gonna be fine!
Failed Osseointegration
When your dental implant is placed it actually fuses to your bone and becomes part of your jaw (pretty cool, huh?). But when your implant fails to fuse with your bone, it’s called failed osseointegration and this can be a cause for implant failure.
How to avoid it
Two common reasons for failed osseointegration are poor bone density and incorrect positioning of the implant.
Talk to your surgeon about the density of your jaw bone. If your surgeon believes that you have too little bone, he or she should recommend a bone graft before your procedure. They’re extremely common and a great way to make your jaw bone a perfect place for an implant.
Nerve and Tissue Damage
If your dental implant is placed too close to a nerve, you’ll feel it.
It may cause pain, tingling, or numbness in the gums, tongue, cheek, chin, or lips. It could damage a nerve temporarily or permanently, but either way, you’ll want to get that dental implant removed.
A dental implant, if placed incorrectly, can also cause damage to your gum tissue. This will also cause pain and damage to your gums and again, you’ll want to get that sucker out.
How to avoid it
Make sure you go to an extremely skilled surgeon. Both of these are avoidable. If your implant is placed correctly, you won’t find yourself in either of these two situations.
Bottom line
Don’t be the “fresh out of dental school” rookie’s first surgery. Make sure your surgeon is not only experienced but highly, highly skilled.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions like:
What are your practice’s success and failure rates?
How long have you been placing dental implants?
If you’ve had failures, why did they happen?
Do you believe I have the bone density necessary for an implant?
Again, it’s highly unlikely that your dental implant will fail, BUT going to a surgeon who doesn’t know what they’re doing will make those odds go up.
Go to an expert. We happen to have a bunch of them!
Schedule your appointment with one of our highly-skilled dental implant experts today!
Article originally published at yournewteethnow.com.