I’m frustrated with my dentist and wanted to get your opinion on it. He’s from another state so you won’t know him. Before my dental implant procedure, my dentist told me that I had plenty of bone. When I woke up from the surgery he told me that I after he got in there he noticed I did not have enough bone but he placed the implant anyway. Yet, he said the best thing to do would be to remove it and get a dental bridge so I don’t have to worry about when it is going to fail. Why in the world did he place it then!? I’m also wondering if I am stuck with a dental bridge.
Freddy
Dear Freddy,
You have a right to be upset about this. Your dentist put you through a surgery unnecessarily and then staged it so you’d have to have another one to undo it. First, if he did the appropriate diagnostics then you would not be in this situation to begin with. He should have known ahead of time how much bone you had.
He can’t actually get away with this. There is an implied warranty when a procedure is done that there is a reasonable expectation it will succeed. The exception to that is in the medical field when a procedure is a last-ditch effort to try and save someone where the risks are known.
Don’t let him do any other procedures for you. While you are due a refund, it is actually going to cost you more to get this fixed than you likely paid him. Instead of a refund, I want you to have him pay to have it fixed by the dentist of your choice. He shouldn’t have a problem with that. If he does, you tell him you can contact a malpractice attorney. His malpractice insurance will tell him to settle quickly.
I am sorry this happened to you. You will be able to get that dental implant you want, but it will take a bone grafting procedure first. When the current implant is removed, it will take some bone with it that will need to be replaced. Then, after that has had time to secure itself, you can have the dental implant you want.
Make sure the dentist you choose is an experienced implant dentist, with post doctoral training and experience in bone grafting.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.