I had a dental implant placed. A few weeks later, the crown came loose. I called my dentist who suggested I come in. He did an x-ray then assured me that the dental implant itself was fine and it was just a matter of re-cementing the crown back on. However, when he tried to remove the dental crown it would not come off. He tried using a special tool, but when he did the dental implant came out with it. Do dental implants usually come out this easily?
Candy
Dear Candy,
No, they do not. It would be obvious to any competent dentist that it was the dental implant that was loose the entire time. When a dental crown is loose, it is incredibly easy to remove. In fact, it would generally fall off of its own accord. It sounds to me like either your dentist was totally incompetent or he is unethical and was trying to cover up the fact that the implant was the problem. Fixing a loose crown is simple. Dealing with a loose dental implant is much more complicated. Either way, you need a new dentist.
There are a few reasons your dental implant could have failed. One of the most common is an infection. However, I don’t think that was your issue. You didn’t mention anything about any pain or a fever, both of which would be common symptoms of a dental implant infection. The most likely options have to do with the integration of the bone with the dental implant.
I don’t know what type of diagnostics your dentist did before your procedure, but one possibility is that you didn’t have enough bone to begin with in order to support the implant. A second issue is that the bone did not have enough time to integrate with the implant. I don’t know the time period between when the implant was placed and when the crown was, but there needed to be a significant period of time between the two so there is enough osseointegration.
Fixing a Failed Dental Implant
This is not as simple as just putting in a new implant. First, when the implant was ripped out by your dentist, it took even more of the bone with it. You will need a bone grafting procedure to build back up the missing bone. After that, you could have another implant placed.
In your place, I would insist your dentist pay to have all of this repaired by the dentist of your choice. This time, make sure you go to a dentist who has significant post-doctoral training in the implant procedure. Look at Dr. Becker’s bio to get an idea of what type of dentist you will need.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.