5 Ways A Denture Implant Can Fail And What to Do
It's True! Dental implants CAN sometimes fail. Despite a dental professional's best efforts and the patient investing the time to do their part, an implant can unfortunately still not work as intended.
Ideally, the risks of a denture implant failing are established before the process starts and is outlined to the patient. If there's a high risk of failure, you may be best served with another dental treatment.
In this article, we look at 5 common reasons why denture implants fail. These are important to remember. If you feel like any of these sound like you or like they could happen to you, your denturist at Hayven Dentures is the ideal person to speak with and address any questions or concerns you may have.
Bone Loss
By far, the reason we see most often when a denture implant fails is when there's not enough bone or bone resorption (loss).
If you go too long after a tooth is removed to get the implant done, the jawbone may have already begun to weaken and degrade or resorb away. This is why timely follow-ups are an absolute necessity. The window for implant placement without bone grafting will eventually close.
Osseointegration is the process by which bone attaches to a metal implant and in fact grows around it. This has to occur to help with any sort of implant denture as it acts as the anchor or support for one's dentures.
If there's not enough bone, osseointegration doesn't take place. This compromises the dental implant.
How we combat this risk is by lining up the appropriate schedule for dental implants. A patient can also ensure they are supplementing their diet – under their physician's guidance – with calcium, and vitamin C and D.
Peri-Implantitis
Peri-implantitis is the inflammation of the hard and soft tissue surrounding a dental implant. Peri-implantitis, sometimes caused by infections, leads to bone deterioration and this of course impacts the osseointegrated implant to loosen or fall.
A patient seeking denture implants can minimize the risks of peri-implantitis by adopting good habits.
If you smoke, the nicotine in cigarettes constricts the blood vessels and limits the oxygen that's getting to the area. Ideally, smoke habits have to be addressed. Other risk factors include genetics, diabetes, and periodontitis.
Symptoms of peri-implantitis include bleeding gums, redness, swelling, pain in or around the implant, bone loss around the implant, or the implant becoming loose. If any of this occurs, a denturist needs to be seen right away to determine what the next steps are.
Occlusal Overload
Occlusion by definition is the contact between teeth. This relationship largely involves the upper teeth and lower teeth coming into contact during chewing or at rest..
A major concern for denture implants is occlusal overload or premature occlusal contacts. This occurs when there is excessive bite force on all the teeth or on a specific tooth. It causes a fracturing or loosening of the implant fixture. It can also disrupt the bond between bone and implant. Ultimately, the result of occlusal overload is failure of the dental implant.
How we can combat this is by addressing the causal factors. Be careful with bite to have it distributed evenly. Reduce plaque accumulation which can also contribute to occlusal overload. Address long cantilevers and treat teeth-grinding.
A specialist may need to be sought in the process of mitigating the risk of dental implant failure.
Bad Oral Health Habits
Sometimes, a patient's own health and wellness habits betray them and with those, denture implants fail.
Bad oral health and hygiene habits contribute a lot to the likelihood of dental implants failing.
Sometimes, it's out of our hands such as a pre-existing health condition. Other factors – i.e. prescription drugs, diet, a compromised immune system – have a role to play. If this is you, a denturist may suggest an alternative to denture implants.
This isn't to say that a person in poor health or with pre-existing conditions is disqualified from denture implants. It is still a possibility for some. The key is to get assessed by a denturist and make the necessary lifestyle changes to help support healthy teeth and dental implants. It can take years for lifestyle changes so that you're better prepared for dental implant success.
Poor-Quality Implants
The last common reason why an implant can fail is if they're poor-quality dental implants. Most of the time the saying of “you get what you pay for” is true and it's also the case with the dental implants used in your bone. If the implant itself doesn't promote proper osseointegration then the implant will fail.
Pain, discomfort, looseness, and/or swelling can all come from bad placement. This often is the result of an inexperienced dental professional. This is precisely why vetting the right denture clinic you visit is key. Look at reviews. Do some research. Accreditations should be available to be seen.
Choosing the right denturist is what puts everything in place to maximize the likelihood of the implant being a success.
Please note, 99.9% of denture implants are successes. If assessments are performed and a patient's deemed to be an appropriate candidate then having denture implants typically shouldn't come with any issues.
Find out more about what it takes to get started on a journey towards dentures and/or dental implants. Speak with a denture expert at Hayven Denture Clinic today.
