Dental Implant Failures - Causes ( specialist article )

One of the major causes of dental implant failures are the negligence of the dentist. A dentist needs to follow the protocol of osseointegration appropriately.

A dentist needs to study the patient's medical history well and include it in forming any conclusion for dental problems. Observe the following requirements for a proper dental implant procedure.

1) A healthy bone
2) Appropriate implant size selection
3) Proper preparation of the location
4) Suitable bone graft

Some dentists take shortcuts for diagnosis. They follow the results of a two dimensional panographic x-ray. The information shown by the two dimensional panographic x-ray is adequate for most of the dental surgery cases, however it is not sufficient for all. This kind of x-ray cannot provide information about the amount and quality of bone present to hold the implant and the accurate location of nerves and blood vessels running through the bone.

Another common cause of dental implant failure is infection. This happens when the dentist does not follow proper techniques for implant integration or uses unsterilized instruments for fitting the dental fixtures. Also, poor dental hygiene is sure to invite pathogens to infect your mouth and eventually, leads to failure of dental implant.

Some people grind their teeth while sleeping. This shifts any improperly placed implant even further and leads to dental implant failure. If you grind your teeth, then let the dentist know about it so that he/she can choose a more suitable fixture for you.

Sometimes, dental implant fails due to loose fitting. This happens when the fixture is not of good quality, placed under load prematurely, or is fixed in a bone that is not strong enough to hold it.

The crown or abutment is joined to the dental implant with a screw. This screw at times, gets broken or fractured due to improper type, position, size, or length of implant. A broken or fractured screw leads to dental implant failure. Make sure that the dentist uses a prosthetic screw. A laboratory screw can be cheap but will get loosened easily.

One more cause for the dental implant failures is the failure of tooth material. The artificial tooth should be of a material that acts as a good shock absorber and reduces the pressure on the implant. The compomer or acrylic surface satisfies the above necessity well. Therefore, doctors prefer acrylic-based tooth material over hard porcelain-based ones.

The most dreaded type of implant failure is nerve impairment. This occurs when the fixture is placed in such a position that it infringes upon the nerve, running through the jaw. This results in lack of sensation or persistent pain in that area.

After dental implantation, you should maintain a good dental hygiene and should follow all the instructions given by the dentist. If you fail in proper dental care, you may invite a number to pathogens to infect the dental implant. Avoid the occurrence of all the dental implant failure causes and give your teeth a healthy life and yourself a beautiful smile.