Failing Bicon Implants

by Radha Higgins
(Roy, WA)

Oh boy, where to start. I am a 28 year old female and about 10 years ago I had two Bicon Implants placed in the space for teeth 7 and 8.

My "baby" tooth of 7 had been removed when I was 9 years old and due to my overly crowded mouth my other teeth went into that space and my "adult" tooth never came down. At the age of 14 I got braces and long story made somewhat short had 11 surgeries over the course of three years to try to get my tooth down.

I finally said enough and opted to have the tooth removed and an implant done. In removing the tooth the nerve of tooth 8 was damaged and it had to be removed as well. I then had all four wisdom teeth removed, bone harvested from those sites and grafted into the implant sites of 7 and 8. At the age of 18 I finally had a full smile.

A little side note, kids can be very cruel from the age of 9 to 18 when you are missing a front tooth and then a front tooth and the one to the side. I was teased and called names for almost 9 years. Temporary teeth were tried but never lasted more than a few weeks and eventually given up on completely. I have huge emotional issues surrounding my teeth, dentists and the thought of having more problems.

Two years after the implants were put in I was flossing one night and the crowns and "peg" part (I am not sure what it is called) dropped into the sink. Needless to say I had an emotional break down and probably what was a panic attack. I put the whole thing back in my mouth and have been VERY careful for the last 8 or so years with them. Basically they have just been sitting there. They have finally gotten so loose that I have to do something about them. I have gone to a specialist who says I need to have two new crowns made and also a retainer to wear at night as my teeth have shifted. He quoted me for $5000 to do this. Does this sound reasonable? How long will these new crowns last? The first lasted only a very short time. Has anyone else had problems with Bicon implants? I have heard they are not widely used anymore.

This is a very sensitive issue for me as I'm sure it is for many implant patients. Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I feel everything that I have chosen to do has gone wrong and I would like to make a smart decision in what to do next.

Thank you!

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Failing Bicon Implants

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I UNDERSTAND YOUR PLIGHT
by: Dr Farhan Durrani

Radha Higgins:
Crowns coming out ,there are several reasons ,whole chapter is there ,so please don?t get disheartened ,my father died after open heart surgery, so please this is life,
now please contact an American academy of implant dentistry dentist ,or Loma Linda university implant Prof Jamie Lozada, these people are expert have discussion with them on phone or visit their office get crowns back ,and move on
Bicon implants are short implants in length, they are successful but long term study is still going on as implants minimum of 12 mm are successful till now and Bicon are 6 and 7mm

The Best Dental advice.
by: Anonymous

Call Dr Don kabishigowa in Toluca Lake Dentistry. He is by far the Best i'd ever had, and I?m really critical. A little pricey but once you are serviced by him, you will know why, but if you have the money or great insurance, it?s all worth it.

Are you sure??
by: Anonymous

Doesn't sound like you lost the implants to me, if you were quoted 5,000.00 for braces and new crowns, did they mention redoing implants? Bone regenerates and holds the implants in place. I can't imagine they would fall out unless you have serious bone loss. Did you visit your dentist for regular check ups?

Your Bicon Implants Probably have not failed.
by: Anonymous

From the sounds of it, your implants did not come out. It is the implant crowns or crown that came out. You need to see the implantologist who placed the implants in the first place. They will make minor adjustments to the implant crowns and it should be fine. They may not even charge you for it. Any other Bicon Implant practitioner can also do the same for a minimal fee that would be a far cry from $5000.

Bicon implants are still used today and they do not only do short implants.

I too am having a bad experience with Bicon Implants.
by: Anonymous

In October of 2005 I had a Bicon Implant installed in place of tooth #9.

It takes about nine months from extraction to the time the crown is set, including a graft and time for healing in between stages. During this time I wore a "Flipper", which is a plastic plate molded to the inside of the mouth which supports a false tooth.

The crown stayed in place in the Bicon Implant for about a month and then came loose.

The implant Dentist took it out, cleaned and dried it and tapped it back in place. A short while later it came loose again. This went on for months until the Oral Surgeon, in conference with the Implant Dentist and a local expert on Bicon implants, decided that removing the implant and installing a new one was the right course of action.

The implant was removed, a bone graft was taken from my jaw and, after it healed, another Bicon implant was installed.

That crown stayed in place for one week. Then I was back to having it reset whenever it came loose. It would stay in place for periods of about a week to a month.

It comes loose at unpredictable times with no specific action leading up to the point when it comes loose. There is no contact with the opposing teeth in the lower jaw.

Now we are working on a new solution to this problem. It is complex and involves an adjacent tooth. I will post the results in March when the procedure is complete.

While consulting with another Oral Surgeon he told me that the Bicon manufacturer doesn't consider it a failed implant if the implant stays in the jaw and has no surgical complications.

I would like to know what percentage fail to hold the crown in place permanently.

Signed,

Two Failed Bicon Crowns.

Dear Anonymous Bicon Implants Failed
by: Anonymous

Unfortunately, you are not alone. There are innumerable instances of Bicon Integrated Abutement Crowns loosening and falling out when used to replace the upper front teeth. This is a long term ongoing unresolved problem with the Bicon Implant System in this area of the mouth.

When this happens, the integrated post-crown and the well of the implant are cleaned and then the integrated post-crown is retapped into the well. Unfortunately, this scenario of loosening and retapping happens again and again. The post-crown is retapped into the well in different positions requiring "adjustment" of the way the crown "fits" into the space. The crown is then "adjusted" by shaving off material which changes the original "fit" of the crown. Eventually, the crown can not stay in place (the locking taper design no longer works because the well is damaged and the post-crown dimensions are so changed because of all the adjustments).

So the only thing the dentist can do is to "bond" the implant post-crown to adjacent teeth, defeating the reason for having single implants and making it difficult to clean the teeth. In the end, this is not a permanent solution because the bonding material dissolves over time and must be bonded again when the crowns come loose.

I wish this problem had been described before I agreed to have the Bicon Implant System. I know this problem is not discussed at all until after it happens.

Bicon implants
by: Anonymous

The above poster is correct. I am a dentist that places hundreds of implants every year. Bicon implants are known to work well in the back of the mouth. In the front of the mouth (anterior), the crowns (tooth) tend to come out easily due to lateral forces not seen in the back of the mouth.

Other implant designs have a screw that connect the crown/post (called an abutment) to the implant. When having a front tooth replaced with an implant, I would choose an implant that has a screw that holds the post (abutment) to the implant. In the back of the mouth, Bicon implants are fine and, in fact, maybe the best. But, they have documented problems in the front of the mouth.

My experience with Bicon: never again
by: Anonymous

Radha Higgins asked Has anyone else had problems with Bicon implants?
Yes. I have had nothing but problems with my Bicon implant and restoration.

Finding support for my Bicon implant issues has been a huge pain. I spoke with one large dental lab that said they work with over thirty implant systems, but not Bicon. Bicon is a secretive company. So contacting them for help is a waste of time.

Supposedly, the Bicon system works best with molars. In my case, this has not proven true. My restoration has come loose many times.

The Nov 27, 2010 reply suggests bonding the Bicon restoration to an adjacent teeth to keep the Bicon system from repeatedly falling out. This is very bad idea. It will eventually cause the adjacent teeth to fail. Real live teeth need to move a little to remain healthy.

Consult with orthodontist
by: Sincerely

Sadly, what you're dealing with is not a failed implant. If the implant 'peg' and 'socket' are clean, your experience is just typical Bicon; when it falls out, you just keep plugging it back in - as firmly as you can tolerate.

A real failed implant is when the 'socket' comes loose from the bone. This doesn't happen often, but you will know if it does because of the pain.

The previous post is correct. The ligament needs to be mobile to remain healthy. However, you should consider contacting an orthodontist. A lingual wire could keep your anterior restorations from falling out, while allowing ligament activity in the adjacent teeth.

Good luck!

Ever thought of contacting the Bicon Company
by: Anonymous

Having used the Bicon system continuously since the 1990's, I know when PROPERLY used and restored WELL this system has relatively INSIGNIFICANT issues with loose crowns. If the issue were to arise, it certainly does NOT require the actions that have been described above. Occlusion, the way your teeth meet, is usually the issue, especially IF the implant had been placed in the proper trajectory relative to your adjacent teeth.
A few years ago the Bicon company introduced an implant with a tighter locking taper, which is more user friendly for many dentists to manage their treatments. Contact the company since MISINFORMATION is worse than no information.

Misinformation is harmful!
by: Anonymous

I too am an eExperienced user of Bicon implants. It is an excellent system that works extremely well even in the maxillary anterior region of the mouth.

Loosening can occur the maxillary anterior especially when the implant is placed at a compromised angle relative the adjacent teeth, but it is not an issue in my experience that wouldvrequire the advice given above.

FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR solution is absurd.

See an orthodontist about bonding to a natural tooth. Why?

You could and SHOULD simply bond the two adjacent implant crowns andvyour issue would be definitively resolved.

My advice would be to return to your original dentist and ask him to simply splint the
two crowns together. If your crowns are the Integrated Abutment Crowns IAC, then it will be a simple one visit chair side treatment.

Without misinformation you can enjoy the FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS on YOUR vacation rather someone enjoying itbon their vacation.

Universal Problem with Implants
by: Anonymous

I have had numerous teeth replaced in my mouth with implants including Nobel and Bicon. The Nobel implants have been placed in my four upper front teeth several years ago. These have been nothing but problems for me. The screws are continuing to loosen and now the threads are so stripped that each dentist I see says there is nothing that can be done. Removing the implants totally has been proposed but this requires additional surgery and I am wary of that now. Do all implants have loosening issues in the front?

I do not know about loose crowns with STRAUMANN ,BUT
by: Anonymous

I know about real issue of loose screws with the ITI Straumann implants.
I also have been told to replace loose Straumanns with Bicon implants ,if a permanent solution to the frustration of foul taste and movement was to be eliminated.

I have been told that Bicons are the most secure implant and have no foul tastes associated with them.

20 yrs Bicon User, 17 yrs of problems
by: Anonymous

I have had Bicon implants for nearly 20 yrs, which were placed in the upper front of my mouth. Three years after implant, the post would just slip out. After I got over the initial shock, I found that I could pop it back up in my mouth, and with biting down on anything hard, (wad of paper, wooden stir stick) it would go back in and stay for another week or so.

When installed, I just trusted that the Doctor knew what he was doing. Now I like to think that the were doing the best they could. Even though it is annoying, I feel I would rather keep pressing it up in my mouth, rather than endanger any other teeth.

In hind site, I do not see how any system currently on the market could ever be fully successful. These implants are made of metal, which means they will expand and contract. Though the body's temperature does not vary too much, the content of what we put in to our mouth can vary greatly. Like drinking Ice water at a dining table, only then to chase it with a Hot cup of coffee. When these expansions and contractions occur, the effects have to be predictable.

I would like not to have to mess with a "Denture Malfuction", especially during professional or formal events. However, I do not see a quick fix on the Horizon. My implant slippage has occurred so many times, that I have learned to replace the stem in it's well just by using my tongue and without opening my mouth.

I hope your episodes are not so frequent.

Bride to be
by: Anonymous

I hear you with the implant issues I had my Bicon put in in the number 7 position in October 2009. It fell out a few days ago and I await my dentists to put it back in (hopefully tomorrow) and pray it looks okay and stays in for my wedding that is under 3 weeks away...wish I had known these problems a couple of years ago before I got the implant, probably would have went with a different kind.

Bicon implants
by: Anonymous

I have two bicon implants in the front and one of them comes out as well very disappointing

Anterior Bicon Implants - 10 years - always loosening
by: Anonymous

I have four Bicon implants with IAC's (Integrated Abutment Crowns)in place of my upper four front teeth. Over the past ten years, they have continuously loosened and fallen out innumerable times.

They were "tapped back in" innumerable times by the dentist and "adjusted" (had the back of the tooth and the sides shaved with a drill to fit them back into the space) over and over again until all the crowns had a different shape then when they were first put in.

The back of them (the tongue side) is now very thin and you can almost see through the lower half of the tooth (the biting part) which causes the teeth to look "gray" and there is also significant space between my two front teeth from all the "adjustments".

They were all finally bonded together, but they still come loose because the bonding breaks and needs to be redone. They are a constant source of worry and self-consciousness about how bad they look while talking, which causes me to try to hide them with my lips or hand, and I never smile with my teeth showing.

I have been told that because of all the loosening and re-tapping, the wells of the implants where the IAC's sit, are likely damaged, so making new IAC's (crowns with abutments) will most likely result in a repeat of the same pattern already described.

The options are:

1. Have the implants removed and start all over with another implant system which would require extensive surgery and bone grafting, pain and an extended period of time. A conservative cost estimate of this treatment would be $13,000.

or:

2. Remove the IAC's (crowns with abutments), surgically cover the implants under the gum("bury them"), and then have a six unit porcelain bridge constructed which would mean "shaving down" my other healthy two front teeth (my eye teeth), putting crowns on them with four false teeth attached between them. A conservative estimate of the cost for this treatment would be $9,000.00

I wish I had known about the problems of the Bicon System when used in the upper front area (the "esthetic zone") before having the implants done. I have since found out that the Bicon System is not a good implant system to use to replace the upper front teeth because of this problem of the IAC's loosening and falling out in this area. This continues to be an ongoing design problem for the Bicon System in replacing the upper front teeth which has not been corrected, addressed, or disclosed to consumers (dentists and patients).

Bicon falling out
by: Anonymous

I too had a bicon implant placed. It has been a 3 year battle, because like other posts, the IAC continues to come loose or fall out. Many many trips back to the dentist and no resolution.

Now, I have gum recession in the implant site due to the multiple attempts to reseat the implant. I have followed up with several second opinions and the dentists and peridontist in my area do not know what to do. Two suggested that removing the implant could compromise the bone to such a degree that even a bone graft would not allow another implant to be placed. I would be looking at a bridge even after all the work was complete. This has been a very bad dental experience.

Help
by: Anonymous

I had my first Bicon implant done in Dec 2010 on my front tooth. Waited 5 months for initial healing after implant was placed before going back to have healing cap placed and impression made for the crown part. Two weeks after the crown was finally seated,I noticed the tooth could turn a little from side to side. I also noticed there is alot of air that seems to flow between the crown portion of the tooth and the gum line making it difficult to pronounce certain sounds/effecting speech.

The other cosmetic issues I found with this tooth is that the lab made the tooth too short compared to my other fron tooth and the color is alot lighter making the tooth stand out when I smile. Went back to the dentist only to be told it wasn't fully seated so he tapped it into place some more. The tooth does not move now however I can hear squeeking when biting into something hard.

Has anyone else had any problems with the crown not fitting close enough to the gum line to cause difficulty with speech due to too much air/saliva etc going around and up under the crown? This is causing alot of embarrassment. The dentist is now telling me there is nothing that can be done, that this is normal. He is also suggesting that I invest in veneers in order to make the rest of my teeth match the implanted tooth since the color was off. I asked if the crown part of the implant could be taken out and remade and was told no..... So disappointed.

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