Recognizing Botched Dental Implants

Dental implants are meant to enhance and improve your smile. Sometimes, however, this procedure doesn’t go as planned and the dental implants can fail. This leads to a botched dental implant and multiple problems for you. Before you get dental implants, make sure you know how to recognize dental implant failure.

Common Mistakes With Botched Dental Implants

Various mistakes can lead to a botched dental implant procedure.
Most of these issues are caused by inexperienced dentists performing this delicate dental work.

Schedule a Consultation

Implants at the Wrong Angle

A dental implant needs to be placed straight into the jaw to ensure it’s in the correct position. If it is placed at an angle in any direction, it will lead to future implant problems and, likely, a dental implant failure. This is because an implant that is at an angle doesn’t have adequate jawbone support to ensure that it lasts.

Implants Not Surrounded by Bone

A dental implant needs to be firmly set into the jaw and surrounded by bone to maintain its strength and integrity. If the implant isn’t properly integrated into the jaw, the bone around it starts to recede. This loosens the dental implant and can lead to future implant problems.

Implant Spacing Is Off

A dental implant should be placed 1.5 to 2 mm from another tooth for proper spacing. If it is too close or too far away from surrounding teeth, numerous problems can occur.

When the dental implant is too close to another tooth, it can cause dental care problems, bone loss, and gum recession issues. If the implant is too far away from another tooth, the crown won’t fit the space, chewing can be affected, and food can get impacted in the open space. All of these issues can cause tooth implant failure.

Implants Don’t Match

Our natural teeth are an off-white color. However, if the dental implant crowns don’t match your existing teeth, the stark difference results in a botched dental implant job. You want your dental implant to seamlessly blend in with the rest of your teeth and if it doesn’t, you’ll have to get the crowns replaced.

Implants Keep Breaking

Dental implants can break in a variety of ways, including:

Too much pressure on them before they are fully healed.
The abutment connecting the implant to the crown breaks from wear and tear.
The implant screw breaks below the surface due to poor placement.

If you are experiencing any of these issues, or the implant continues to break after being fixed, you have dental implant failure and need to seek more in-depth treatment.

Implants Set Too Close to Nerves / Irreversible Nerve Damage

Dental implants placed too close to nerves create long-term jaw pain and can cause nerve damage. Your dentist should take multiple high-quality X-rays of your jaw before placing the implant to ensure it won’t be anywhere near a nerve.

If you are experiencing pain around your implant that just won’t go away, this is a sign of dental implant problems. You should speak to your dentist right away to address the issue.

Implants Placed at the Wrong Depth

A dental implant needs to be placed at the correct depth in the jaw or it will create a whole host of problems. If the implant is too deep, the abutment and crown will sit too low, which can cause gum issues, chewing and biting problems, and pain.

If the implant is too shallow, the abutment and crown will sit too high. This can cause food to get trapped under the crown, problems with chewing and biting, and excess pressure on the entire implant, which can lead to implant breakage.

Implants Are Too Large

Some people have smaller jawbones and need mini implants for the smaller size. However, if a dentist doesn’t use the smaller implant, it can cause any of the above problems, including nerve damage, incorrect spacing, gum issues, and more.

What Are Some Signs of Dental Implant Failure?

Dental implant failure is not immediately evident after the procedure. But there are some issues that can be a clear sign of a botched dental implant. Know what signs to look for so you can get help immediately if a problem arises.

Schedule a Consultation

Prolonged Pain and Discomfort

When a dental implant is first placed, it is normal for there to be some pain and discomfort. However, those issues should resolve shortly. If you are still feeling pain around your implant for months afterward, specifically excruciating pain, this is a strong indication of dental implant failure and it needs to be addressed immediately.

Gum Recession/Swollen Gums

Your dental implant should act as a natural tooth, so receding and/or swollen gums are cause for concern. If the implant is placed at the wrong angle, is too shallow or too deep, or doesn’t have enough bone to support it, the gums will be one of the first places to show signs of a problem.

Difficulty Chewing

Poorly placed implants make it hard to chew and bite down properly. If you notice you are having problems chewing after getting a dental implant, this could be a sign of implant failure and you should contact your dentist.

Implant Movement

With natural teeth, it is normal for teeth to have a very slight bit of movement. This is not normal with a dental implant. Because the implant is securely fixed into the bone, it should not be moving at all. If you notice any movement in your implant, this could be a sign of a failed or botched dental implant.

An Experienced Dentist Is Key

If you are considering dental implants, you should thoroughly research your dentist options before moving forward.

First, you want to find a dentist who either specializes in dental implants or has extensive experience. Placing a dental implant is a highly technical and precise process and it isn’t a task that just any dentist can do. Don’t be afraid to ask a prospective dentist about their credentials and experience with dental implants.

Next, you need to read customer reviews. Look in a variety of places for reviews and testimonials, not just on the dentist’s website. Make sure other people are happy with the work the dentist does before you trust them with your dental implants.

Find the Right Dentist for Your Implants

Dental implants are a long-term solution or on the flip-side a never-ending nightmare. Your choice needs to be clear. You want to make sure your implants are done correctly and last as long as they should. Find Just Wright Dental, who has extensive experience and knowledge with implants to ensure that your dental implants are done right the first time.