I had a tooth get knocked out and everyone told me the best replacement was a dental implant. I’ve only had it a few weeks and it feels loose. Am I going to lose my new tooth too?

Kaitlyn

Dear Kaitlyn,

 

I would go back to see the dentist who did your dental implant right away. There are two possibilities. One is that it is actually the dental implant crown that is loose and the dental implant itself is fine. This is the easiest possibility.

If, however, the dental implant itself is loose, that is a bigger problem. Placing dental implants is a very advanced procedure and not all dentists have the requisite training to do them well. I don’t know if you checked the dental implant qualifications of this dentist before the procedure or not, but I would take a look at them now.

Let’s say it is the implant itself. It will need to be removed and replaced. However, you can’t just replace the implant. Before that will be possible, you will need to have some bone grafting done in order to replace the bone structure you lost. Then, after a time of healing, you can have the implant replaced.

However, before you let this dentist replace your implant he or she needs to be able to tell you exactly why it failed. A loose implant usually means an infection or that you did not have enough bone to integrate with the implant to begin with. However, your dentist should have done diagnostics beforehand to make certain that you had enough support.

It is hard to tell you exactly what is going on without seeing you, but this should give you some idea. The important thing is that you get this evaluated right away.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn Dentist Dr. Yount.
Auburn College Dentist