Dental Implants: Reasons Why They Can Fail

Posted on: 14 June 2017

There is always a risk of something going wrong when having a surgical procedure done. That said, the risk of failure is quite small when it comes to dental implants, with the failure rate being as low as 5% for implants placed in the lower jaw. Be aware of these potential reasons for dental implant failure.

Bacteria

Bacteria has the potential to get into the jawbone from the surgical procedure of placing the titanium post. The weak tissue surrounding the post is attacked by the bacteria, which makes that part of your jaw susceptible to an infection preexisting in your body.

This type of failure won't affect all of the implants that you have installed at the time. Bacteria may only impact a single implant in some situations, with implants placed in the opposite jawbone will be protected due to their distance from a bacterial infection.

Contamination

The surgical process is designed to be sterile to avoid any contamination of the titanium dental implant. Manufacturers of dental implants also must follow standards set by the FDA to avoid contaminating the material. Accidents can happen that can contaminate the titanium post sometime during the manufacturing process or the surgical procedure itself.

Poor Placement

Jawbones are different from person to person due to the size of the jawbone. One person may have a narrow jawbone that requires precision when placing the implant. Meanwhile, another person may have a wide jawbone that makes the implant surgical procedure easier to perform. Implants that are incorrectly placed in the jaw could cause the body to reject the implant. It requires that you have a very skilled dentist that knows how to place the implant, no matter what size jawbone you have.

Ignored Aftercare

Your own aftercare can play just as big of a factor in dental implant failure as the surgical procedure itself. You will want to follow all aftercare procedures provided by your dentist to have the greatest chance of success. For instance, smoking is known to cause your risk of dental implant failure to be higher than normal, so you will need to cut out that habit to give yourself the best possible recovery.

If you want to give your dental implants the best chance of success you should be sure to use a qualified and experience dentist to perform the procedure for you. Reach out to a local dentist that can help.

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