Tooth extracted and implant installed

[Cathie]

I have been having problems with one of my back teeth that keeps becoming infected and sore. My dentist has said that the tooth should be removed because he has tried twice to root fill it and it has not worked.

I would like to know if there is a way of having the tooth extracted and implant installed at the same time. Ideally I would like to have no period of being without a tooth. Is this possible with dental implants?

[Dr Vahid Motahar]

Hi,

Thank you for your question.

It appears that you have had a tooth that has been infected several times and hence the need for root canal treatment and re-root canal treatment. If a tooth is symptomatic and painful after having root ccanal treatment for the second time, as your dentist has indicated, it has a poor prognosis and it is usually advised to be removed and extracted.

In many occasions it is a possibility to place implant as soon as a tooth is extracted but the question is whether it is the correct thing to do or not. What I mean by this is that the tooth is removed due to the infection it has and it is not a good idea to place an implant where there is infection and hence the 6 weeks healing period post extraction of a tooth before an impant can be placed. If an implant is placed in an infected bone almost certainly it is guaranteed that it will fail and there will be no osseointegration.

Immediate implant placement after extraction is usually carried out when a tooth in the front of the mouth is extracted and they must be 100% free from any infection in that area. If the extraction site is at the back of the mouth then there is even less justification for taking unnecessary risks and one should consider implant placement 6 weeks after extraction of the tooth. Giving the osseointegration the maximum chance of success.