Dental Implant failure

[Rita]

Hi

I had a dental implant placed by a dentist in Italy about 10 years ago and recently the crown on the implant became loose.

I was worried that the implant crown will come off at some point and leave me with an embarrassing gap at the front of my mouth so I went to see a local dentist to have the crown re-connected.

Unfortunately the dentist told me that the whole implant is loose and not just the crown and he said that my implant failure has occurred due to gum disease. He is suggesting removing the failed implant and fitting a denture.

I would hate to live with a plastic denture and would like a second opinion. I would like to know if you could provide me with another implant to replace my current one.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your post. Unfortunately active gum disease does cause bone loss and eventual dental implant failure as well as teeth mobility and failure. You would need to see a periodontist to treat and stabalise your gum disease before another implant can be placed.

In the mean time, you could have a temporary bridge or denture to cover the gap left by the removal of the loose implant. More than likely you will need bone grafting/augmentation to rebuild the lost bone once the gum disease becomes inactive.