Please help me – I am feeling sad and depressed. Is there anything that can be done to reverse the rejection of a dental implant? This is a new implant in my back right molar area, there is no crown yet. I had the implant sur! gery a few weeks ago immediately after a tooth extraction. The dentist is trying a new wider screw that he said could be done immediately after the extraction. Just a few moments ago, I felt it moving around and the area is very sensitive. It felt solid until just late today. A few months ago, I lost an implant after the permanent crown was attached. I was able to remove it myself after it felt like it was floating in the socket!!! The dentist tried to implant another screw but accidentally installed it too deep, through the bottom of the jaw bone. He is giving that area a rest, having done a minor bone graft.
- Cathy from South Carolina
Cathy,
It’s hard for me to tell for sure what’s happening in your case. It could be that you are one of those people where your body has a hard time accepting dental implants. There are people like that. Or it could be that your implants aren’t being placed properly. If all of this was done by one dentist, I would suggest getting a second opinion to learn a little more about which it could be.
When you say that you had this one implant placed immediately after a tooth extraction, I’m concerned about that. If the tooth that was extracted was infected with periodontal disease, that infection could be transferred to the dental implant, and this could be the problem.
Here is a list of possible causes of a loose dental implant:
Stress is placed on the dental implant before the bone around the implant has a chance to fill in.
Infection around the implant.
There wasn’t enough quality bone around the implant.
It heals properly, but later becomes infected.
I hope this is helpful.
As far as the implant you now have that has become loose, there isn’t really anything that can be done to tighten it up. It will have to be removed. If you can get to the bottom of what is going wrong, it could then be possible to later place an implant that will properly integrate with the bone. Look for an implant dentist with a lot of experience and credentials. Training by Dr. Carl Misch, membership in the International College of Oral Implantologists or other dental implant organizations – these are good signs that help indicate that an implant dentist knows what he or she is doing.