I got two dental implants last year because the dental bridge I had before was beginning to fail. One of the supporting teeth needed replaced, so dental implants were recommended. I have been dealing with this for what feels like far too long with the bone grafting, surgery, and all the healing time. When the crown was finally placed I was devastated when it only lasted two weeks. The screw literally broke from my jaw. When I went in my dentist said he had never had this happen and it must have been an isolated incident. Well, after a month, the other one broke the exact same way. This doesn’t feel like two flukes. When they were replaced they both broke again. The dentist seems at a loss. I have no trust in him anymore. I really don’t think he knows what he’s doing. He is offering to do them over but I just cannot go through it all again not knowing if they will work. I’m desperately seeking any advice. Please help!
– Sam in Virginia
Sam,
Although patients sometimes don’t realize the length of time required for successful dental implants, they generally work as an excellent replacement for missing teeth. The broken dental implants and situation you are describing is not common.
But when they do, typically a dental implant failure is due to an infected tooth or if it is not bonding with the jawbone properly. Most implants are comprised of titanium which is very durable. That is why it is odd that they are breaking repetitively. It is almost impossible to tell you precisely what is causing your dental implants to break. But is sounds like the materials may be of poor quality. Sometimes dentists will cut corners this way. Substandard parts are sold out of the country for a fraction of the cost. It would be worth your while to find out who the supplier is of the implant dentist you used. That said, it is completely understandable why you seem to have lost faith in this dentist. If he didn’t think of contacting the supplier after multiple breakages, you probably don’t want to have him keep redoing the work.
The other possibility is that your dentist may not be qualified to place them. There may be a problem with the technique.Therefore, it is probably in your best interest to seek a second opinion. Hopefully another implant dentist will be able to investigate the problem and you don’t have to go back through the entire surgical component again. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully, this will all be behind you soon.
This post is sponsored by York PA dentist Donald H. Currie, DMD.