What to Do if Your Dental Implant Feels Loose

Introduction

If you are wanting dental implants to improve your smile and oral health, you can talk to your dentist with little worries of it becoming loose. If the rare case of it occurring, your oral implant expert has excellent options for fixing it.

It is possible to have loose dental implants resolved in one appointment. The actual dental implant repair may last just a short time, maybe one hour. Depending on the reason why a tooth implant became loose, the preparation phase beforehand can range from 2 to 4 weeks.

How a Loose Dental Implant Can be Fixed

State-of-the-art, modern techniques take advantage of sophisticated radiographic capabilities combined with computer technology to enable precise repair or placement of the implants. Detailed-rich 3-D imaging removes guesses and previous room for errors. A skilled dental implant specialist assesses bone structure accurately, diagnoses optimal bone integrity areas, and determines the precise position of implants.

The patient benefits hugely when the implants fit precisely into the surgical sites prepared for them. Often loose dental implant restorations can be loaded right away. Patients can see the difference between having dental implants before and after and be confident of their new smile and new life in the implant abutment when the cause of the loose tooth implant is remedied.

When the crown is loose, then the implant repair is almost always promising. You may need a new crown to be fabricated and then attached to the implant. Most often a loose dental implant involves only a single tooth. If multiple teeth are involved, for example due to a sports accident or car wreck, a full mouth rehabilitation is sometimes recommended.

If the broken part is the implant abutment, this also is typically repairable. Your tooth implant itself can remain in place during removal of the old abutment and while a new one is placed. If the crown is undamaged, then the same original crown is usable and only the broken abutment element needs replacing.

Common Issues When Fixing a Loose Dental Implant

There are two primary areas of attention that your dentist will examine. First, the integrity of the implant post; if compromised, this can lead to a loose dental implant. For example, if it has sustained an exceptionally strong blow, it could be broken. While highly unlikely to occur, since the implant is made of titanium and is extremely strong, infrequently it does. In this rare case, the implant pose will need to be removed and replaced.

Another issue that your dentist will focus on is to fully examine the jaw bone. Implant stability is dependent on a process called osseointegration, which is how the bone tissue of the jaw attaches securely to the tooth implant. The implant actually becomes a part of the bone, which makes it very reliable and secure. When some aspect interferes with this process, then the implant is vulnerable to becoming loose or even fall out.

Follow Your Dentists Instructions Carefully

One possible reason why an implant fails to properly integrate is that the patient begins chewing food on the implant too soon. Remaining steadfast on a soft diet during the period after implant placement is recommended by experts like this professional dentist in Arlington, to allow the full integration process to complete. Infections around the implant, in addition to some diseases and medications, are also known to interfere with integration. That is why your initial consultation and oral history is so important to cover thoroughly.

Dental Implant Studies Report High Success Rates

Also known as an “endosseous implant” or an “oral fixture”, dental implants seldom loosen or fail. This oral surgery has very good success rates in terms of dental and medical procedures. Very rarely does an implant actually break since it is protected inside the bone where it is secured. Dental implants have a high success rate above 97% after 10 years of installation, according to NHI on May 28, 2020.

This statistic aligns with the December 14, 2012, NIH implant study which concludes that: “The present retrospective analysis resulted in a 10-year implant survival rate of 98.8% and a success rate of 97.0%.” Dr. Daniel

• Buser wrote the 10-year survival and success rates of 511 titanium implants with a sandblasted and acid- etched surface article; he lead the dental patient evaluation study that found success presenting with healthy peri- implant soft tissues over the 10-year period.

The vast majority of implants (over 95% in many studies) are successful, do not loosen and last for many years, or the rest of someone’s lifetime. However, if your dental implant feels loose immediately see your treating dental specialist.

Conclusion

Ask if your dentist if she or he has a CT Scanner and implant planning strategy using the latest dental implant technology. He or she will be very comfortable fixing you lose tooth implant. A loose implant is of an urgent nature; it should be assessed immediately by your dentist. The problem will not go away on its own, so waiting for it to resolve itself is not an option. If left untreated, it is likely to only become a more serious problem.

See also:

• Cosmetic Dentistry 101

About Theresa Duncan

Originally from Detroit, MI, Theresa has been offering health and fitness advice for the last 30 years while working as an engineer. She decided to turn her passion into a profession, and finds nothing more satisfying than helping others reach their health and fitness goals.