Dental implant rejection: symptoms of implant failure, causes and treatment
Although dental implant failure is very rare, sometimes even if the surgeon is experienced and has performed all the procedures carefully, some people’s body may reject the implant. Of course, when it comes to implant rejection, you should not think of immune system rejection of the transplanted organ, because these two categories are completely separate, and the failed implant is more due to the patient’s general health condition and lack of proper care and maintenance after implantation than anything else.
What are the symptoms of dental implant failure?
Failure of the implantation process can have two main reasons. One is peri-implantitis and the other is failure to carry out the osseointegration process.
One of the symptoms of implant rejection is peri-implantitis!
Peri-implantitis happens when you, as a person who has implanted an implant, did not take care of your teeth properly, or in other words, your oral hygiene is poor. For example, if you don’t brush your teeth, you may get gum disease, which itself can damage bone tissue. If these problems are not diagnosed in time, the peri-implant can cause the implant to loosen.
Osteointegration
When we connect the implant to the jawbone or so to speak, we expect that over time the bone tissue around the implant will fill and actually the implant will fuse to the jawbone. This process is called osseointegration. If the jaw can’t surround the implant and connect it to itself, the implant will loosen and actually fail. Osseointegration failure can be caused by the following:
- Weakness of bone tissue or related structural problem
- smoking
- The quality of the bone graft performed by the surgeon
- Surgical method and technique implemented
Early and delayed stages of dental implant failure
In two stages, the dental implant may fail and the body rejects it. The first stage may occur within 3 to 4 months after the operation. Some of the causes and factors that cause implant rejection in the early stages are:
- Poor blood supply around the implant
- Infections in the mouth
- Moving or changing the implant during recovery
- Poor general health of the patient
Unsuccessful dental implant happens with a delay from 1 to 10 years after the dental implant process and can be caused by the following:
- Bacterial infections
- Excessive stress on implants
- Lack of bone tissue or its degeneration
- Lack or reduction of gum tissue
- Poor oral hygiene
- Radiation to the head and neck areas
- Eating and drinking foods that have harmful effects on implants.
Tip:
Choosing a qualified and trained dentist in Canada or surgeon can eliminate some of the factors that can lead to implant failure. But your role in this process is also not ineffective. You must be honest with your surgeon in expressing some of your facts, such as the type of medicine you are taking or the disease and health problem you have. To make your operation more successful.
Other influencing factors on dental implant failure
While peri-implant and failure of osseointegration are the two main factors in implant failure, the following reasons can also be involved in this failure:
- diabetes
- gum disease
- Small jaw or insufficient bone mass
- Poor oral hygiene
- Incorrect placement of oral implants
- Taking some medications
- Poor implant placement
- Some diseases, including cancer
- smoking
- Grinding teeth
People with chronic diseases such as diabetes, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and osteoporosis may be at greater risk for implant rejection. A person with periodontitis may even be prone to peri-implant disease, which can increase the risk of bone destruction and post-surgical infections. Gum disease can also cause tooth decay or implant failure. For this reason, oral and dental hygiene is essential.
How do I know if my dental implant has failed?
There are several main characteristics and signs in this regard. For example:
- You may feel severe pain inside the mouth or around the implant
- Or your gums are swollen and inflamed.
- Or feel that the implant is loose
Treatment of dental implant failure
The method of treatment of failed dental implant depends on the main cause of its occurrence. For example:
- If the reason for implant failure is peri-implantitis, you can treat it by cleaning and washing the implant.
- If the reason is the failure of the oral tissues, it can be solved by improving oral and dental hygiene.
- And if the problem is due to trauma or physical stress to the bone mass of the jaw, the first step is to remove the inflamed tissues around the dental implant, and then bone grafting. Of course, depending on the amount of damage and impact, it may be necessary to replace the implant crown as well.
