Bone Grafting Did Not Work
My dentist has done hundreds of dental implants with great success, but for some reason mine was a bust. He did all these pre-diagnostics, which cost a fortune, then told me I needed some bone grafting done. He’d been training on that, so I went ahead and did that, too, with him. More money. After the required healing period, he went in to do the implant surgery but did not place the dental implant because he said there still wasn’t enough bone. He’s now offering to give me a dental bridge. Here are my questions. First, was he just milking me for surgeries? Second, should I get the dental bridge or go somewhere else to get the implant? Does the bone thing matter?
David
Dear David,
I’m going to start with your last question. Yes, the bone thing does matter. The only way for the dental implant to remain securely in your mouth is for there to be enough bone available to integrate with the implant. This bone is important even for your natural teeth. One of the reasons that people with untreated gum disease end up losing their teeth is because the disease eats the bone that supports their teeth.
As for whether he was just milking you for money, I sincerely doubt it. It sounds more to me like you have a fantastic dentist for two reasons. First, he’s trying to keep up with the developments in his field and learn them in order to serve his patients in the best way possible. You’d mentioned he’d been training on that. All people, no matter what the field, when they are learning a new skill will have failures. That’s what learning is like for everyone. But, he’s learning. That will only end up better for you in the long run.
Second, he has integrity. If he were trying to just take your money, he would have just placed the implant knowing the bone grafting did not work. Eventually, your implant would have failed, but it would likely take a year or more and have been impossible to prove that he was at fault.
As to whether you should get the dental bridge, that is a fine alternative to a dental implant. This is especially true if one of the adjacent teeth already needs a dental crown. Then, you’d be knocking off two procedures at once. You can certainly still get the dental implant if that is the replacement you really want. However, you’ll need to go to a different surgeon to have at least the bone grafting part done.
I know you’re frustrated, and I understand, but it does sound like your dentist was trying his best with a procedure that was new to him and was up front with you when things went awry.
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Antibiotics with a Sinus Perforation
I am a bit frustrated. I had a dental implant placed. Then, it was removed again six months later because the dentist said that the bone never filled in properly. He mentioned that the implant had perforated my sinus cavity, but that it was no problem because this happens all the time with dental implants and that it was only a few millimeters. I worried that I would need an antibiotic, but he told me there was no need. I started having some pain and popping in the nose area. I called the dentist and he told me to take some decongestant. I did that but it didn’t help. In fact, then I developed yucky drainage and a fever. I called back and this time insisted he give me an antibiotic. He relented and wrote me a prescription. That’s when I finally started getting better. Should he have given me the antibiotic to begin with? Also, he said we could try again in a year or I could just get a dental bridge. Do you have a recommendation?
Avery
Dear Avery,
I’m glad you wrote. There is an even bigger issues here that we’ll get to in a moment. First, I want to answer the question you wrote with. Not giving you an antibiotic at the beginning is not a problem. He’d want to wait until there were signs of infection. That being said, there was some sign there when you began having pain. I am glad that you had the courage to put your foot down when the fever developed. At that point, you should not have had to insist.
Now, let’s get into two huge issues I see here. First, the perforation of the sinus cavity. While it does happen sometimes, I wouldn’t say that it happens all the time, at least not with skilled dentists who do proper diagnostics. However, JUST a few millimeters is misleading. In most cases in life, a few millimeters is no big deal. In dentistry, however, a few millimeters is HUGE. He should not have made light of that.
When you have dental implants placed, it is important to have some 3-dimensional diagnostics done, such as a CT scan to avoid what happened to you, among other potential serious problems.
A second issue is the fact that your bone never integrated with the implant. This is why it had to be removed. In a way, you are fortunate that it did not integrate because if it did, your infection could have gotten into the bone and been very serious.
As for whether you should get a dental implant or a bridge, I would recommend a dental implant unless the adjacent teeth needed crowns anyway. If they do, you can knock two problems out with one procedure. If they don’t need a crown, it seems a bad idea to grind those teeth down if you don’t have to.
That being said, I would make sure you had a good explanation for why the bone didn’t integrate before you move forward.
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Dental Implants Keep Falling Out
You know that nightmare you have were some of your teeth just fall out? Well, I feel like I’m living that. I had four dental implant placed on my lower ridge. These were supposed to eventually have dentures anchored to them. I’m also getting two individual implants on my upper arch. Here is my problem. I’ve only had the implants about a week, and two of them have already fallen out. I have a few questions. First, should I be expected to pay for dental implants that fall out? Second, do I need to be worried about the other two? Third, should I bother getting the two upper ones? Fourth, is it possible to get working dental implants or do I need to find another alternative? Finally, if I do need to find the alternative, what do you recommend?
Wallace
Dear Wallace,
I am sorry this has happened to you. I will tell you that most trained implant dentists have a 5% failure rate. Even then, most of them won’t fail for at least a year. Your dentist has a 50% failure rate in a week. There is something really wrong here. Priority number one will be figuring out why your dental implants failed.
Some Reasons for Dental Implant Failure
- Development of an infection. This is generally accompanied by pain and/or a fever. This can happen if the dentures are not fit properly., often because of poorly fitting fixtures.
- Diagnostic shortcuts. It is important for your dentist to determine if you have enough bone to support the dental implants. If you don’t, there is a bone grafting procedure which can be done.
- The use of substandard implant fixtures. Some dentists will do this to increase their profits without raising their prices.
- Incorrect placement of the implants.
- Placing the dental crown before the bone has had enough time to fuse with the implant fixtures. Dentists call this premature loading.
As for your questions, here are my thoughts:
First, no, you should not have to pay for the failed dental implants, especially ones that failed this quickly. Should you be worried about the other two? Absolutely. Before you do anything else, I want you to see a dentist who has extensive post-doctoral training in dental implants. Don’t tell them who your dentist is, just what happened and ask if they can tell you what caused the failure. Without that information there is no point in moving forward.
Once that is pinpointed, he or she should be able to tell you how to proceed. If you are in good general health, there should be no problem getting dental implants or even the implant supported dentures you are working on. It will require some bone grafting first, but it is very likely you needed that anyway and, failure to obtain that information on the part of your dentist, was why they failed to begin with.
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Painful Dental Implant Failure
I cracked an upper tooth and my dentist said it could not be saved. The best option he proposed was a dental implant. When he did the shot for the Novocaine I am convinced something went wrong because it felt like he hit my brain. Ever since them my whole palate has been burning. I mentioned it to the dentist and he told me some burning was normal after a procedure. I’d returned several times when the pain and burning didn’t subside. He then diagnosed me with with thrush and gave me a prescription. That prescription did absolutely nothing. My mouth burns constantly. I did some research on my own. I know… the old Google Medical Degree. However, I found something called Burning Mouth Syndrome and it fits my symptoms exactly. Is that a possibility?
That wasn’t the end of my troubles. When he placed the crown for the dental implant he had some trouble and had to press down extremely hard. It was excruciating. A couple of months later and the crown fell off. I was out of state helping my mother after her surgery. I went to a dentist there and they told me that the dental implant was infected and needed to come out. He did the surgery and removed the implant, then suggested a dental bridge in its place, which I did after some healing.
All totaled, I’ve been to the dentist almost twenty times and now have no dental implant to show for it. I’ve contacted a couple of attorney’s hopting to sue for damages to recoup my money. No one seems interested in the case though. What do I do? I’ve spent thousands.
Lana
Dear Lana,
Let’s start with the burning mouth syndrome. I do agree that this is a strong possibility. One of the causes of it is anxiety from a traumatic appointment, which you certainly had. Your problem in getting a lawyer likely lies in the fact that dental malpractice suits do not bring in a lot of money. Even if you had a lawyer take you on, then you would need an expert witness on your side.
I do think some mistakes were made. First, was the misdiagnoses about thrush, which frankly was laughable. Then, there was the crown falling off. I’m a bit sceptical about the infection. You didn’t mention anything about pain in the implant itself or a fever. These are common signs of an infection, plus I think the implant would have started to loosen.
I haven’t examined you, but based on your description of how the implant was placed, it sounds like your dentist placed too much force on the implant. That could have damaged the bond between the implant and the surrounding bone, leading to later implant failure.
Placing dental implants is an advanced procedure that requires post-doctoral training. Not many dentists invest in that training and there are countless dental implant horror stories to demonstrate that.
Unless you can get another dentist to diagnose why the dental implant failed along with some proof it will be hard to get money back on the implant itself. The misdiagnosis on the thrush and the crown falling off are easily proved. That would get you at least a partial refund.
I am sorry this happened to you.
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Dentist placed my implant in shallow bone, and it failed
After implant surgery, my dentist said that he placed the implant, but my bone was shallower than he expected. After three months, he now says that the implant will not heal, so he wants to remove it. My dentist offers a dental bridge instead. I spent $3200 on dental implant failure. I told my dentist that I am not interested in a bridge. Will you please give me suggestions on how to get my money back and get a new implant? Should I let my dentist remove the implant? – Thank you. Marlon from Iowa
Marlon,
Your dentist failed you legally and in the care he provided. Your implant will not function, so he owes you a refund. So you can promptly ask for one, and it should not take much explanation. We will offer suggestions later in this post.
Placing a Dental Implant in Shallow Bone
A dentist can avoid placing a dental implant in the shallow bone. Before implant placement, a skilled dentist plans for it. Three-dimensional x-rays are a must to reveal your bone volume and orofacial anatomy. While using 3-D guided navigation, a dentist can precisely place your implant for maximum support and a dental crown that fits well.
It seems that your dentist failed to do adequate x-rays. And during surgery, he placed the implant knowing your bone level is shallow.
Dental Bridge vs. Implant
- Dental implant – If you want a dental implant and you have low bone volume, a skilled dentist or oral surgeon can build your bone with grafting. After the graft heals, your dentist can place the implant. But a dentist must extract your current implant first and allow the area to heal.
- Dental bridge – A dental bridge requires grinding down the healthy teeth on either side of the missing one. After the teeth are shaved down, the ends of a dental bridge will fit over them. And those teeth will anchor the bridge.
Getting a Refund for a Dental Implant
You can get a refund for a failed dental implant with these steps:
- Ask your new implant dentist to help you get a refund
- Tell your current dentist that you are willing to report the issue to the state dental board
- If your insurance company partially paid for any of your implant services, report the issue to them
- Hire an attorney
- Demand that your dentist pays for the cost of your new treatment.
Although your dentist gets credit for not continuing with the process and attaching a crown to your implant, he still owes you a refund. And an apology would help, too.
It Is Time to Switch Dentists
Look for dentists with post-graduate implantology (dental implant) training. Schedule at least two consultations to discuss and compare your options.
Thomas J. Goebel, DDS of Moline, IL, sponsors this post.