Dental Practice Newsletters...

Dental Practice Newsletters Dental implants are given to patients as perfect or near perfect replacements with their missing teeth. Rarely could they be informed with the risks and counseled around the failure rates. The procedures might have serious consequences and is not perfect. Implants can and do fail. Patients must be thoroughly accustomed to the risks and understand that dental implants can fail. With the right planning, implant placement is very predictable, safe and creates a functional and esthetic result for patients.

Tooth implants have come a long since their inception within the 1950's. Dental implant technologies are changing in an incredibly fast rate. As each new technologies are adapted, dental implant success usually improves. Occasionally a technology makes the marketplace that is mostly great marketing and only doesn't not improve the success or actually hinders it. Fortunately which doesn't happen often. dental newsletter So what makes tooth implants fail ? There are a variety of factors that lead to an increased likelihood of dental implant failure. Unfortunately a few of the risks usually are not avoidable and that's why dental implants are about 90-95% successful depending on various studies (the number is actually better 95%). As with long bone fractures, despite having the best approximation with the fracture and great immobility, some fractures simply aren't healed once the cast is removed. Either a nonunion occurs (meaning no healing ever really started) or a fibrous union occurs (where rather than bone backward and forward sides of the fracture you've scar tissue). Based on the type where the fracture is and the patient, non-unions and fibrous unions occur about 5% of that time period. That is similar to the failure rate of dental implants.

The same principles of healing from a fracture are congruent with all the healing of an implant. You need good approximation with the bone to the implant surface and a period of immobility to have a successful osseointegration of the implant. Osseointegration means the bone accepted the implant and incorporates itself across the implant. As you have seen, the failure rate of implants resembles the rate of fractures not healing properly. You will get failure of the bone to osseointegrate (much like non-unions) and rather than bone around an implant you have a fibrous encapsulation (like the fibrous union in bone fractures).

However certain conditions that increase the chance of implant failure are poorly controlled diabetes, some bone metabolic and congenital disorders, certain medications like glucocorticoids (prednisone), immunosupressants and bisphosphonate medications (Zometa, Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva, etc.) Additionally, smoking and poor hygienic habits can result in an increased chance of implant failure. People who have these disorders and/or on these medications should bring the theifs to the attention of the implant surgeon so a therapy plan may be tailored to fit their needs as well as their medical conditions.

There are many factors that can lead to a boost in dental implant failure. Implants can fail in the beginning in the healing phase or late. Early failures could be defined as at any time before osseointegration occurs (healing phase) or at that time the crown is affixed towards the implant.

Late failure is described as any time following your implant with all the tooth is under function.