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Dentist Placed an Implant Knowing it Would Fail

I was going to get a dental implant. My dentist said he’d done quite a few of them and that I was a great candidate. I was thrilled to be getting a tooth that would be permanent and had heard great things about implants. When I woke up from the surgery he told me that I didn’t have enough bone for them to succeed. But, for some reason he placed the implant anyway. Now he’s saying that he wants me to remove it and get a dental bridge because it won’t last long. Two things about this I have questions about. First, should I have to pay for him to remove it if he placed it knowing that it would fail? Second, am I doomed to getting a dental bridge or is it still possible for me to get a dental implant?

Gerald

Dear Gerald,

I am so sorry that this happened to you. I’m aghast at the lack of ethics your dentist is showing here. I’m going to answer both your questions, starting with the second one. Unless there is a serious health issue that you have not mentioned, there should be no problem with you getting a dental implant. However, you won’t be able to do it with this dentist.

As for your first question, no, you shouldn’t have to pay for the removal. Imagine if you purchased a new stove and then after delivering it the seller tells you that “Oh, by the way, it doesn’t work. I recommend you remove it and get a different one.” You wouldn’t put up with that at all. Don’t put up with it from your dentist. One of the basic tenants of dental procedures is that there is an expectation it will work. Placing it knowing that it would fail violated that.

Instead of asking for a refund, I want you to find a skilled implant dentist. One who has advanced post-doctoral training in implants and have your original dentist pay for the removal and replacement. This will also mean that you will need an additional procedure, known as bone grafting, but it will be worth it.

This blog is brought to you by Douglas, AZ Dentist Dr. Gilbert Tostado.
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Dental Implants After 10 Years

I wanted to get dental implants from the very beginning but did not have the money. I decided to just get the regular dentures and save up. Unfortunately, I had several setbacks including a car wreck that left me hospitalized and without income for a couple of months. I’ve finally got enough money to get the dental implants, but it has taken me a little over ten years! Am I too late? I hope not because I REALLY hate these dentures.

Maggie

Dear Maggie,

I am so terribly sorry about the accident you were in as well as all the hardship that has resulted from the accident. It says a lot about your perseverance and character that you were still able to save up for dental implants after that. Honestly, I’m impressed.

Here is some good news for you. You are not too late. Technically, you can get dental implants at any point after getting dentures with two caveats. First, you must be in good general health to be a candidate. Second, depending on how long you have been in completely removable dentures, you will need to have bone grafting done in order to have a successful outcome.

When your teeth were removed, your body began resorbing the minerals in your jawbone in an effort to be as efficient as possible with your its resources. Unfortunately, this has the side effect of shrinking your jawbone. That jawbone in needed in order to retain the dental implants. In dental circles, we call this facial collapse.

In your place, I recommend seeing an experienced implant dentist, one who has post-doctoral training in the procedure. Have him or her do some great diagnostics, including a CT scan to see where you are bone-wise. That will determine how much bone grafting you need. Once that is done and you’ve had some time to heal, you will have the go-ahead for dental implants.

The great thing is, now that you’ve been living with dentures for the last ten years, your quality of life is going to go up dramatically after your dental implant procedure is completed. You’ll feel like a new woman!

This blog is brought to you by Douglas, AZ Dentist Dr. Gilberto Tostado.

Half My Dental Implants Have Fallen Out

I received eight dental implants in total. I’ve already paid for five of them and will pay for three more and some dentures in a couple of months. However, they’ve already started falling out. Today, I lost the fourth one and it has only been a little over a week since they’ve been placed. I feel I should get a refund on these so they can be redone. I’m also wondering if I should be concerned over the remainder of them. Have you seen this happen before?

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

First, this is not normal and should not have happened. Your dentist has a 50% success rate for the dental implants he’s given you thus far. Most competent implants dentists have a 95% success rate and even that 5% of failure doesn’t happen for a year or more out. As for a refund. I would not just ask for a refund. Getting dental implants redone is not as simple as replacing the ones that failed. Instead, you have to first have a bone grafting procedure to build back up all the bone that was lost during the failure and removal of your dental implants. That costs even more than what you paid him originally. What I would like you to do instead is request him to pay to have these redone by an implant dentist of your choosing. My recommendation is you find someone with extensive post-doctoral training in dental implants as well as a high success rate so you can be certain you are getting competent work done.

Before moving forward with your replacements, I would like you to get a solid explanation for why they failed in the first place.

Common Reasons for Dental Implant Failure

Infection at the implant site.
Inadequate bone support. This is always the fault of the dentist. If he or she does adequate diagnostics, the problem would be realized and dealt with using a bone grafting procedure.
Cheap implant fixtures. Rather than pay high fees for implant fixtures held to rigid standards, some dentists will try to increase their profits by purchasing cheap fixtures.
Incorrect placement of the implant – Also completely the fault of the dentist.
Premature loading. This means the dentist placed the crowns or dentures too soon. The bone needs time to integrate with the implants in a process known as osseointegration.

This blog is brought to you by Douglass, AZ Dentist Dr. Tostado.