Bone Grafting Fails

Question submitted by Stan:

My dentist was going to give me a dental implant, but when he went in he realized there wasn’t enough bone for the implant. He suggested that I get a bone grafting procedure done. He’d been studying it and felt he could take care of that himself. So, I had the grafting done and then he went in again to try to do the implant. But, again, there wasn’t enough bone. I am wondering if it is still possible for me to get a dental implant. My dentist is now suggesting I get a dental bridge and I am a bit frustrated.

Stan

Dear Stan,

To your dentist’s credit, he is trying to increase his skill set. Many dentists don’t even try to learn the bone grafting. Everyone, dentists and specialists alike start off somewhere on a new procedure. There are bound to be some errors along the way. That being said, he’s working hard to stay abreast of his industry and that is to be commended.

if you want a dental implant, you can still get one. However, you will probably need to go to someone who has been doing this for quite some time. Someone who has more experience and expertise. I am curious how your dentist did not know there was not enough bone support before starting out with your first dental implant. It is important to do sufficient diagnostics when planning a dental implant procedure. One of those should be a CT scan in order to get a good 3 Dimensional look of the jawbone. This could have prevented a failed first surgery.

My suggestion is that you get a second opinion by a dentist or prosthodontist (a specialist) who has a great deal of post-gradate training as well as a high success rate in dental implants.

As a side note, if this tooth you are replacing is in a visible part of your smile, you may want to consider having teeth whitening done before the procedure. Once your implant crown is made, its color cannot be changed without replacing the crown completely.

This blog is brought to you by Tucson Prosthodontist Dr. Howard Steinberg.