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Can a Failing Implant Be Salvaged or Replaced?
Posted in Dental Implants
Posted on February 14, 2020 by Dr. Gerald Marlin
Occasionally patients visit us to repair an implant that, for some reason, is failing. Even with extensive bone loss, the implant can usually be saved.
The video below explains the factors that can limit the success of a dental implant. It also provides an overview of Dr. Gerald Marlin’s approach to compromised implants and shows how proper planning can help avoid complications after placement.
Success Story: Saving a Dental Implant
In this example, the implant under the abutment and crown started to lose bone seven years after its placement and restoration. The implant showed extensive bone loss for approximately one-third its length.
In order to detoxify and regraft the bony housing around the implant, the abutment and crown were removed, bone graft material was combined with a growth factor, and the implant was “buried” under a protective filter below the gingiva (gum tissue).
An X-ray taken after four months showed new bone formation that not only filled in around the implant’s side, but actually grew over the top. After five months, the implant was exposed, and the abutment and crown were reseated. This approach saved the implant without the need for removal.
Schedule Your Washington D.C. Consultation Today
If you suspect that your dental implant is failing, call 202-244-2101 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Marlin. Elite Prosthetic Dentistry serves patients from Washington D.C., Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Arlington, and nearby areas of Maryland and Virginia as well as those who travel to our practice from out-of-state or out-of-country.
Through this commitment, Dr. Marlin provides his patients with long-lasting (35 years vs. the national average of 7-10 years) aesthetic restorations so that they have virtually no future problems.
As such, he is a leading specialist in dental implants, cosmetic dentistry, sedation dentistry , and restorative dentistry in the Bethesda–Chevy Chase, Northern Virginia, and Washington DC Metro Area. He has inserted and restored over 3,600 dental implants.
