Rejuvenating a Ruined Implant Site Having Severely Damaged

Periodically we see someone who is in danger of having his or her bone irreparably damaged from untreated infection or even created when an implant has been mishandled when inserted causing bone loss.

Mr. O presented with severely broken-down bone after the removal of a failed implant by his general dentist who had perforated the bone while inserting it creating a large infection, which, in turn caused further bone loss. He was preparing to place another implant in that site without first rebuilding the lost bone. This would have caused a massive reinfection and loss of an even greater amount of bone loss rendering the implant site inoperable for any replacement implant. Losing confidence, Mr. O sought our services.

It was very clear that, before any implant should be placed, the site needed to be completely repaired (Figs 1, 2). Under oral sedation, we cleaned out the infection, and, using bone particles with a growth factor, we rebuilt the implant site to the proper width with very good density (Figs 3, 4). Without preplanning the precise placement on the CBCT scan (Fig. 4) in a “virtual reality”, we would not have been able to optimally insert the implant. The implant site was transformed from a hopeless site to an excellent one with a very good prognosis. The bone width and density had been re-established, and no one will know it has been treated.