Tooth loss detracts from your daily quality of life because once-basic tasks, like eating, speaking, and smiling, become much more challenging. Many experts consider dental implants an ideal way to rebuild your grin because they offer unique advantages over alternatives like dentures and dental bridges.
For example, implants include titanium rods embedded in your jaw to become a permanent part of your mouth. This gives them added strength and stability, but they’re not completely invincible. A loose restoration can point to more serious underlying concerns. Continue reading to learn more about why this happens and what you can do!
Why Does My Dental Implant Feel Loose?
These prosthetics usually have an incredibly high success rate of more than 90%, meaning that most patients don’t typically experience adverse effects related to their procedure. However, there’s still a small chance of developing issues that can destabilize your new teeth.
Your dental implant is comprised of multiple parts: the titanium rod, the abutment on top of it, and the final tooth-shaped restoration anchored to the abutment. Physical trauma, faulty design, or too much pressure can damage one or more of these components.
Some potential problems include:
- A loose abutment. Your dentist may need to remove the dental crown and the abutment to repair it.
- Damaged restoration. If your dental crown, or other appropriate prosthetic, is chipped or broken, it might come free from the abutment. Sometimes, it can be recemented, but it might need to be replaced.
- Infection. The number one leading cause of failure is a pervasive form of gum disease called peri-implantitis. It can spread to the jawbone and erode the materials needed to hold your new tooth in place.
- Insufficient bone density. Your jaw must create enough new bone growth to fuse with the titanium rod of your implant, or it could become wobbly in the socket. If you don’t have a sufficiently thick jawbone, you’re less likely to complete this stage of recovery successfully.
How Should I Handle a Loose Dental Implant?
You should contact your dentist right away to let them know what’s happened so they can schedule an appropriate appointment time to examine you. The longer it goes unaddressed, the more likely your implant will fail, so it’s best to reach out immediately.
Once you arrive at the allotted time, your provider will examine your mouth to identify the issue. Then, they’ll suggest appropriate treatments to fix it and walk you through the details for your approval before proceeding.
If you have any concerns about the condition of your dental implant, calling your dentist is the best next step!
About the Practice
At Peabody Smile Design, you and your family benefit from a team of dentists with 10+ years of experience helping people of all ages build their happiest, healthiest smiles. Dr. Shah, Dr. Kashyap, and Dr. Manoukian collaborate cohesively to offer a comprehensive menu of services at one convenient location, including dental implants. They have the specialized training and state-of-the-art equipment to complete each step of the process in the office, including oral surgery, to streamline your experience. Then, they provide a lifelike restoration meant to last. You can request a consultation on the website or call (978) 278-5478.