Dental Implant Restoration
Beaverton, OR

Dental implants are a fantastic option for many patients who have suffered from unwanted tooth loss. If properly taken care of, they have a 99 percent success rate and generally can be expected to last you for the rest of your life. However, in those very rare cases that your implant fails, a dental implant restoration may be necessary to save your implant. If your implant becomes damaged, either through neglect or just sheer bad luck, we here at Summercrest Dental can help save your damaged implant and help prevent any other complications that can arise during implant failure.

What Happens During Implant Restoration?

Your dental implant is made up of three different parts: the post, the abutment, and the crown. The post is the actual implant, the part that gets surgically installed in your jawline. The abutment attaches to the post and your crown, the actual portion of the implant that resembles a tooth, rests on the abutment. Problems that can arise on your implant can affect any of these parts, such as if your implant becomes loose or your crown gets cracked. How we restore your implant depends largely on which part of it became damaged.

Replacing the crown is fairly straightforward. We typically will start with x-rays to determine if there is any other damage to the implant. Sometimes a broken crown can be repaired with bonding material, but if the damage is too severe, we may have to cast a brand-new one for you. Fortunately, this is a straightforward process and typically not complicated at all.

If your implant has become loose, or if it is failing, then we will have to work more intensively on it. This will most likely be a surgical procedure if we need to remove and replace the post. We will sedate you with anesthesia to ensure your comfort during this process. Once we remove the damaged post, we may have to perform a bone graft if you have sustained any bone loss. Unfortunately, this is a multi-step process, as we will then wait to ensure that your bone graft is healing properly. This can take up to six months or more, depending on how well your mouth is healing.

Once we know your mouth is healed, we will then surgically place a new titanium post into your jawbone. We will take new impressions of your mouth to ensure that your crown is a good fit. After the post is placed, and it fuses properly to your bone, we can then place the abutment and your crown. From start to finish, this could take up to a year or more.

Caring For Your Dental Implants

Taking good care of your dental implants is key to preventing issues like a failure from occurring. You still need to practice good oral hygiene, such as brushing and flossing, to prevent infection and gum disease. Be careful when eating to prevent the crown from breaking and avoid exposing your mouth to extreme temperatures also to help prevent these problems. If you take good care of your implant, then you can expect it to last your entire lifetime.

If you have dental implants, or you are interested in learning more about them, please reach out to us here at Summercrest Dental at (503) 649-7701. Whether you have never had a dental implant before in your life, or you have one that needs restored, we are happy to help you!