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Monthly Archives

August 2012

Aug 31

Why do my dental implants keep failing?

By Dental Implants

Over the past five years I have tried to get implants for three missing teeth, but they have all failed. The surgeon has taken extreme care and rebuilt my jawbone in those places, but my body seems to keep rejecting them. My implant dentist is clueless. I want to replace these teeth. What do you suggest? – Margo

Margo – In rare instances, because of body chemistry, there are patients for whom dental implants don’t work. The situation is similar to a patient’s body that rejects a tissue transplant.

It is surprising that, if you have an implant dentist, he or she is clueless. If you want reassurance, get a second opinion from a credentialed implant dentist. Take a look at our Meet Dr. LaVacca web page to get an idea of the kind of credentials you should look for in a dentist from whom you will receive a second opinion.

If your body is rejecting the implants, the implant dentist will be able to recommend alternate treatments. Although implants are the most effective and natural-looking tooth replacement, there are alternatives that will also look natural.

This blog post is sponsored by Naperville implant dentist and American Board-certified prosthodontist Dr. Anthony LaVacca

Aug 31

Too many implant failures

By Dental Implants

I’ve had so any implant failures on my two lower front teeth that my surgeon is stumped. He said he’s never seen this many failures before.   Do you know why? Is there ANY chance I can get implants?

Candice from Georgia

Candice,

In many cases, dental implants fail because of some mistake on the part of the surgeon/dentist. However, that is not always the case. Dental implants can fail due to no error whatsoever. For some patients, there is a rare condition with their body chemistry that causes their body to reject the implants, sort of the way some patients can reject a heart or kidney transplant. It just isn’t compatible with their body. If you’ve had many implant failures with a skilled implant dentist/surgeon, you may be one of those rare cases.

That being said, I wouldn’t despair yet. When you said your dentist was “stumped”, it made me wonder about just how skilled he or she truly is. He shouldn’t be stumped. My suggestion is that you get a second opinion. However, I want you to be careful about to whom you go for the second opinion.

Go to the website of either the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, or the American Board of Oral Implantology. Check their membership rolls for a surgeon with fellowship or diplomate status. These surgeons will have impeccable credentials.  You can be an exemplary implant dentist without that status, but this will be a sort of guarantee for you that you’ll be getting the best possible information.

This blog is brought to you by Naperville Dentist Dr. Anthony LaVacca.

 

Aug 15

Why do the crowns make my implants hurt?

By Dental Implant Mistakes, Dental Implants, Porcelain Crown

I received four dental implants, but the crowns seem to make them hurt. Whenever the crowns are placed on the implants I feel pain. Is something wrong with the crowns or is it the implants. I talked to the surgeon about it, but I got nowhere with him. The thought of what could have gone wrong is starting to make me nervous. What can I do? Thanks for your help – Danielle from Minnesota

Danielle – Without an examination, it is not possible to say precisely what is causing your problem, but we can tell you what is potentially causing your pain.

The dental implants may be affecting a nerve, they may be too small, they may be incorrectly placed, there might be an infection around them, or there may be too much stress on them—in which case, the crowns can increase the stress and cause pain.

The normal pain after implants are placed usually lasts only one or two weeks. If crowns are being placed on your implants, then you have passed the recommended healing period of three to four months, and the crowns are not likely to be the cause of the pain.

Your surgeon has no input on what may be causing the problem, so we recommend that you get a second opinion from a different implant dentist. Check his or her credentials to ensure that he or she is skilled in implant placement.

This blog post is sponsored by Naperville implant dentist Dr. Anthony LaVacca.

Aug 11

Bad root canal

By Root Canal Treatment

I had a root canal. I don’t think it was done right cause I am in tons of pain.  It makes me sick in my stomach to the point I think I’m going to vomit. What do you think is happening? I don’t want this anymore and am thinking of just getting rid of the tooth.

Rebecca from Colorado

Rebecca,

It is quite common for a root canal treatment to have a painful flare up, even if nothing was done wrong. Occasionally, infected material get’s pushed through the apex into the bone, which causes the ligament in that area to get inflamed and painful. Though the pain can be difficult to tolerate, it isn’t serious and your body should be able to fight the infection on its own.

Rather than pull your tooth after all the effort of saving it with a root canal, I would ask your dentist to reduce your bite. This will almost completely eliminate your pain. Generally, after a root canal treatment, a tooth is protected with a dental crown. If you have the bite reduced now, it won’t change anything that needs to be done to the tooth later.

You may also be interest in reading about Tooth Decay, Prevention, and Treatment.

This blog is brought to you by Naperville Dentist Dr. Anthony LaVacca.

Aug 07

Should I get a metal foundation crown if I’m allergic to metal?

By Dental Crowns

Hi,

My dentist wants to give me a porcelain fused to metal crown for my recent root canal. The problem is I’m allergic to metal. What about Zirconia? Would that be a better option?

Denise L. – Colorado Springs

Denise,

If your rash comes from things like cheap jewelry, than you are more than likely allergic to the nickel.  Any good dentist will include a question about metal allergies in your health questionnaire. Hopefully your dentist asked you about that. If not, I would consider a different dentist for your oral health needs.

If your allergy is to nickel, than you don’t have to worry about any precious metals in your mouth. There are three categories of metals used in dental crowns.

  • Base metals (non-precious metals)-Base metals are still and inexpensive. They are very likely to have nickel in them.
  • Noble metals (semi-precious metals)-These are softer and more workable. They have  have at least 40% of a combination of gold, platinum, and palladium. The rest will be silver and very tiny amounts of indium, gallium, copper, tin, zinc, and others.
  • High-noble metals (precious metals)-High noble metals are even softer and more workable. These are more accurate than the other two. They’re made of at least 60% noble metals, usually more, with most of that being in gold and platinum.

You shouldn’t have any problems with a nickel allergy with either noble or high noble metals in your dental crowns. If your dentist is familiar AND experienced with using Zirconia then that will be fine. However, if he isn’t, than I wouldn’t push him. It is a fairly new technique and he’d need training with it.

This blog is brought to you by Naperville Dentist Dr. Anthony LaVacca.

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