Avoid Implant Problems

Dental implants are not the solution for all clinical situations, but when implant treatment is performed properly, it can lead to perfect tooth replacement. 

However, there is much that can go wrong in the implant treatment process, including the timing of tooth extraction or implant surgery, problems with the surgical technique, as well as infection or poor post operative review and care. Sadly, when the implant treatment process goes bad, it has the potential to go very bad. 

In the case below, you can see that the missing left lateral incisor was replaced with an implant and a single crown. Whilst the implant itself was solid and sound (healthy), the soft tissue around the implant was deficient, and detracted severely from the final aesthetic outcome. This is a very difficult situation to rectify.

This type of poor outcome can mostly be avoided by careful case planning, and expert care in each stage of the overall procedure. 

Pre-treatment

The patient was missing his left lateral incisor. He elected to have the fastest possible implant treatment, which involved immediate replacement and no consideration was given to bone or tissue grafting.

The finished implant

The final crown looks long due to the result of no grafting procedures and poor post-operative care by the patient

Problem is hidden by a small smile

A low lip line on smiling hides this healthy but cosmetically disappointing treatment outcome

The final x-ray

The otherwise healthy implant and crown with now stable bone levels.