Why might an implant fail?

There are many reasons in which an implant may fail to take hold and a few of the reasons are within your control. Please see below for the top five reasons an implant might fail and to learn more about what you can do to keep it from happening.

Smoking

Cigarettes contain toxic chemicals that are known to slow or retard healing which is why it is so important to refrain from smoking during the process of osseointegration. To provide your dental implant with the best chance of osseointegration you will want to keep away from cigarette smoking to allow the tissue around your implant to heal successfully.
 

Poor Oral Hygiene

Patients with dental implants are reminded to maintain good oral hygiene because cleanliness preserves the health of the oral cavity, providing the best environment for healing.
 

Poor Bone Quality

Your dentist will assess the bone quality to ensure that it is sufficient for osseointegration to take place. In the event that the bone quality is insufficient, osseointegration may never be achieved and the implants will become loose.
 

Uneven load distribution

Your dentist will need to assess the design of your crown, removable dentures or bridgework to ensure that it is properly placed to provide the best load distribution.

This is an important step because improperly placed dental implants will not provide the necessary support and could lead to trauma of the implant and bone, resulting in failure of the entire prosthetic work.

 

Bruxism or Night-grinding

Bruxism is a paroxysmal behaviour that is usually observed during sleep which can be extremely destrtructive if it occures at high intensity. Your dentist will need to evaluate your bruxism to ensure that dental implants will not be affected.