Dental Implants | Esthetic Dentistry
Periodontology | Dr. George Makris & Co.

This lady came to our clinic with severe pain and swelling in the upper jaw. She had implants placed 4 years ago. She reported that she had lost an implant in the lower jaw 2 years ago (which is why one side of her lower jaw is missing teeth). Her x-ray showed significant bone destruction around the implants, marked with arrows 1 2 3 photo 1. When we removed her bridge photo 2, implant No3 automatically came out (without anesthesia). In photo 3, you can see the swelling from implants No1 and No2, which are loose and pus is coming out. These implants have lost their integration and need to be extracted. One tooth that remained in the bridge has decayed and moved toward implant No2. Unfortunately, for this lady, implants No1 and No2 and the decayed tooth must be removed, and then the only prosthetic restoration she can have is a complete denture unless she undergoes a new implant placement procedure.

What went wrong?

1. Poor surgical technique (note how close implants No2 and No3 are to each other)
2. Choice of implants (the types of implants are different. There are four different kinds of implants and she doesn’t know their identities)
3. Poor prosthetic restoration. One can see the rough stumps
4. No check-ups in these 4-5 years
5. Her oral hygiene was difficult to maintain because her prosthetics were poorly made

Conclusion: The success of implant work is technically and biologically very sensitive and requires special attention. It’s a shame for every patient to lose so much time, effort, and financial investment due to a poor choice of doctor.