Garak-dong Dental Clinic - Implant Retreatment: When and Why?

Hello. I’m Shin Seung-hwan, the chief director of Yonsei Uline Dental Clinic, Songpa-gu Garak-dong branch, near Garak Market Station in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu.

Today, I’ve prepared some time to talk about what happens after an implant failure.

An implant is a treatment that requires surgery and is placed with a lot of effort, so when it is used properly, it can be comfortably used for a long time.

However, since this is a treatment performed on the human body, unfortunately there is no such thing as 100%, and although rare, problems can occur.

Today, I’d like to explain what situations can happen when an implant fails, and how it is best to respond in those cases.

Problems can sometimes occur relatively early after an implant is placed.

These include unusual sensation after surgery, severe swelling that does not go down, pus discharge, or a feeling that the implant is loose.

If these early side effects appear, rather than simply watching and waiting, it may be necessary to remove the implant quickly and, depending on the situation, either place a new one right away or wait until the inflammation subsides before performing surgery again.

In some cases, everything seems fine at first, but problems arise after one or two years or more.

At that point, the issue is often not with the implant root itself, but with the prosthetic attached on top.

Because an implant has a structure in which the root embedded in the bone and the prosthetic on top are connected by a screw, the screw can loosen over time.

This problem can appear relatively quickly, especially if you chew a lot with a single implant or often eat hard foods.

In such cases, if the screw has simply come loose, you can visit the dental clinic and have it tightened again, allowing you to keep using it without major issues.

However, if the prosthetic is cracked or broken, in some cases it can be reshaped and used depending on the situation, and if the damage is severe, the prosthetic on top may need to be removed and remade.

A situation that requires closer attention is when there is a problem with the bone around the implant root.

Implants are usually placed into the bone at a length of around 10 mm, and over time, it is natural for the bone to be absorbed little by little.

This is because the bone around natural teeth also gradually decreases with age.

However, if it is not a matter of gradual overall lowering, but rather the bone around the implant alone is lowering unusually quickly, then the story changes.

In such cases, peri-implantitis can be suspected, and early active treatment is needed.

At the early stage, treatment similar to gum therapy can be attempted by thoroughly cleaning and managing the area around the implant.

If, despite undergoing this treatment several times, the bone continues to decrease and inflammation keeps recurring, then the next treatment plan must be considered carefully.

This is because if the bone has descended all the way to the end of the implant, it can become difficult to place the implant again later.

So rather than trying to hold out until the end, there are cases where removing the implant at a certain point and creating an environment where treatment can be performed again becomes the better choice.

It is often not easy to place a new implant immediately after removing the old one because inflammation remains in the surrounding area.

Just as a natural tooth is extracted while inflamed and then an implant is placed after waiting for a certain period, it is safer to remove the existing implant, wait about 2 to 3 months for the inflammation to subside sufficiently, and then proceed with re-implantation.

Just because a problem has occurred with an implant, it does not mean that everything should be considered a failure.

What matters most is accurately determining when and what kind of problem has occurred, and responding accordingly.

If you feel warning signs, do not endure them; the best approach is to visit the dental clinic early and have the condition checked.

This has been Yonsei Uline Dental Clinic in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu.