Can “all on 4” dental implant surgery and installation fail? 

 While failure of all on 4 dental implant surgery and installation can fail, it is exceedingly rare!  The success rate is from about 94% to 97%.  Thousands of people have had successful, permanent implants. 

However, dental implant surgery is a complex procedure and there are many variables that come into play. In a small minority of cases (3 to 6 %), failure indeed can occur. 

Causes of Failure 

There are several realms of causes of failure implant failure; things that patients do following surgery, or conditions that patients have or develop or bone conditions. 

Patient Conditions include smoking, chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, chronic inflammation or infections, cardiovascular problems, poor oral hygiene, inadequate brushing, flossing or maintenance, poor bone quality, inadequate bone mass to support the implant, faulty adjustment of the body to the procedure, and/or continuing excessive loss of bone after the procedure 

Bone Conditions 

The bone that must support the implant, upon initial examination may appear to be adequate for holding implants but turns out to be inadequate because bone quality was not what was expected.  Another cause is bone that deteriorates over time requiring remediation. 

It would likely be a combination of causes that would produce an implant failure, rather than a single cause. 

Indicators of Implant Failure 

If an implant causes continuing and/or excessive pain, too much movement that you can detect in some implants, excessive bleeding over several days, inflamed bone and gum tissue surrounding the implants, there are remediation procedures. 

If you suspect that one or more of your implants are failing or have failed, there are skilled dentists or oral surgeons can do a variety of procedures to correct the failure. 

Grand Parkway Smiles has a staff of highly skilled and experienced dentists and oral surgeons that can undertake to restore a failing implant. 

 

Potential Remediation Procedures 

There are multiple remediation procedures that can restore a failed implant, including:  

Lateral Sinus Lift 

This is a process whereby the dentist surgically builds up the bone mass in the upper jawbone under the Maxillary Sinus. 

Block Grafting 

This process involves taking a minor block of bone from the rear part of the jaw and placing in the area that is lacking. The block graft is held in place by means of small screws made of titanium. 

Zygomatic Implants 

These are implants that are surgically fastened into the zygomatic bone. They are often called for when the quality or quantity of the bone in maxillary area is inadequate or poor-quality maxillary bone is available for implants. 

Summary 

There are other procedures available to repair or replace a failed or failing dental implant.  Grand Parkway Smiles is a true multi-specialty and multi specialist practice that are highly experienced and equipped to help you with your needs for dental implants.