I have been very excited to have dental implants. It’s been fantastic to have my bite back. I can even eat steak again. The only thing I’m concerned about is some of my gums look like they’ve turned gray. Do you know what’s going on? Is it an infection?
Ben C.
Dear Ben,
I haven’t examined you, but I don’t think it’s an infection based on your description. An infected implant would be causing you some pain. You certainly wouldn’t be able to eat steak with it. All that is a good sign.
My suspicion is you happen to be someone with thin gum tissue. A good cosmetic dentist or even an expert implant dentist will take that into consideration and make sure to place the dental implants in a way that won’t be visible through the gum tissue. That sounds like something your dentist neglected.
Neglecting proper placement of the implants can result in recession of your gums. In your place, I would talk to an expert in dental implants. They can tell you what options you have.
When Dental Implants are Placed Incorrectly
As it’s quite an advanced procedure there’s a lot which can wrong. When you get your second opinion, if it turns out they were placed improperly, it’s not hopeless. You will be able to eat steak again. It can be fixed. Your first implant dentist should refund your money so that you’ll be in a position to get this fixed.
When implants have to be replaced, you generally need bone grafting done first so that you have enough bone to retain the implants. It’s a simple one-day procedure. This would also be a good chance for you to decide if you love the way your implant crowns look. If not, you can get those replaced as well.
You didn’t mention if you had a full set of implants placed or just a few in various places. If you’ve got a mixture of natural teeth and implants be aware that if you ever want to whiten your teeth, only your natural tooth structure will whiten. So I would have your teeth whitened before having any implant crowns replaced. That way the crowns can be matched to your whiter color.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Fred Arnold.