abcessed dental implant

[is there a doctor in the house]

Around 3 wks. ago my daughter received a dental implant. she's 19 yrs. old and was not born with the 3rd tooth on the top from front center. The dentist pulled the loose baby tooth,sculpted the gum and inserted a dental implant. She had no facial swelling, but her gum swelled around the teeth on either side of the implanted tooth. Salt water brought the swelling down.2wks.later sucures are removed.7 days later she feels a lump high above gum above implant,yellow the size of a pea. dentist puts her on antibiotics and we go to his office. He drains the pus and injects more antibiotics into the site. He took an x-ray and didn't like the dark area at the top of the implant. He said it's no big deal. He's not worried. Why would this happen. Is it "just an infection"? she's afraid her body is rejecting the implant. Can the infection be cleared up without removing the implant? Is this infection going to effect her bone? He said she is a great candidate-young,healthy,good bone. I am so beside myself. The dentist said it's just a minor setback, not to worry.By the way, there is really no extra room to put in an implant any larger than there is now.

[is there a doctor in the house]

thank you all so much for your quick responces. sorry i didnt get back to you sooner. yesterday my daughter had her implant removed. i was there to watch. it slid right out. dr. cleaned out the site and did a bone graft. she is very swollen today. she iced it all afternoon yesterday. is this normal? all the way up to under her eye.

[mike1105]

i may have been more inclined to extract the baby tooth, and then wait perhaps a year or so before placing the implant into what then would be healthy, untraumatized bone. she is only 19 and there certainly is no rush. the space for the tooth wold not close much at all in one year, and could be maintained with a space maintainer anyway. I am not accusing anyone, but oftentimes the practitioner likes to place the implant when the tooth is extracted because there is financial motivation---- an extraction with an implant is very costly compared to just the extraction, and you don't have a chance to have someone else do the implant (and collect the fee) a year later. also this is not a front tooth so there is no esthetic emergency. implants placed into healthy bone under a neat surgical incision (as opposed to an open and fresh extraction site) do better statistically. i would question the dentist who treated your daughter as to why this option was not offerred to you, AND I would get an opinion from an ORAL SURGEON who places alot of implants as to the status/prognosis of this one. a dark area is usually an abcess and is not a good thing, especially around a recently placed implant.

[funkynina]

Hello nervous mom! I'm no dentist, but I have had the opprotunity to be a dental assistant for the past 11 yrs. for 2 yrs I worked for a prosthodontist and saw lots of implant patients. The only thing I could think of was that maybe the babytooth she had removed was having a problem and had maybe contaminated the site when the tooth was extracted. Which was maybe just enough to get it agrovated. Then when the implant was placed the socket was contaminated. It sounds like your daughter has great dentist by putting her on antibiotics and injecting the meds. around the area also. I would try to keep the area clean and just hang in there and see if it can repair itself. Have your daughter go back in about 7-10 days and have another x-ray and see how it looks. He's right she does have her age on her side. Maybe get some vitamin C tabs to boost her immunity. Does your daughter smoke? She might not tell you if she does. I would just maybe mention to her you read, "if you smoke it can cause lots of problems with dental implants isn't that wierd?" and if she does maybe she will take it for food for thought. And if she doesn't she won't be offended by you asking her! I had a patient once that had all of her anterior teeth extracted b/c of boneloss and was goint to loss them soon anyway. When the oral surgeon did the extractions he went in and used his handpiece (or what people call "drill") to open the areas. and then placed 4 dental implants. The area got very infected and lots of problems b/c of so many. He did have to remove them all and start over and all was well after that. Hang in there and keep your confidence in your dentist if you loose that you mid as well find another one. He won't be able to do anything right then even if he really is!! one mommy to another!good-luck!

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

I think I would be concerned at this point.I do not insert implants but I have restored many and I am conservative when it comes to these symptoms you are describing.I would suggest you be on top of this and if you are not comfortable then get another opinion.