When an Implant Fails
How to tell if an implant is in trouble, the three main reasons it happens, what can be rescued and what can't, and what the repair involves, wherever your implant came from.
What Can Be Done About a Failed or Failing Dental Implant?
A failing implant can often be saved if it's caught early, usually by treating infection in the gum around it or correcting a crown that's taking too much load. If the implant has already lost its grip on the bone, it's removed, the site heals (often with a graft), and a new one is placed a few months later. At Hamilton Smile Studios we assess problem implants placed anywhere, here, elsewhere in Scotland or abroad, at a free consultation with a CT scan at £160 if needed.
Is It the Implant or the Crown?
The first thing we sort out is which part is the problem, because the answers are very different. An implant has three pieces: the titanium post in the bone, a connector called the abutment, and the crown on top, usually held together with a small screw.
If the tooth wobbles, it's quite often the screw that has worked loose while the implant itself is solidly fixed. That's a short appointment to retighten or replace it. A chipped or cracked crown can be replaced on the same implant. Only when the post in the bone moves, or the bone around it is disappearing, is the implant itself failing.
Warning Signs
- Gum around the implant that bleeds when you brush, looks red or puffy, or weeps
- A sour taste or smell from one spot that brushing doesn't clear
- Soreness when you bite on that tooth, or an ache that comes and goes
- The gum line creeping back so that grey metal starts to show
- Movement of the tooth, however slight
- Bone loss seen on an X-ray at a dental examination, often with no symptoms at all
Any of these is worth getting looked at promptly. The earlier a problem is caught, the better the chance of keeping the implant.
Implant Feeling Wrong?
Book a free assessment in Hamilton. Bring whatever records you have, and the implant brand if you know it.
Why Implants Fail
Implants have a long track record of lasting well, so failure is uncommon. When it happens, it usually falls into one of three groups.
| Type | When | Typical causes |
|---|---|---|
| Failure to bond | In the first weeks or months | Infection during healing, bone too thin or soft for the implant, the implant being knocked or loaded too soon, smoking |
| Peri-implantitis | Months to years later | Plaque at the gum line inflaming the gum, then the bone; more likely with a history of gum disease, smoking or skipped hygiene visits |
| Overload | Any time after the crown | Grinding, an unbalanced bite, or too few implants supporting too many teeth |
Planning plays a part in all three. An implant placed at the wrong angle or too close to the edge of the bone starts with less support around it, which is why every case here is planned on a CT scan and placed through a printed guide.
Your Assessment
We start by asking when the implant went in, who placed it, which brand it is if you know, and what's changed. Then we examine the gum, the crown and your bite, and take a CT scan (£160). The scan shows how much bone is left around the implant in three dimensions, which a flat X-ray can't do reliably.
After that, we explain in plain terms what's happening and what the realistic options are, including what we'd advise against. The assessment is free, with a £40 booking deposit returned within 7 days of attending. It doesn't matter where the implant was placed.
Saving the Implant
Caught early, inflammation around an implant often settles with a thorough professional clean of the implant surface, better cleaning at home, and sometimes antibiotics or a rinse. A loose screw is replaced. A crown that's overloaded can be reshaped or remade, and a night guard (£210) protects it if you grind at night.
Simra Ashraf, our hygienist, can then see you every three months to keep the area clean. Small X-rays along the way show whether the bone level has stabilised.
Placing a New Implant
- Removal. A loose implant generally comes out easily, under local anaesthetic, with sedation available.
- Cleaning and grafting. The site is cleaned of infection and, where bone has been lost, a graft is placed to rebuild it.
- Healing. Usually a few months. A front gap can be filled with a temporary denture (£495) or a bonded bridge (£675).
- A new plan. A fresh CT scan, and a new implant position chosen to suit the bone as it now is.
- A new implant and crown. Placed through a guide, then restored once it has bonded.
The second implant has a good chance of success, provided the original cause, whether smoking, gum disease or bite, is dealt with first. Our bone grafting guide covers the rebuilding step.
What a Repair Costs
For implants placed here, our 5-year guarantee for non-smokers who attend hygiene visits every 3 months applies, on the terms in your consent form.
For implants placed elsewhere, the cost depends on what we find, and it's set out in a written plan after the scan. As a guide, a new implant and crown is from £2,605, a small graft £535, a larger one £998, and IV sedation £500 per session.
A practical tip: to make a new crown for an existing implant we need parts from the same system. If you know the brand, tell us. If not, it can often be identified from X-rays, but some unfamiliar systems have no UK supplier.
Implants Placed Abroad
We assess implants from Turkey, Hungary and anywhere else in the same way. The problems are the same as with any implant, though one pattern comes up more often: final teeth fitted before the implants had time to bond. Our guide to implants abroad versus Scotland explains what we can and can't fix, and why.
Lowering the Risk
- Stop smoking, ideally before treatment and for good afterwards
- Clean around each implant daily with interdental brushes, and a water flosser under a bridge
- Keep three-monthly hygiene visits, so inflammation is found while it's still reversible
- Wear a night guard if your teeth show signs of grinding
- Get in touch early about bleeding, soreness or anything that feels loose
Our guide on how long implants last goes into the daily care in more detail.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.