Tooth loss may not be something that you want to consider, but fact is, most of us will lose at least one tooth during our lifetime. This is often due to severe dental decay or periodontal disease, but some incidents of tooth loss are due to injury or trauma.

Whatever causes it, a small gap in your smile can have a significant impact on your day to day life. Depending on where the gap is located, it may affect your ability to bite, chew, or even speak clearly. You may also feel self-conscious or embarrassed about your smile, a problem that can cause your confidence to plummet. Fortunately, a missing tooth doesn’t have to be a permanent problem. However, with the saturation of dentists providing dental implant treatments, complications are occurring frequently.

About Dental Implants

Dental implants are a highly popular and successful type of treatment for missing teeth that is both functional and cosmetic. Available to replace single or multiple teeth, they work by attaching prosthetics to titanium posts that have been pre-inserted into the jaw bone. This makes them incredibly secure and arguably the most long-lasting of all restorations.

Nevertheless, dental implants aren’t a treatment that can be provided by just any dentist. The planning and procedure are complex, and not all patients are ideal candidates for a successful procedure. Therefore, your chosen dental implant surgeon must have the knowledge and experience to be able to correctly determine your candidacy for the treatment, accurately plan the location of the implants and carry out the procedure to the highest standard.

Unfortunately, when you pick a dental implant surgeon who does not have these attributes, there is a good chance that you are going to experience a problem. In some instances, even an experienced and highly qualified dental implant surgeon may make a mistake. The bad news is that these errors can cause you to suffer from a range of complications.

​​​​​​​Dental Implant Complications Arising from Negligence

There are a range of different complications that can arise following a dental implant procedure, the exact symptoms of which can vary depending on the extent of the problem. However, most involve the implant failing and either falling out or requiring extraction. Some of the most common complications that have occurred as a result of negligence include:

• Damage to surrounding teeth when placing the implant
• Nerve damage
• Incorrect placement of the implant post, including wrong location or embedding the post at an incorrect angle
• Penetration of the sinus cavity, often due to poor planning
• Failure to diagnose gum disease before placing the implant, a condition which almost certainly causes premature implant failure
• Failure to adequately assess a patient’s medical history before placing the implant, missing a problem which made failure a probability
• Failed osseointegration due to the patient having insufficient jaw bone density – something which was not picked up on by your professional during your candidacy assessment
• Post-surgery infection, due to lack of sterility of equipment or inadequate hygiene by the professional

Symptoms of Dental Implant Failure

Implant failure can usually be characterized by three symptoms:

• Severe pain or discomfort at the site of the implant or in surrounding teeth
• Severe swelling or inflammation of the gums
• The implant coming loose and either moving or falling out

There are also other indicators that you may have a problem, and these depend exactly what complication has arisen. For example, if you have suffered nerve damage you may find that you experience strange sensations in your mouth such as tingling or numbness. If your surrounding teeth have been damaged, you may be able to see a visible chip or crack in your tooth or be suffering from severe sensitivity when you eat anything hot or cold.

If you believe that your dentist has failed to provide you with a good standard of care during implant surgery and you have suffered from complications as a result, you may have the right to claim compensation for your experience. Pain and debilitation, embarrassment and financial loss are all very real damages that can occur when dental implants are provided by a negligent dental implant surgeon.

To discuss your case in complete confidentiality, please do not hesitate to contact our team of expert dental malpractice lawyers.