Infected Dental Implants
Dental implants are one of the most popular tooth replacement treatments preferred among adults in the United States. An estimated 500,000 adults get dental implant treatment each year, and approximately half of these happen in a regular dental office. Although dental implants offer stability, durability, and improved comfort over alternative tooth replacement treatments, complications with implants and the implant treatment can occur. For example, it is possible for your dental implant to become infected. Below is more information on signs of dental implant infection to help you identify if your implant has become infected.
How Do Dental Implants Work?
Dental implants are titanium or ceramic posts that are surgically placed into the jawbone. Once placed, these implants will act like the root of the new tooth or teeth. The implants not only support the new artificial crown, bridge, or dentures, but they also stimulate bone growth, improving the health of the jawbone.
Common Signs of a Dental Implant Infection
- Pain and Trouble Chewing: Some pain and discomfort should be expected after the dental implant placement procedure. However, this pain should feel manageable and be controllable with over-the-counter pain medication or medication prescribed by your dentist. Additionally, this pain should start to fade after a few days. If you notice you have pain after your implant procedure and that pain increases and spreads to the point that is making talking and chewing difficult, you should contact your dentist.
- Fever, Redness, and Swelling: Similar to pain, some swelling should be expected after surgery around the site of the implant placement. This swelling should reduce after the first few days. If you notice you have increased swelling and redness around the surgery site, you may be developing an infection. If this swelling is accompanied by a fever you should contact your dentist immediately.
- Bad Taste in the Mouth: Implant infections can be caused by bacteria or food debris irritating the implant site. As this buildup accumulates and the infection starts you may notice a consistently bad taste in your mouth or bad breath that won’t go away with brushing and mouthwash. These are symptoms of the start of an infection and warrant a call to your dentist to schedule a checkup.
- Bleeding or Development of Pus: When an infection develops in the implant area, the body sends red and white blood cells to the area to destroy any bad infected cells. In the mouth this often results in the presence of blood and pus. Initially after an implant surgery, some light bleeding may be expected, however if this bleeding persists or pus starts to develop after a few days of recovery, it may be a sign of infection.
- Loose Implant: In order for dental implants to be successful, they must securely fuse themselves to the jawbone. This process happens after the implant is surgically screwed into the bone. If the implant feels loose it may be a sign that the implant is not successfully fusing with the bone and something went wrong. The development of an infection or the presence of unhealthy tissue may be preventing the fusing process from occurring.