CAN DENTAL IMPLANTS BREAK?

22nd May 2019

CAN DENTAL IMPLANTS BREAK?

Dental implants are very sturdy and strong, and they function and feel exactly like real teeth. Even our real teeth break, chip, and need a little dental intervention at times, and dental implants aren’t exempt from this. Dental implants may break under certain circumstances just as regular teeth may, but if you treat them with care then you greatly lessen these chances. Can dental implants break, how do they break, and what do you need to do if they do?

What causes your dental implants to break?

It’s key to remember that there are three different parts to your dental implant: the implant itself (the titanium root in your jawbone), the connective abutment, and the crown (the part that looks like a tooth). Because each of these can encounter their own breakages, we’re going to refer to them all separately.
Your crown and abutment can come under pressure when too much pressure is applied to them. This may not occur during eating and chewing, because they can largely withstand this kind of pressure. However, if you are the person that uses your teeth to bite off plastic clothing labels and open packages with your teeth, stop this! This is the kind of acute pressure that can dislodge an abutment or crack your crown. Eating very hard foods or chewing ice will also put your crown under stress.

The dental implant itself, the root, can break of fail if too much pressure is applied to it before it has fully bonded with your jawbone. This will need revisionary treatment and is also why we allow up to 2 months for you to heal properly before fitting your crown.

How are dental implants fixed or restored?

If the implant itself has broken, the only choice is to remove it and replace it with a new root. Some people may need some bone work if this happens, which can delay the replacement process by a month or two, but this is a necessary step and can be managed by our dental team. If an abutment or crown breaks, then we only need to replace that specific part of the dental implants. When a crown cracks or breaks, we’ll take an impression your teeth and simply fashion a new one to match the size, shape, and colour of your natural teeth (which we do when creating your initial dental implants anyway).

How to avoid breaking your dental implants

Don’t use your teeth to bite through anything that isn’t food. This goes for biting your nails, biting through labels, and tearing open plastic packages with your teeth. These habits place a lot of pressure on one specific area of your tooth, which absorbs it can cause dramatic wear and tear overtime. Teeth grinding and clenching can also put a lot of stress of your dental implants as they would with your regular teeth, so we’d recommend speaking to your dentist if you think you’re doing either of these. Following aftercare and maintenance instructions provided by your dentist is also very important, as this will help you heal properly and in good time.
If you’re considering dental implants in Stoke on Trent, then speak to the dental team at Abbey House Dental. Book your initial consultation today on 01785 818037.