Prevention and Management of Complications in Implant Dentistry – University of Toronto Centre for Continuing Dental Education

Dr. Mark Lin
B.Sc., D.D.S.

Dental Implant Complication -Toronto Course

The evidence in the scientific literature supports that Implant Dentistry obtains a success rate of greater than 90%. With an increasing trend for number and acceptance of dental implants used as a viable tooth replacement therapy, complications and failures rates have increased proportionally.

Dental Implant Complication

Complications and failures in dental implants can range from minor to major, reversible to irreversible and problematic to detrimental. As a result, these dental implant problems will cause frustrations and disappointments for our patients and the dental professionals. These problems can have many different levels of undesirable consequences that can lead to compromised or less than optimal clinical results for our patients, extra financial burden to the patient and dentist, create antagonistic tension with our patients and ultimately affect the reputation for the dentist and the profession.

As a prosthodontist and an assistant professor at the Faculty of Dentistry, Univerisity of Toronto, I conducted a lecture addressing my fellow dental professionals in prevention, early detections and management of dental implant complications. The lecture addressed:
- Patient selection criteria for dental implants
- Treatment planning complications
- Types of dental implant complications
- Dental prosthetic complications

More details on the Dental Implant Complications Course:

Lecture Objectives
Course participants will have the following learning objectives.
Learn the classifications and incidence rates of the various modes of implant complications and failure rates.
Recognize early detections and prevention for these complications before they occur.
Learn various clinical techniques to manage and treat the implant complications in each of the various classifications.
This course will outline and address the various components of complications and failures with the objective to understand the following topics.

A. Patient selection criteria for Implant Dentistry:
Medical indications and contraindications
Dental history and evaluation to identify Risk Factors
Evaluation of patient’s psychological status and expectations

B. Treatment Planning complications:
Differentiation between prosthetically driven versus surgically driven treatment plans.
Number and position of dental implants required specific for each implant treatment modality.
Sequencing and timing for treatment protocols.
Selection criteria for diameter and lengths of implants as it relates to the final prosthetic restoration.

C. Surgical Complications:
Early surgical failures (implant lost before loading)
Late surgical failures (implant lost after loading)
Hard tissue complications (peri-implantitis)
Soft tissue complications (peri-implant mucositis)
Iatrogenic complications (anatomical violations)
Hard and soft tissue grafting complications

D. Prosthetic Complications:
Complications related to implant supported REMOVABLE prosthesis
Complications related to implant supported FIXED prosthesis
Technical and component complications in implant prosthesis
Management of implant occlusion and parafunctional habits

Don’t Let Your Smile Fail You!
Man is always striving to imitate mother nature. Dental technology has advance extremely far in that cause, allowing us to replace teeth and even create root structures that while artificial, still have the potential to last for thirty-five years or more. But man’s inventions still experience flaws no matter how elegant our solutions may be.

Dental implant problems can occur for a variety of reasons and at different stages of the life of the implant. Early implant problems can cause problems merely due to technique errors on the part of the doctor. Overheating the bone during preparation or excessive force during the implantation are often at the root of dental implant problems occurring at this stage. Late stage dental implant problems commonly occur after long periods of satisfactory performance from the implants. The implant failure begins to become noticeable as the implants become unstable or fall out completely. Uncommon pressure being applied to the implants from shifts in a person’s bite or change in relative jaw position is often the cause of implant failure in the later stages of the its life. However, dental implant problems can simply be the result of wear and tear on the implants themselves.

Dental implant problems with service solutions in Toronto
Corrective measures to deal with implant failures should only be done by experienced dental professionals who have considerable experience in the field with all varieties of implant procedures. Steps of intervention that help patients deal with implant failure involve the use several different technologies that allow the dental professional to work with the dynamics of the individual needs of each patient. A Toronto dental professional with expertise in implant complications can help patients deal with other common problems such as nerve damage or sinus infections due to implant complications. Getting dental implants is a surgical procedure so there are risks involved, as there are in any surgery. Factors that affect these risks and the possible dental implant complications are what experienced doctors take into consideration and discuss with their patients.

Dr Mark Lin, an experienced dental implant complication professional in Toronto, will lay out the options for treatment with his patients and allow them to become familiar with the proper dental components for restoration. Discussion of the the tissue health, specific habits, and the concerns of each patient can help to avoid or correct the problems associated with the implant complication.