Are dental implants harmful or is it a myth: reviews and contraindications for installation

Despite the horror stories still circulating among the people regarding dental implantation (they say, it is terrible and there are a lot of contraindications to it), today the installation of implants can be considered even a less traumatic procedure than, for example, removing complex wisdom teeth. That is, relatively speaking, in 95% of cases there is no question of any terrible agony and "tin": modern dental implants are installed relatively painlessly, do not harm the human body and can last for decades, as evidenced by numerous reviews from both doctors and and grateful patients.

But why, then, is the installation of implants by some people considered harmful and dangerous to health?

Indeed, dental implantation, being in essence a surgical operation, in some cases is associated with rather complicated, traumatic and long-term manipulations of the dental surgeon (implantologist).As with any operation, everything does not always go smoothly - various complications and not very pleasant consequences are quite a place to be.

In addition, there are certain contraindications to the installation of implants and a list of diseases, without taking into account the implantation of which can have a negative impact both on the general condition of the body during and after implantation, and on the dental implants themselves (inflammation and suppuration in the area of ​​implants). mobility, rejection and other harmful effects). Such reviews, which are sometimes found in popular forums, support the opinion of dental implantation as a harmful and highly dangerous procedure for the people.

Whether the installation of dental implants is really a harmful procedure, what unpleasant consequences can be observed, what problems can occur due to the fault of the patient and the fault of the doctor - we will continue to talk about all this and more ...

Feedback:

“I want to tell everyone my story so that no one else will fall into the same difficult situation because of his own stupidity.About 3 years ago, I wanted to insert implants, since there was nothing to chew on, and I didn’t want to wear the false jaws like a granny. At that time I had a malignant tumor in my jaw, but it was small, so I was actively treated at my own expense in the oncology center.

I understood perfectly well that my tumor could frighten the doctor away, but with a false jaw I could not walk at all, so I did not say anything about my illness. Implants were placed quickly, it only remained to wait for them to take root. At that time, I was just undergoing a course of radiation therapy, and I was irradiated the place where there were several implants. Most of the screws were torn off. Later they explained to me that it was necessary to immediately say what and how it really was: the rays interfere with the process of fusion of the bone with the metal. In general, they told me that I myself was a mess, and (naturally) reworked everything for my money. It took a whole year for my dentist and oncologist to jointly solve the problem with new teeth. In short, I’m warning everyone: it’s best to tell the doctor everything as it is, otherwise it will turn out to be either like mine or worse. Do not risk your health! ”

Victoria, Moscow, 47 years old.

 

Five fictional scare stories about implants

If an unprepared person reads some, to put it mildly, not quite professional articles on pseudo-dental sites, as well as reviews and discussions on forums, then he may be horrified by information that is inherently far from medicine. Cases in which unsuccessfully placed dental implants caused harm to the patient’s health are often described in a grotesque form, and there are speculations and fears presented in the form of truth.

In general, people who have not yet become happy owners of implants, but just think about it, may be afraid to go to the dentist-implantologist even just for advice.

Let's look at 5 famous horror stories on this topic.

 

Myth number 1: dental implants can be “wrapped” so that they damage the orbit of the eye

In fact, damage to the orbit of the eye with dental implants is impossible for several reasons: controlled length of implants, monitoring the distance to important structures of the maxillofacial area using images, experience and common sense of a doctor, etc.

Meanwhile, there are indeed rare cases of damage to the maxillofacial structures,close to the implantation zone. According to statistics, according to the frequency of occurrence, the following complications can be identified:

• Damage to the maxillary sinus;
• Violation of the mandibular nerve;
• The output of the implant in the sublingual space;
• The output of the implant in the nasal cavity.

Each of these complications during implantation is rare, with the first place in terms of the occurrence of the three is the "penetration" of the implant in the maxillary sinus. At present, such cases are becoming less and less due to careful monitoring and control of the distance of the maxillary sinus from digital images in different projections, as well as due to the wide possibilities for building additional bone (sinus lift). All this is used by professional dentists in the prevention of possible complications.

Feedback:

“I set myself an implant in Simferopol and was completely satisfied. The most important thing is that nothing came out of the nose, like others, it does not flow, lips and cheeks are not swollen like a hamster, and the mood is good. It has been 7 days since the screws have been inserted, but I feel fine, although I thought that I would be very sick. The only thing that strained, so it's testing and long preparation for implantation.I can say right away that I was lucky with the dentist, since he explained everything to me, what would happen. What not only depends on him, how the implants will behave in the future, but also on my good behavior.

In general, guys, do not be afraid - it is not scary. The main thing is to learn thoroughly about the clinic and the doctor who implants the implants in the jaw, do not sign anything, if you have not read it in detail, learn in advance about the guarantees. I was given a contract with a guarantee, so you can sleep well. Only it is good and regular to clean it all, or it will fly out in a few months with the jaw to such and such a mother. ”

Sergey, Simferopol

 

Myth number 2: dental implants - it always hurts

The process of implantation in terms of anesthesia is almost no different from anesthesia during extraction of teeth, with the amendment that in some cases a step-by-step “freezing” (local anesthesia) of different areas of the jaw is required. The current level of anesthetics allows an individual to choose a preparation that is suitable for each specific person, as well as to conduct anesthesia using various methods adapted to achieve 100% anesthesia.Fortunately, there are a lot of such options, especially within large dental clinics.

In fact, most reviews just do indicate that the installation of implants takes place without much pain.

If there are contraindications to local anesthesia and (or) indications for anesthesia, then implantation is performed with consciousness turned off. The main advantage in this case is that with such an operation a full guarantee can be given that when installing implants during sleep, the patient will not feel any pain or any unpleasant emotions associated with the type of dental instruments (some sensitive people are afraid not only of pain, but also the type of blood, instruments, as well as unpleasant sounds - drilling, crunch, etc.).

On a note

Under local anesthesia, it does not hurt in about 95-98% of cases, since it is necessary to take into account not only the professionalism of the doctor and the level of the clinic, but also the anatomical features of the human jaw, the individual characteristics of the nervous system, as well as some associated factors (alcohol, drugs, stress, panic fears, current medication, etc.).

 

Myth number 3: dental implants are always installed under anesthesia, and anesthesia is harmful to the brain.

In practice, this is the case: the installation of dental implants is most often carried out under local anesthesia, when a person is conscious from the beginning to the end of the procedure and can directly or indirectly control the situation. Anesthesia is a good alternative in cases where local anesthesia either does not work or can even harm the patient during the installation of dental implants due to contraindications to it.

In cases where a person, at his whim, insists on anesthesia, hiding current diseases from a doctor, the consequences can be very different, including very unhealthy and even life-threatening. Be that as it may, a highly professional doctor will do everything in his power to prevent possible complications during and after implant placement, and will choose the appropriate tactics in relation to anesthesia - it is only important to cooperate with the doctor without hiding information about your health from him, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you.

There is an opinion that anesthesia causes significant harm to the brain, impairs memory and generally reduces the intellectual abilities of a person. And although there are indeed many similar reviews on the Internet, however, most experts consider horror stories about the dangers of anesthesia to be nothing more than a myth.

Feedback:

“I will share my personal experience. I underwent four operations on the internal organs, all of which were performed under general anesthesia. After all this, I began to fail my memory a lot, I became very forgetful. Sometimes even memory lapses happen. And they also began to often suffer from headaches. ”

Oksana M., St. Petersburg

Doctor's opinion:

“As a person who uses anesthesia up to 5 times a day, I can say that he does not affect the brain, even if it is done in old age. Yes, in such patients sometimes after anesthesia exacerbation of encephalopathy, but after about a week it passes. In general, there are no drugs that we use and that would lead to some irreversible changes in the brain. So, the damage from anesthesia is greater in the liver and kidneys than in the brain, but the body quickly copes with this. ”

Sergey, Moscow.

 

Myth number 4: after implantation, the gums always hurt for a long time, the cheek swells, the blood flows from the mouth for a long time

In the first hours after the implants are installed, when the anesthetic effect ends, a painful reaction and discomfort is really possible. There may also be slight swelling and slight bleeding. An experienced implantologist to reduce the severity of these effects is always prescribed a complex of drugs that eliminate or reduce the body's response to the traumatic factor.

In rare cases, there may be prolonged pain, significant swelling and bleeding, which, with accompanying additional symptoms (fever, prolonged numbness of the jaw, pus from the gums, bad breath, etc.) is a dangerous complication, it is likely associated with incorrect doctor tactics. By contacting your doctor in time, you can almost always quickly solve the problem, avoiding further harm to your health in case of problems with the installed implant.

 

Myth number 5: implants are sometimes rejected, and when rejected, gangrene of the jaw occurs

In fact, even if the implant was installed incorrectly and the doctor made many mistakes, the gangrene of the jaw does not develop.In the worst case, inflammation and suppuration occurs in the implantation zone, the implant becomes mobile and is rejected. Not to notice this is impossible, and pain in the early stages simply force the patient to return to the dentist.

The photo below shows implants removed from the jaw:

In those few situations when for some reason dependent or not dependent on the doctor the implants installed in the jaw are rejected, a banal loss of bone tissue occurs. Such a loss of bone in the future can be quite easily compensated by its artificial recovery using a bone graft.

If we analyze the popular reviews on the Internet about dental implants, we can see that sometimes minor complications do not harm human health and are easily overcome by the body against the background of drug therapy recommended by the implantologist. Here is an example of a similar review:

Feedback:

“... Two months ago, after installing the implants, I had a complication of such a plan: next to one implant the gum was swollen, so my cheek poured. I went to the clinic again.There, they opened my gum and cleaned it, and appointed a rinse. Now, thank God, everything is great! New teeth have already taken root and I no longer feel any problems. ”

Veronica, Neftegorsk

 

When implants do not need to be installed at all: absolute contraindications for implantation

Any surgical intervention has its limitations, and in this regard, dental implantation is no exception. Meanwhile, there is no consensus regarding the exact list of diseases that determine contraindications for implant placement.

First, this is due to the fact that all contraindications are divided into relative (surmountable under certain conditions) and absolute. Secondly, due to the fact that modern medicine does not stand still, every year the indications for implantation are expanding, and those contraindications that if previously ignored could directly or indirectly harm your health during and after the implants were installed, today are overcome by The latest technology and drugs.

Today, most experts are of the opinion that dental implants are not recommended for:

• Severe diseases of the cardiovascular, endocrine and nervous systems;
• The presence of malignant tumors;
• Certain blood disorders;
• Chronic renal and hepatic insufficiency;
• Allergies to local and general anesthesia drugs;
• Chronic alcoholism and drug addiction.

However, if you read the reviews and comments of well-known dentists in the field of implantation, you can see that even the above contraindications are not always a hindrance to the installation of dental implants. Today, those diseases or bad habits that previously were absolute contraindications to implantation are not always an obstacle on the way to a beautiful smile and the ability to chew food normally.

For example, under certain conditions, the installation of implants is possible in the following cases:

• In old age;
• In case of diabetes mellitus type 2 (sometimes type 1) in the stage of compensation without disturbing metabolic processes in the bone tissue;
• After heart attacks and strokes;
• When using a pacemaker;
• After oncology;
• In smokers.

There are two main reasons that force the doctor to refuse implantation:

1. Acute and (or) severe forms of the disease, especially in decompensated form;
2. And also with serious violations of tissue regeneration.

However, this also does not mean that the installation of implants will be forever denounced. For example, acute respiratory viral infections, acute respiratory viral infection, in the midst of the disease will be a contraindication to dental implantation. And it is quite obvious: it is impossible to perform a high-quality implantation against the background of reduced immunity, with high fever, runny nose, cough and sore throat, since it is highly likely to adversely affect the patient’s already unsatisfactory condition. However, within 1-2 weeks after the recovery, the installation of implants can be carried out without any harm to health.

With regard to violations of tissue regeneration - this affects, first of all, the possibility of integration (engraftment) of the implant in the bone. Often there are situations when this possibility tends to zero. For example, if a person undergos radiation therapy for oncology in the maxillofacial area, bone tissue regeneration in the implantation zone will be impaired, therefore, the implants will almost be rejected as soon as possible after their installation.

Feedback

“I was planned to insert the implants up and down + to make gum correction, because after removing the teeth, my wounds healed very unevenly due to suppuration. In short, they will insert four implants at the top and as many at the bottom. I'm afraid a little, although the operation will take place under anesthesia, so I will sleep and not think about anything. The only thing that is bad is my type 2 diabetes mellitus, and sugar sometimes goes off scale beyond 20, it can affect how implants heal. But my doctors encouraged me and told me not to be afraid: I'm not the first with such a disease. Let's hope everything goes by 5+! ”

Elena, Moscow

 

Dental implantation and pregnancy

Some experts respond against dental implantation during pregnancy, since the process of installing dental implants with a certain probability can cause harm to the expectant mother, and through her condition - harm to the developing fetus.

Generally speaking, pregnancy is only a relative contraindication to implantation, and installed and normally implanted implants themselves do not have a negative impact on the health of the expectant mother and fetus.

However, when installing dental implants, two main potentially harmful factors for the health of the pregnant woman and the fetus can be identified:

• Drug therapy;
• X-ray radiation.

With the second point, everything is clear: before implantation and during it, it is required to carry out diagnostics and quality control of the installed implants, and for this, dentists take pictures of the teeth. This may be a CT scan (computed tomography), panoramic radiography or intraoral contact radiography. Be that as it may, the harmful effects of X-rays during pregnancy are not justified (with the exception of some emergency cases).

Drug therapy is carried out at the first stage of implantation, when it is required that the body perceived external intervention adequately and the person feels as comfortable as possible. For this, antibiotics, analgesics, antihistamines, as well as topical preparations (for the oral cavity) are usually prescribed. Moreover, most of the drugs on this list are contraindicated for pregnant women, so it would be a wrong decision to risk the health of the unborn child because of a planned operation to implant teeth.

On a note

There are cases when the implantation of teeth to a pregnant woman is urgently needed, especially in situations where nothing but implants can be offered. For example, if a pregnant woman received a mechanical injury that caused the removal of the front tooth, then a so-called immediate implantation can be performed, when in a short time the implants are installed along with aesthetic crowns (usually temporary). Depending on the chosen method, this process can take from 3-5 days to 2-3 weeks. And here it’s necessary to decide, first of all, to wash the woman - is she ready to walk for several months without front teeth or still risk the health of the fetus (even if the risk is insignificant) and install the implants immediately.

 

Implantation for cores: harm or benefit?

Cardiovascular pathologies “scare” many implantologists as much as situations with pregnant women seeking help. Of course, no doctor wants a patient who has had a recent heart attack or stroke died in his chair, and the reputation of the clinic and the specialist died. But what should people do with cardiovascular diseases, who have the opportunity to put in dental implants and get rid of problems with a constantly falling and (or) uncomfortable removable prosthesis?

We will understand immediately with acute forms of diseases: in case of a single cardiovascular pathology in the acute stage, the dentist will not install implants, since the potential harm from the operation is too great (for example, death). But at the stage of compensation it is possible to carry out implantation in almost any cardiovascular disease, but again only if comprehensive health monitoring is carried out and, if necessary, approval from the attending physician (therapist, cardiologist, etc.) is obtained. In rare cases, the practice of cooperating a dentist with specialists from cardiology centers is used to ensure complete safety of the procedure.

On a note

The quality of life of any person, not least depends on the state of the maxillofacial region. Often, when violations of the normal chewing are concerned, a whole bunch of diseases of the digestive tract (not to mention psychological problems and nervous disorders due to the “false jaw” and a toothless mouth) join the diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

Often, for the "cores" of the risk category, the dentist chooses a basal implantation, which is carried out in a short time (3-5 days).With some of its drawbacks, this type of implant installation allows reducing the time spent by a weakened patient in a chair and quickly returns to normal and full-fledged life in society.

 

What can objectively affect the quality of the doctor’s work?

First of all, it is necessary to understand that not even the most first-class implantologist will cope with his work unless certain conditions for his work are created. Most often, the quality of the doctor’s work is affected by:

• The level of equipment of the clinic;
• Sterility of the cabinet, equipment and instruments;
• Characteristics of implantation instruments;
• Dental implants used in the work (and they come in different price categories and, accordingly, of different quality).

In other words, one can hardly count on a successful implant installation in unsanitary conditions, with blunt cutters, drills, dubious Chinese implants, etc. The statistics of successful operations are influenced by all the little things: from a disinfectant for the treatment of premises to the choice of the manufacturer of the implant system. And if the clinic is trying in every possible way to save on purchases, then most often this leads to an increase in the likelihood of complications during and after implantation.

To prevent this from happening to you, you need to take a responsible approach to the choice of the dental blade: analyze reviews (both positive and negative), take into account the recommendations of your friends and relatives, and also to draw certain conclusions at a counseling consultation with a potential attending physician. If you have the slightest suspicion regarding the qualification of a specialist, the level of equipment in the office and, especially, eye-visible violations, it is better to contact another clinic.

An example showing that different dentistry can be quite different:

Feedback

“A year ago, put two implants. I’ll say right away that it doesn’t hurt, but then for a couple of days there was a tumor that quickly disappeared. Implantation does not last long, I'm not even tired. Here it is important that the doctor gets normal: honest. If he is only interested in the contents of your wallet, then he will tire out and torment you thoroughly until all the money is pulled out, and your teeth will be a fiasco. In general, choose only an experienced and honest doctor. And my personal advice: put import implants, if you do not want to have problems ... "

Natalia, Murmansk

 

Problems with implants due to the fault of the person

Unfortunately, there are factors related to the behavior of the person (patient) himself, which can lead to problems with implants after their installation, regardless of the level of the clinic and the professionalism of the implantologist.

The following can be attributed to the main causes of the rejection of implants and the development of periimplantitis due to the patient’s fault, when he is harming himself:

• Ignoring the recommendations of the doctor;
• Poor oral hygiene;
• "Malicious" smoking;
• Lack of preventive visits to the doctor.

Moreover, most doctors tend to consider the first two points to be the most common provocateurs of problems with the surrounding implant tissues.

Poor oral hygiene causes accumulation of plaque and calculus on the installed implants, disturbing the attachment of the gums and provoking inflammatory processes. In such a situation, their native teeth often become mobile against the background of periodontitis, and the implants also “get” to the full.

Feedback

“Girls, today the surgeon wanted to remove the gum formers, and there thickening of the finger. When brushing my teeth, I didn’t touch them at all, he didn’t tell me anything, but how do I know that these pieces almost had to be rubbed with a brush.Well, beneath them was blood and unhealed sore gums. I am terrified, I suffer pain. But everything in the picture turned out well: there is no inflammation in the bone. The doctor cleaned and set the shapers back, now a week later I am like a bayonet to him. Now I clean everything as it should be and wait for it to end. ”

Tatyana, Yaroslavl

But with regard to smoking, there are mixed opinions. In most cases, smoking in itself does not lead to problems with implants, but it is worth remembering that with poor oral hygiene, “hard-core” smokers are at risk of getting periodontitis or periodontal disease, which often leads to peri-implantitis.

Some implantation techniques, such as basal implantation of teeth, are positioned as suitable for smokers. But in this case, you should not forget that the tissues surrounding the implant, the harm from smoking still caused, which creates additional risks of inflammation even when installing basal implants.

Be healthy!

If you have personal experience of the appearance of any problems associated with the installation of implants - be sure to leave your review at the bottom of this page (in the comments box).

 

Interesting video: truth and fiction about dental implants

 

How much is dental implantation today?