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Dental implants are a common procedure performed by implant surgeons. Implants allow for restoration of function and esthetics. But with so many implants being placed there are also many times where the implant fail.
Though implants fail for many reasons, one of the most common is placing the dental implant in not enough bone. This happens either because the surgeon didn’t plan the procedure properly or didn’t execute the surgery as planned.
That is why there are two very important questions to ask your implant surgeon prior to having your implant placed. I’ll skip over the usual questions you should ask prior to any surgery:
- How were you trained to place implants, that is did you go through a formal residency to learn this surgical procedure or did you just do a weekend course?
- How many implants have you placed? Do you keep track of your success rate and what was it for last year?
But there are two other questions that should be answered by your implant surgeon before you agree to have them place your implants.
- Do you use a cone beam CT scan to plan the implant?
- Do you use a surgical guide to perform the surgery?
A cone beam CT (CBCT) is a common place “X-ray” used prior to implant placement.
It allows for a 3D view of the jaw bone telling the surgeon if there is enough bone to support a dental implant. Without a CBCT there is no reliable, noninvasive way to tell the width of the bone. This can lead to surprises during surgery and placement of an implant in inadequate bone. Without bone support the implant is more likely to fail.The use of a surgical guide ensures that the surgeon has properly planned out the surgery on the computer and made a custom guide just for you.
The guide greatly aids in the proper placement of a dental implant during surgery. Without a guide the surgeon free hands the surgery and the implant can be placed in the wrong position. Even with adequate bone, if the implant is place in the wrong position or with the wrong angulation it can fail.
A surgical guide incurs added expense for the surgeon and requires more time. For these reasons many surgeons skip this essential step and try to freehand the surgery.
Though an implant can be placed successfully without a surgical guide, in today’s age of easy technology, why take the risk. The surgery can also be performed in less time with a surgical guide which may make recovery for you easier and faster.
So when you are getting your implant procedure, ask if your surgeon will be planning the implant with a CBCT and be using a surgical guide for the placement of the implant. It may help prevent a failed implant down the road.