I am not sure what to do. I had planned on getting a dental implant. My dentist has placed many of them for other people so I felt okay going to him instead of a dental implant specialist. When he first attempted the surgery he had to stop and told me he thought that I needed some bone grafting done for the dental implant to work.  I went along with his assessment. He did the bone grafting and then after the appropriate period, we went in for the second attempt at the implant surgery. Again he informed me that there isn’t enough bone and we weren’t able to complete the procedure. Now his suggestion is I get a dental bridge. I am finding myself wishing I had gone to a specialist. Is it too late for me to get this implant? If so, is there a better option?

Misty

Dear Misty,

The first thing I will say is while there isn’t a recognized specialty in dental implants, there are dentists who have invested in more training and have more experience than others. While you were able to get the care you needed with your family dentist. You have two great things going for you with this dentist.

First, he appears to be a dentist who is taking his field seriously and is consistently learning new skills. This is a great quality for a dentist. They will not just be stuck in a rut. Instead, their patients will benefit from their learning all the latest advancements and procedures in the field.

Second, your dentist has integrity. When he saw the potential for failure in the first attempt, he stopped the procedure in order to give you your best chance of a positive outcome. Then, after you followed his advice, but it didn’t work, he admitted it. Some dentists would have just placed the implants and not said anything about the bone grafting not working, in order to save themselves embarrassment. Then, a year or so down the line, the dental implant will fail and you would never know the real reason behind the failure.

Would this have happened if you had gone to a more experienced implant dentist? No. But, every dentist that is starting a new skill has some failures.

You can still get a dental implant if you still want one. It will require you to have the bone grafting rebuilt before you move forward.

This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.