I am a little frustrated. I had planned on getting a couple of dental implants. My dentist has placed many of them so I felt I was in good hands. When he first started the implant surgery he decided I needed some bone grafting done. So, we scheduled that procedure and completed it. After a period of healing, he went back in to do the implants, but decided there still wasn’t enough bone. Now, he’s saying I may not be a good candidate. What’s going on?
Luke
Dear Luke,
You should know right off the bat that there isn’t a specialty in dental implants. That being said, some dentists invest more times and training in the procedure than others. It sounds like, while your dentist has placed a lot of dental implants, he is new to the bone grafting procedure.
We’re all new at some point in our careers with every procedure. Plus, you’ve got two things going for you with your current dentist.
1. Your dentist is increasing his skills. That means he is doing more than just keeping up with his continuing education. This is the sign of a good dentist.
2. He’s being honest with you. He could have placed the dental implants in the third surgery in order to not admit the bone grafting procedure failed. They would have lasted for a while and then suddenly failed. You’d have no way of connecting it to the grafting.
Does this necessarily mean you are not a candidate for implants? No. If you really want them, you can still get them. It will mean you have to go to a dentist with a little more experience than your current dentist. I wouldn’t give up this dentist completely, though. He sounds like a good dentist. Instead, just find the right dentist for this particular procedure.
Finding the Right Implant Dentist
You want a dentist with extensive post-doctoral training in both the placement and surgical procedure for dental implants. Ideally, someone with so much training and experience they’ve attained a fellowship with the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. You can click here to see Dr. Cha’s implant qualifications to give you an idea of what you’re looking for in an implant dentist.
I hope this helps you.
This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Jerome Cha.