My dentist wants to remove my implants and replace them with a bridge. He placed the implants although he saw during surgery that I didn’t have enough bone for the implants. Of course, we did not talk about it during surgery because I was half asleep from sedation. Now the implants will not heal, so my dentist wants to replace them with a bridge. How do I know if a dental bridge is my only option? – Thank you. Rodrigo from GA
Rodrigo,
We are sorry that you are having a challenging experience with dental implants. No doubt, you are frustrated. Your dentist is responsible in two ways.
Your Dentist’s Legal Responsibility
Your dentist is legally responsible due to the implied warranty principle. The implied warranty principle is that you pay for a service or product and receive it. But you paid for replacement teeth that you did not receive because your dentist placed implants in shallow bone, which will fail. Your dentist cannot meet the agreement to provide you with successful implants, so he owes you a refund.
Additional Financial Responsibility
Although Dr. Thomas would need to examine your dental records, it seems that your dentist did not take a 3-D scan to determine whether you had enough bone volume for implants. If your dentist had taken the scan, he would have known to include bone grafting in your treatment plan. Your dentist’s actions breached the standard of care, so he owes you a refund and the costs of risk, trauma, and inconveniences you incurred.
Can You Only Get a Bridge If Implants Failed?
Dental implant
When dental implants fail, a dental bridge is not your only option. Still, you need a 3-D scan from an implant dentist or specialist to measure your bone volume and where to build it up for implants. You can switch dentists for implants but look for a doctor with post-graduate implant training.
What to do next:
- Ask your dentist for a refund.
- Schedule a consultation with two different implant dentists to discuss your options.
- Be patient with the process of getting bone grafting and new implants and allowing the implant sites to heal.
Dr. Siny Thomas, a Sugar Land, Texas cosmetic dentist, sponsors this post.