Experiencing pain near my 6 year old Dental Implant. Antibiotics helped temporarily, what is causing this?

Question

I have a dental implant on my top left side. It was done about 6 years ago. Recently, I started having a dull, ache pain in that area. After a few days, it became unbearable. Went to my dentist, after X-rays and exam showed nothing he put me on antibiotics. Pain did go away after 2 days. # weeks after finishing antibiotic, pain is back. I'm at a loss as what to do or where to go. Any suggestions?

Richard Champagne, DMD, MAGD · Answer

There were several potential causes for pain around a dental implant. One of the most common, due to the shape of the crown that's placed onto the implant, is for food to get trapped between the crown and the gum. If this is the cause of your discomfort, then your dentist or hygienist can simply cleaned out whatever's causing irritation or you can try using the WaterPik to flush out any debris that is trapped.Another potential cause of discomfort is the formation of a space between the implant and the gum tissue, called a pocket, The treatment for this is to make sure that the pocket is to have the pocket cleaned out and measured for the current depth so that you can remeasure in the future to see if it's stable or getting worse. In some cases, an antibiotic can be placed directly in the pocket to help reduce discomfort and to help stabilize the situation.The third cause, is that the implant is actually failing. Typically an x-ray will show that the bone around the implant is not directly attached to it anymore. If this is the case, the sooner it is removed the easier it will be to have another implant placed once the site heels.I hope this information was helpful,Dr. Champagne

Victor Sanz, DDS · Answer

You now must go back and have the implant evaluated.  Pain can be from the implant being slightly mobile in the bone. Implants have zero movement in bone.  If this is the case it will need to be replaced.

Experiencing pain near my 6 year old Dental Implant. Antibiotics helped temporarily, what is causing this?

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Experiencing pain near my 6 year old Dental Implant. Antibiotics helped temporarily, what is causing this?

Answers (2)

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Everything you need to know about Dental Implants

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.