Feeling tightness in upper dental implant and possible shifting of front teeth (Photo)

Question

Feeling tightness with the upper implant bridge (14/15). No pain. Feels too large & perceive a slight shift in front teeth. Gums don't bleed. Upper implants placed late 9/16. Bridge placed 3.10.17. A piece of impression material had been left on the mucosa (photo) but removed - area cleaned & two antibiotics given/taken/finished. Independent Panoramic x-ray 3.23.17 shown. Grateful for advice as to what to do. Don't want to threaten natural teeth.

Edward A. Alvarez, DDS - Account Suspened · Answer

Hi, thank you for your question and I'm sorry to hear that your recent dental treatment has left you with some questions. It is quite normal to feel a sense of "tightness" after the insertion of any crown or bridge (regular or implant), but particularly for implants. Unlike normal teeth, implants do not have ligaments holding them in the bone, so they have no mobility at all. When you place a crown, you always want to leave the contact with the tooth next to it a bit "tight". This is done intentionally to avoid having an "open contact" which would lead to a food trap, and the food that gets stuck setting off a cascade of problems. When you leave a tight contact between two natural teeth, the ligaments allow for some "settling" of the teeth and that feeling goes away very quickly. When you place an implant crown, since there is no mobility of the implant fixture, the feeling will take longer to resolve (I speak from experience in having an implant in my own mouth). Hopefully, soon, that feeling of tightness will go away. As for the teeth feeling too big, I am not sure if you mean big when you bite (they hit before the other teeth and you cannot fully close), or if they physically seem thicker (wider). If there is a bite discrepancy, you must return to your dentist to have the bite adjusted and the occlusal (biting) surface of the implant crowns reduced. If you feel they are big in any other way, it is just your mouth and brain getting used to having something there where there wasn't before. That will go away in a few weeks as well. I hope this serves to answer some if not all of your questions. Best of luck.
Cheers!
-Dr. Alvarez

Kourosh Maddahi, DDS · Answer

Hi:As long as you can easily floss in between your teeth, there should not be any shifting or pressure due to the bridge or implant crowns.  Shifting can also be due to clenching and or grinding.  Please recheck the bite on the bridge and if you are a clencher or grinder wear a nightguard.Best,Dr. Maddahi

Feeling tightness in upper dental implant and possible shifting of front teeth (Photo)

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Feeling tightness in upper dental implant and possible shifting of front teeth (Photo)

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