Health Upp Dental implants Melbourne are the most successful and frequently performed type of dental implant surgery. Nevertheless, they can be associated with several complications. The majority of these complications occur in the first month after the procedure, when it is likely that poor oral hygiene or infection will take place.
Infections have been noted to affect 0-2% of patients, but among high-risk populations such as people with diabetes, smokers and immunocompromised individuals, 10-50% develop infections following an implant operation. In addition, many different types of bacteria can infect a wound, including Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sanguinis and pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Water trap infections are usually due to poor oral hygiene, can be problematic if the wound is not treated with antibiotics and may lead to implant removal or at least a special implant design. This has been found to occur frequently in diabetic patients who have very high counts of anaerobes living on their implants despite successful treatment with dental implants.
Bacterial contamination of the implant location is the most common cause of postoperative complications, including infection, non-healing wounds and pain. The bacterial count adjacent to dental implants is extremely high, especially when compared with other soft tissues surrounding these implants, such as muscle tissue. It has been shown that approximately 1000 bacteria per gram of tissue was measured. This large number of bacteria in the area surrounding dental implants is due to a combination of oral microflora, which is transferred from an individual’s mouth when they place their tongue on the implant site and bacteria that grow in the saliva around implants.
Bacteria can also cause inflammation and irritation of soft tissue, causing pain and discomfort for patients. In addition, after surgical removal, bacterial contamination may persist because it is difficult to sterilize these particular sites, so prophylactic antibiotic treatment should be obtained before surgery.
The majority of infections following dental implant procedures are thought to occur because of poor oral hygiene, such as bleeding gums or the use of tobacco products that facilitates bacteria growth. In addition, it has been found that the use of tobacco products, in particular smoking, is associated with a higher rate of infection. This may be because smokers have an increased amount of bacteria and higher levels of inflammatory markers in their saliva, which is known to facilitate the growth of chronic oral infections.
Smoking, diabetes mellitus, and other immunocompromising conditions are all contributing factors for bacterial contamination around dental implants, although there is no concrete evidence on whether they are significant or not.
Non-healing wound: Healing time after dental implant surgery varies between individual patients since it depends on age, general health status and previous medical history. A successful operation can be defined as a healed wound, and there is no consensus on time required for healing to occur. However, it has been found that implants should become covered by vascular tissue within three months of surgery, otherwise increasing the chances of implant failure.
Problems such as pain or discomfort after dental implant placement can occur due to inflammatory soft tissue reactions such as infection. Patients may not feel comfortable immediately after having dental procedures. This discomfort could lead patients to change their oral hygiene habits, which ultimately increases the risks of bacterial contamination around implants. These problems can be avoided if patients follow good oral hygiene practices and keep wounds clean.
Major complications following dental implant placement include partial or complete failure.
Partial failure: Each implant has a resorption rate of up to 1-2% per year and, as such, can remain asymptomatic for several years. However, partial failure occurs when the bone resorbs around the implant leaving only a thin layer of compact bone where it used to be. This can lead to increased mobility around the implant site and eventually loss of the implant if untreated.
Complete failure: Complete failure occurs when the entire dental implant fails. This is usually due to chronic infection or inflammation that may lead to implants needing replacement because there is no longer any blood supply to the tissue surrounding them. At present, many different treatment options are available for these cases, including surgical removal of failed implants, bone grafts, implant maintenance or replacement.