Implant Failure Guarantee

What do we do at Winning Smiles when your dental implants fitted by us go wrong?

Firstly we need to define ‘when things go wrong’. Generally dental implants ‘go wrong’ in the first few weeks of fitting (Early Failure/Integration failure/Failure to integrate/Osseointegration/acute infection/implant rejection)

OR

2,3,4,5….20 years after fitting (Long Term Failure, Peri-implantitis, Bone loss, Fracture of superstructures (bridges/crowns/abutments/dentures/overdentures/chronic infection)

Early failure (patients sometimes call this implant rejection)

This is where the implant (titanium screw/fixture) is inserted in to the jaw bone by the dentist or implantologist and when he checks the implant 2 weeks later it is loose and painful – at this point the bone around the implant has failed to make contact with the titanium surface and the implant is not going to firm up or ‘take’ in the usual way.

The implant has failed to integrate (or osseointegrate) and will be removed and discarded.

Normally the bone will heal around the hole left by the failed fixture and a new titanium implant/screw/fixture can be placed 6-16 weeks later. Sometimes additional procedures may be required to improve the chance of a success for the 2nd bite of the cherry eg bone

grafting or simply burying the implant and leaving it for a longer period before inspecting it again (up to 6 months).

What we do if you suffer an early implant failure

If your implant fails to integrate here at Winning Smiles we have a free replacement policy. If you would rather not take the risk of it happening again, or wish to not go ahead with surgery a 2nd time, we will refund you the cost of the implant surgery for that implant which has failed.

Late failure

A late failure occurs some time after the implant has successfully integrated – ie any time after the teeth (crown/bridge/denture) have been connected to your implants. Usually the teeth are connected 3-6 months after implant surgery – or in cases where immediate implant treatment has been performed – any time after the immediate implant treatment is completed.

Most late failures occur 5-10 years after implant placement and conditions in the mouth usually dictate how long implants will survive prior to failure. Most failures occur due to the bone slowly shrinking around the implant and creating a larger and large crater around the fixture until the implant breaks away from the bone because only a mm or two of bone is left holding it in. Many implants fail this way but whether that bone loss happens within 5 years or 20 years is of great importance to the patient!

Factors that accelerate peri implant bone loss:

• Smoking
• Poor Oral Hygiene
• Failing to attend regular hygienist sessions and inspection maintenance by the dentist
• Diabetes
• The other failure we see rarely is where an implant fractures or snaps due to a very strong bite (occlusal overload)

Feel free to browse a gallery selection of our before and after
Dental Implant case studies

What we do if you suffer a later implant failure

If your implant suffers severe peri-implantitis and fails or has to be removed due to recurrent infections some years after fitting we will replace it free of charge within the first 5 years after fitting providing you are a non smoker, maintain good oral hygiene and have been seeing our hygienists regularly (every 3-6 months) and attending your dentist at Winning Smiles every 6 months for a check up.

PS Sometimes we see fractures of the implant crown, bridge or implant denture. This is different from the titanium screw in the jaw bone failing. Usually the implants in the jaw are fine in these situations but the tooth or teeth attached to them have failed due to long term wear and tear or sudden breakage. Generally we guarantee our Ceramic/Porcelain/Zirconia/

PFM crowns and bridges for 5 years (any failure of these replaced free of charge within 5 years of fitting as long as there is not an accident involved). Our Acrylic dentures and Bridges are guaranteed for 2 years as they are weaker and more prone to breaking.

Often a small chip can be smoothed down without the need to replace the crown bridge or denture in its entirety (as long as the chip is not showing when a patient smiles). For large chips or those that show we can often repair them invisibly – although your crown/bridge/denture may need to go away for a few days for the lab to work on them – in this instance a temporary replacement is provided.

Free Consultation

Without seeing things for ourselves, we can’t tell people what their options are.

And so with that in mind, we are happy to offer free consultations, as this is a big decision for most people. We are careful to take budget, comfort and appearance into account when explaining all the available choices and there is never any pressure to proceed, and certainly not on the day.

We set out to be a friendly practice and try to provide everybody with what’s right for them, at an affordable cost. We hope our dentist reviews give that impression.

Advanced Dental Implant Price List

The following costs for Advanced Dental Implants are correct when written, but they can change. We will provide written pricing for each ‘cosmetic treatment’ as part of our free consultation. You don’t have to be a member to have treatment at Winning Smiles.