Answered by: Dr. Scott Ganz

Fort Lee, NJ

Website: http://www.drganz.com/

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Hi Mike,

You raise an very important question, and this relates to the ultimate goal of implant dentistry. The goal is not the implant, the goal is to provide you with a functional and esthetic tooth replacement.

Therefore if the general dentist cannot restore the implant in the position that it is in, and the dental laboratory agreed with this assessment, it becomes a dilemma for everyone concerned. Your situation is not too uncommon, as implants are not always placed in the most ideal positions, often leading to further innovations in the field.

My advice would be for your general dentist to discuss the situation again with the periodontist, with the information from the dental laboratory, and explain the need for a mutually agreeable alternative.

One solution would be to enlist another dental laboratory who is familiar with these types of cases to see if they also agree that the implant may not be restored ideally. Or, they might have another solution that the first laboratory did not suggest. If there is agreement that it can not be restored, it might be appropriate to remove the implant, place a bone graft, and then place a new implant in a position which can be restored.

If this is not possible or desireable, other restorative options might need to be considered. I hope that you can resolve this problem through good communication and help from the invaluable dental technicians who ultimately fabricate the restoration.