Causes Of Persistent Pain After A Dental Implant
After dental implant surgery, you should expect some swelling and pain, but this should go away after some time. However, you should suspect complications with your treatment if the pain persists. Here are some of the specific complications that may stretch the duration of your pain:
Loose Healing Cap or Cover Screw
After placing your implant, it needs to be kept clean to hasten the healing process. The dentist achieves this by repositioning the gum tissues of the wound, suturing them and screwing a healing cap or cover screw (that is later removed) over the exposed implant.
Unfortunately, this cap may loosen before the site heals completely. If this happens, the cap will irritate your bruised gums and prolong your pain. The solution is to re-fit the loosened healing cap, which is why you need to contact your dentist if your pain persists.
Burns from Dental Instruments
In a few cases, dental instruments (such as the dental drill) may get overheated, burning your oral tissues, including the gums and bones. Unfortunately, you may not feel this at the time of the burn due to your sedation; it may even escape the dentist's attention. You may only suspect the damage when your pain doesn't go away as described by the dentist. The solution is to remove the implant, clean away the dead tissues, allow the area to heal, and replace the implant.
Loose Dental Implant
The implant material, which is foreign to the body, will not immediately integrate into your bones when it is inserted; it takes time. Anything that disturbs the implant before it settles down may loosen it further, which makes it painful, too. In most cases, the dentist has to remove the implant, address the cause of the loosening, and replace it.
Infection
Lastly, an infection of the wound may also result in considerable pain. Infection in any part of the wound or it surroundings, including the gum and bone, can cause inflammation and soreness. In fact, a serious infection may cause dental implant failure, which requires a retreatment. This is why it's essential to follow your dentist's post-operative care to avoid infection. One of this involves maintaining a high level of oral hygiene.
The main advice is to notify your dentist if the pain persists for an unreasonably long time. Your dentist will give you pain medication and advice you on how long to expect the pain. However, you have the right to contact the dentist or periodontist like one from Merrimack Valley Periodontics any time you feel there is something wrong with your dental implant.