Does A Discolored Prosthetic Tooth Mean There's Something Wrong With Your Dental Implant?

A dental implant is intended to be a permanent solution to what would have otherwise been a permanent problem, as a missing tooth isn't going to grow back. But what about when the appearance of the dental implant changes? This doesn't necessarily indicate a serious problem, but what could be causing the discoloration of the implant? 

The Three Parts

Although the prosthetic tooth in your mouth is often referred to as an implant, the implant itself is made of three parts. First, there's the titanium bolt inserted into your jaw. This was fitted with an abutment at its tip before the prosthetic dental crown was attached, which then finished the process. The bolt and abutment are likely to be fine and not in need of any maintenance. However, any discoloration of the dental crown is an issue with this particular component.

No Problems With Functionality

It may not be that there's anything functionally wrong with a discolored dental crown. The anchor structure (the bolt and abutment) may be still doing its job, as is the crown. Instead, it might be more of an aesthetic issue. However, since the purpose of the implant was to correct both the functionality and look of your smile, the importance of the issue cannot be dismissed. 

An Illusion

Of course, there's the possibility that any changes to your dental crown are absolutely minimal, and the problem is elsewhere. The color of the dental crown isn't going to substantially change throughout its lifetime, and any discoloration could be an illusion. Perhaps your natural teeth have become discolored, causing a noticeable contrast between those natural teeth and the dental crown. In this case, scaling and polishing to remove extrinsic staining from your teeth can solve the problem, followed by periodic teeth whitening. 

A Stained Crown

However minimal it might be, the dental crown component of your dental implant can still become stained, and it will not respond to cleaning and whitening in the same way as a natural tooth. When this happens, the only option might be to replace the crown. Consult your original dental crown provider if this becomes necessary. It's an unfortunate turn of events, but it can be the only way to correct the color mismatch. 

Remember that any changes to the appearance of your dental crown don't necessarily reflect any structural problems with your dental implant. It's not an urgent problem, but it's one that will need to be addressed, and might require a new dental crown. Contact a dentist for more information about dental implants.