Can Your Body Actually Reject A Dental Implant?

Although it's rare, the human body can reject something that has been surgically implanted into it. This form of rejection is something you might hear about in relation to major internal organs (such as the heart, liver, and kidneys). If you're about to receive a dental implant, you might be wondering—can your body actually reject the implant?

Living Tissue

A dental implant is extremely different from the implantation of an organ, which is placing living tissue into living tissue. Implanting an organ requires all ligamentous attachments, ducts, veins, and arteries to be severed from the existing damaged organ before being reconnected to the new donor organ. The dental implant procedure requires the insertion of a metal bolt into your jaw, which mimics the root structure of the tooth it's replacing. It has no living tissue, so your body can't technically reject it.

Implant Failure

Just because typical rejection isn't applicable to dental implants, it doesn't mean that a dental implant can't fail. Implant failure is determined by the implant improperly integrating with the underlying bone and surrounding tissues, meaning it will not offer adequate stability for its replacement prosthetic tooth. How can this type of implant failure be avoided?

Disruption

The part of the dental implant procedure where the implant is incorporated into the bone is known as osseointegration. This can take several months, but implant failure can occur when this osseointegration is disrupted. This can be caused by excessive pressure on the temporary prosthetic tooth (if one was fitted). You might not have been following the dietary recommendations for this temporary prosthesis (such as eating food that is too hard or chewy), or you might be grinding your teeth while you sleep. It's crucial to only eat soft foods, and if you happen to grind your teeth, you need to wear a night retainer. In the latter case, your dentist might recommend this themselves if they spot the telltale signs of night grinding.

Density

Additionally, implant failure can occur due to a lack of bone density. Your jaw bone naturally reduces its density on a localized basis when a portion of the bone no longer has to support the missing tooth. Your bone density will be assessed prior to receiving the implant, but there can occasionally be a miscalculation. This is out of your hands, and if this should happen to you, your implant will be removed so that bone grafting can be performed before the implant is put back into position, into a jaw that has had its density restored courtesy of the graft.

If you should become concerned about the stability of a newly-installed dental implant, contact your dentist immediately so that the cause of the problem can be identified, allowing you to avoid potential implant failure.