Why does my implant restoration have an open contact?

Implants can anchor great tooth restorations, but they are not identical to teeth. Teeth are anchored by ligaments to bone while implants are integrated directly into bone (they have no ligaments). Teeth can move over time while implants remain stationary.

Natural teeth tend to drift mesially over time. This usually does not pose a problem since often all the teeth drift mesially a tiny bit and no space develops between the teeth.  Implants are stationary  and  do not exhibit any drift, so that if the natural teeth move slightly (mesial drift), an open contact can develop, usually anterior to the implant. This  can cause food to become lodged between the implant and the tooth anterior to it. It is important that if this occurs a patient regularly removes any stuck food. This can be accomplished with a Waterpik or an small interproximal brush. If the food is allowed to stay wedged in between the implant and the anterior tooth it can cause problems in the gums and even cause decay on the natural tooth.

Possibly one solution is to suggest that patients with implants wear an orthodontic retainer to bed, since this would prevent spaces from developing. Sounds like a good idea to me. A simple Essex type retainer should do the trick.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2018/05/why-does-my-implant-restoration-have.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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