If you're about to have dental implants placed, you'll need to take special care of them, especially during the initial phase when everything is healing. While most implants heal properly, some do fail to heal according to plan. When that happens, the implants will need to be removed and replaced.

There are a few reasons why dental implants will fail, and you need to be aware of them. Knowing why implants may fail will help you monitor your implants so that you can notify your dentist of any problems you might notice. Here are three of the reasons your new dental implants may fail.

On-Site Infection

If your initial tooth loss was caused by gum disease, you probably had a significant amount of infection in your gums. Dentists thoroughly clean the area when they remove the diseased tooth, and prior to placing the implant. However, it's still possible for a small amount of infection to remain in the gums. When that happens, the infection can continue to thrive, and grow once the implant is placed.

Unfortunately, if the infection isn't treated properly, the implant will fail. To prevent this type of failure, it's important that you take all the antibiotics that your dentist prescribes you. You should also monitor your mouth for signs of infection, such as swelling, redness, oozing around the gums, or foul odors coming from your mouth – beyond normal bad breath.

Insufficient Bone Density

If you're having dental implants placed to replace teeth that were lost years ago, the bone in your jaw may have already begun to deteriorate. This may also be the case if you lost your teeth due to gum disease. Both situations will cause a rapid deterioration of your jawbone. First, as soon as a tooth is removed, the jawbone begins to deteriorate. The same thing occurs when you have gum disease.

When there isn't sufficient bone mass to hold an implant in place, the dentist will perform a bone graft. Once the graft has successfully created additional bone mass, the implant will be placed. Unfortunately, sometimes the graft doesn't work properly, which means the implant will come loose. When that happens, the dentist will need to remove the implant, redo the graft, and replace the implant. If your implant comes loose, chances are good that you'll need to have it replaced at some point. For more help with dental implant restoration, consider contacting companies like Tijeras Dental Service.

Lack of Adequate Blood Supply

If you smoked prior to having your implants placed, or you begin smoking again following the procedure, you might not have adequate blood supply to your gums for your implants to heal properly. Implants need a healthy flow of blood to the gums in order for the implantation to be a success. If you're going to have implants, it's a good idea to stop smoking several months before the procedure takes place, and remain tobacco-free to ensure proper implantation.