A patient presented to my office seeking help for a loose anterior bridge on implants. He goes to another dentist, but had come to my office previously for another implant related problem.
A visual inspection and a periapical x-ray showed a 4 unit bridge retained by implants placed in the maxillary central incisor positions 8 and 9 respectively (the two upper front teeth). The implants were placed extremely deep under the bone and needed 7 mm long standard abutments (posts) to bring the connection to the correct revel about 1 mm subgingivally. The bridge was loose, and the radiograph showed that the screw that attached to the left implant was broken inside the implant. The abutment had fallen out and the patient brought it in his hand.This is a rare occurrence with today's dental implants, but these implants were the original Branemark implants and had been placed 23 years ago in 1989, and were more prone to screw loosening and fracture than the implants we have today.
Fortunately for the patient, the screw was not threadlocked and was fairly easy to remove, allowing the patient to repair the bridge with a new screw, which I was surprised it was still available from the manufacturer.
Below is a video of the procedure taken through the surgical microscope:
Carlos Boudet, DDS DICOI
1840 Forest Hill Blvd Suite 204
West Palm Beach, Florida. 33406
Website: http://www.boudetdds.com
Implant Blog: http://www.palm-beach-implants.com
