What is MRONJ? Medication‑related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) (dead jaw) happens when part of your jawbone does not heal properly and begins to die after minor trauma, surgery (like a tooth extraction, dental implant), or sometimes even without a clear trigger. The jawbone dies and may become exposed. You may notice: MRONJ is rare, … Read more
Smoking has a negative effect on dental implants and bone grafting procedures. You can either smoke or you can have teeth, but you cannot have both! Smoking anything of any kind has a negative effect on dental implant procedures. The nicotine constricts the blood vessels leading to poor healing and much higher incidence of infection … Read more
The topic today is alcohol and dental implants. There’s a great majority of people who drink alcohol. Some do it in moderation. Some do it very heavily. It’s going to affect your dental implant surgery, for sure. Let’s talk about how alcohol affects it. Alcohol consumption increases the risks of dental implant and bone grafting postoperative complications…always. … Read more
(updated January 2024) The all on 4 dental implant full mouth solution is not without problems. In fact, many patients come to me to fix all-on-4 dental implant problems and remove failed implants. It is a major decision to have this treatment done. In very skilled hands, this procedure has a very high success rate. There … Read more
This is a great educational image of a clogged sinus. The plan is for this patient to have zygomatic implants. The plan could also be for a sinus lift bone graft. Regardless of the procedure the sinus on the left side of the picture is blocked. A clogged sinus is a recipe for disaster for … Read more
UPDATED JUNE 2024 A gap or space can develop under a dental implant bridge or even a bridge with natural teeth. The focus of this post will be on implant bridges, especially immediate “all on X”/”all on 4″/”all on 6” dental implant procedures for the full arch replacement. This most commonly occurs on an ALL … Read more
Dental implants need extra thick gums. Without good gums the implants can have problems.
(updated January 2025) This patient had a lower left overdenture instead of a fixed screwed in bridge for many years which she did not like. The overdenture is not a real bridge. It has a removable denture that snaps in and out of the implants. Implant bridge Using Old Implants What’s unique about this case … Read more
(updated January 2025) About 30% of my practice is treating failing implants, removing them, rescuing them. Let’s talk about why, and why did your implant fail or why do they hurt? There is no one reason why dental implants fail. Reasons can range from anatomical – not enough bone or gums – to problems with … Read more
(updated January 2024) Help, my implant fell out! There is a lot more to that statement than it seems. Let us go under the assumption that you had a dental implant placed, but you have not had the crown or bridge attached to it. The screw falls into the mouth You are eating something and … Read more
Gum Graft/Transplant for Dental Implants… Is It Necessary? IT IS ONE OF THE KEYS TO SUCCESS! When talking about dental implants most people focus on the bone alone. The bone sets the tone, but the (gum) tissue is the issue. I get 100s of questions asking if a gum graft should be done at the … Read more
Dental Implants Are Not Permanent! MUST WATCH Wow… This is a lot to digest but worth watching for a few minutes. About 35% of my practice is devoted to redo’s/revisions of failing implants, bone grafts and implant crowns/bridges. Having extra bone and gum is by far the best anatomical way to prevent problems with the … Read more
Patients who are not treated with the penicillin type of antibiotics, such as amoxicillin or Augmentin, have a higher rate of implant and bone graft complications/failures!
This is a great example of a dental implant that is placed too shallow. You want your dental implant perfectly placed. “Perfect implant placement is impossible.” In reality, there are small errors that have no clinical effect on your implant. Even dental implants that are placed with computer guided surgery have a certain degree of … Read more
This is a diagram I made based on a real patient that came to see me with a failing implant. The implant will need to be removed as there is no way I can predictably save the implant or the crown. This would classify as Peri-Implantitis…bone loss around an implant. The implant crown is to … Read more
Most can’t believe that a titanium dental implant can crack or break! It happens! More now than in the past. Why do implants break? Some dental implants are very thin at the top. Many people believe that a conical connection type is a better connection for the abutment and tooth. The problem with that style … Read more
Ramsey Amin DDS I don’t have complications too often but this is one worth sharing. I did a very large block bone graft in the front of the mouth for dental implants. The bone graft was both vertical and horizontal and gained a lot of volume. The block bone graft was held in by screws … Read more
Sad story of dental implant complications… This woman had 4 implants done already in her lower jaw. She already lost one when she came to see me. You can see that the gum tissue looks really irritated and there is visible infection of the implants… they look terrible!! These implants are failing and there is … Read more
Sometimes dental implants are not the best option! I know this sounds strange coming from a dental implant specialist but for the last 20 years of my career, there are some cases that are best off not having implants. There are disadvantages to dental implants. There are also disadvantages to bridges as well. Sometimes the … Read more
It is not every day I see a case like this. This patient is going to lose her lower first molar which is the one that is second from the back typically if you are missing your wisdom teeth. It is the most common tooth to be pulled mostly because it has been in your … Read more
I have been seeing a rise in complications on patients who have had the ALL ON 4 dental implant procedure. Many patients end up in my office for redo treatment after things have gone very wrong. I’m seeing a lot of broken bridges and bone loss recall peri-implantitis. In this video I will discuss … Read more
This Burbank patient had a loose lower bridge. She had had the bridge for about only 8 years before it failed and became loose. You know a bridge is failing when it feels painful to bite down or there is movement. This unfortunately is a daily thing I see every day. Teeth were never intended … Read more
You may be reading this because you are at a diabetic in need of an extraction and bone graft or full mouth dental implants. You are probably well aware that diabetes can cause slow healing from dental surgery or any type of surgery. You can be at a higher risk of complications because of being … Read more
(updated May 2025) (Another great post on membranes. Click here to see what they look like in the mouth) These are questions and comments I receive constantly on my blog and from patients who come to see me in Burbank, California. New patients who come to see me ask, “Is it okay if my bone … Read more
Dizziness is a rare complication that can occur in patients that have an internal sinus lift for dental implants in the upper jaw. This is called vertigo. More accurately it is called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo – BPPV. In my private practice over the last 14 years I have had extremely few patients that have … Read more
Dental implants, especially in the front of the mouth, need to be placed with a high degree of accuracy. When an implant is placed too shallow or worse yet too deep in the front of the mouth it creates a cosmetic failure– a long tooth and sometimes black triangles. This is especially true on a … Read more
Too much cement used on a dental implant crown or bridge can easily cause bone loss around both new and old implants. It sounds counterintuitive to purposely use less cement for an implant than you would for a crown on a natural tooth. If left untreated, it can be one of the worst dental implant … Read more
As an authority in the field of dental implant dentistry I can tell you there ARE disadvantages to dental implants. Like anything else, there are pros and cons. Many dentists and patients speak about the pros of implants and bone grafting but there is not a lot of good information on the cons. The Cost … Read more
(updated July 2022) Dental implants can be problematic if you take Fosamax, Actonel or Boniva. So can you get dental implants if you have osteoporosis? Contrary to popular opinion, having osteoporosis does not mean you cannot have dental implants, sinus lifts or bone grafts. If you’ve taken those medications (called bisphosphonates) to treat osteoporosis, you … Read more
A patient in my Burbank office asked me about the long-term with implants. Dental implant complications can occur. Most focus on the surgery, but what I am talking about is what happens later down the road. Later, meaning after the crown, bridge or full implant restoration has been attached to the implants. This video reviews … Read more
The little triangle of gums between your front teeth. Did you ever notice it? Look closely. Between each tooth should be a little triangle of gum called a papillae. That little tiny triangle of gum is of ultimate importance when having an implant in the front of the mouth. When you smile big you probably … Read more