How to Correct Dental Implants that Sit Higher than your Natural Teeth

When you lose your natural teeth, the gum and bone in that area begin to shrink. Placing dental implants in such areas requires careful replacement of those tissues in the skilled hands of a denturist to avoid complications.

The procedure is particularly tricky when performed in the front of the mouth, since an implant that is placed too shallow or too deep can create a cosmetic mishap – in the form of a long tooth and black triangles in some cases.

The cosmetic concerns of poorly placed front dental implants mostly affect patients with a high smile line – when your smile shows more of your gums than usual. Such cosmetic failures are less noticeable for patients with a low smile line.

So, how can this problem be corrected?

It  can be challenging to correct a dental implant that sits higher than your natural teeth without any additional work, because the bone architecture supports both the gum and the gum line. To fix it, you may need a hard and soft tissue graft under the gum. This means taking out the implant so the jaw bone can be rebuilt with a couple of bone grafting and gum grafting procedures. The soft tissue graft is necessary to lower the gum line so that the new implant can be placed in a more shallow position.

This may need an elaborate procedure since the bone has to be re-grown vertically in close proximity to the natural teeth. Very advanced techniques are required to accomplish vertical building as opposed to horizontal re-building.

The complexity of the procedure therefore demands that you visit a restorative denturist with a wealth of experience in implant dentistry to discuss your options.

We at  Canadian Denture and Implant Centres consider implant dentistry in the esthetic zone as an intricate procedure that must be carefully planned for a great result. For further assistance from our denture specialists and to learn about other options for replacing your teeth, please contact us.