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Saving Failing Implants – Treatment Options Explained

Worried about a loose, sore or bleeding dental implant? Chalet Hill Dental & Implants in Bordon explains what happens when you seek help for a failing implant, from first assessment to long-term care.

📍 28 Chalet Hill, Bordon, Hampshire | 🦷 Dental Implant Care | 🚗 Off-Street Parking

If an implant has started to give you trouble, one of the hardest parts is not knowing what happens next. Will it need surgery? How long will it take? Can it be saved at all? It is easier to deal with a problem when you can see the road ahead.

At Chalet Hill Dental & Implants in Bordon, we help patients from Bordon, Whitehill and the surrounding Hampshire and Surrey borders who are worried about an implant. This guide follows the typical journey of a struggling implant, from the first appointment through to long-term care, and explains the treatment options along the way.

Short answer: Many struggling implants can be saved if they are treated early, and those that can’t can usually be replaced after healing. The sooner an implant is checked, the more options you are likely to have.

Stage 1: The First Appointment – Finding Out What’s Wrong

The first visit is about diagnosis rather than treatment. We will:

• Talk through your symptoms, medical history, smoking and any history of gum disease
• Examine the implant, crown and gum, checking for movement, swelling, bleeding and pocket depth
• Take X-rays and, where useful, CBCT 3D scans to see the bone around the implant
• Explain what we have found, and what your options are, before you decide anything

Often the underlying cause is infection and inflammation around the implant. In its early gum-only form, it is called peri-implant mucositis and is usually reversible. When it has spread to the bone, it is called peri-implantitis.

Stage 2: The Early Weeks – First-Line Treatment

For many patients, the next stage is the gentlest treatment likely to work:

• A specialist clean around the implant
• Personalised cleaning advice, including the right interdental brushes
• Non-surgical cleaning and disinfection of the implant surface if early bone loss has begun
• A repair if the problem is a loose crown or screw rather than the implant itself

We then review you to check that the gum has settled and the signs of infection have eased. Some patients need no more than this.

Stage 3: If More Is Needed – Surgical Treatment and Rebuilding

When first-line treatment isn’t enough, the next step may be:

• Surgical cleaning under local anaesthetic, giving direct access to clean the implant and remove infected tissue
• Bone grafting to help rebuild bone lost around an implant that is still stable
• Soft tissue grafting to strengthen the gum so it is easier to keep clean

How well rebuilding works depends on the shape of the bone defect and on how well the area is maintained afterwards, so we will be realistic about the likely outcome in your case.

Stage 4: If the Implant Can’t Be Saved – Removal and Replacement

If too much support has been lost, removing the implant is usually the safest option. It is not the end of the road:

• The area is given time to heal, and healing time varies from person to person
• Bone is rebuilt if needed, using a bone graft or sinus graft, which can add further healing time
• A new implant can then often be placed, or alternatives such as an implant bridge or implant-retained denture can be considered

Before replacing anything, we will aim to understand why the first implant struggled, whether that was gum disease, smoking, difficulty cleaning, grinding or a health condition, so the replacement has the best chance of lasting.

Stage 5: Long Term – Keeping Everything Healthy

• Clean around implants daily with the brushes we recommend
• Keep your hygiene appointments and check-ups
• Stop smoking, or ask us for support
• Keep diabetes and other conditions well controlled
• Wear a night guard if you grind your teeth
• Get any bleeding, swelling or looseness checked promptly

How It Looks at a Glance

Local to Bordon and Whitehill

Chalet Hill Dental & Implants is at 28 Chalet Hill, with two dedicated patient spaces in front of the practice and street parking nearby. We are close to the A325 and A3, in easy reach of Woolmer Forest and the Bordon Inclosure. We are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

We welcome patients from Bordon, Whitehill, Headley, Grayshott, Liphook, Haslemere, Farnham, Alton and Petersfield, including those whose implants were placed at other practices.

Frequently Asked Questions