Allergy to the dental implant | Risks of a dental implant

Allergy to the dental implant

An allergy to the dental implant is rare, since the materials from which implants are made are highly biocompatible, i.e. tissue-compatible. They consist of ceramics (such as zirconium oxide), for example, and are used in the visible anterior region for aesthetic reasons. Alternatively, they consist of titanium oxide for use in the posterior region.

Titanium implants can have microcontaminations of nickel or tin, which can lead to incompatibilities in sensitive patients. Despite all this, titanium has the highest tolerance level and, like zirconium oxide, it heals excellently into the human bone. If there is a suspicion that a patient may have an allergy to the substances to be used, this can be determined in advance by an allergologist through a test.

Injury to other teeth during implantation

Implantation is normally not performed by eye but with a so-called drilling template. Therefore, if all manufacturing rules of the template are observed, other teeth cannot be injured. In the meantime even special imaging techniques are used to guarantee exact precision. These can be of computer tomographic (CT) or digital-volume tomographic (DVT) origin, both of which are radiographic procedures. A special development has taken place in the last year with Prof. Derycke’s ultrasound-supported pilot system.With this system, implantation is performed in real time via a screen and deviations in the prognosiss are indicated with a warning signal.

Bleeding after implant placement

Bleeding after insertion of the implant usually comes only from the mucosa covering the implant, since there are more blood vessels there than in the bone. The oral mucosa regenerates completely within a few days, so bleeding should not be a cause for concern. However, there are exceptions with heavy post-bleeding, in which case you should consult your dentist. Treatment with anticoagulants such as Marcumar®, which is overlooked in the patient’s medical history, would be fatal. This includes, for example, that patients who take Aspirin® for prolonged headaches should not take it for 14 days before implantation, as this would disrupt platelet aggregation (sticking together of blood platelets).