I’m on Fosamax and lost a tooth. My dentist doesn’t think I’m a candidate for a dental implant because of that. He’s provided me with a dental flipper (which I hate) until I can decide on a second option. Do you have a recommendation?
Benny
Dear Benny,
One thing you should know upfront. Taking Fosamax does not automatically disqualify you from getting a dental implant. When you take Fosamax and are having a procedure involving bone, it puts you at a slightly greater risk for complications. While the risk is only slight, the complications themselves can be rather serious so I don’t want you to take them lightly.
One thing I recommend if you are concerned is to temporarily suspend taking your Fosamax. You can have your doctor and oral surgeon coordinate with each other in order to make this work for you.
If you don’t want to take the risk, you could always get a dental bridge. The downside to this is it will require you two adjacent teeth to be ground down. If they are healthy, you may not want that.
Who Should Do Your Dental Implant
I am not going to suggest that you have your current dentist do the implant procedure. He is obviously uncomfortable with it. I don’t know if that is because he doesn’t do a lot of dental implants or because he doesn’t like things that have greater risks.
Especially in your situation, I’d want to make sure you find someone who has a lot of expertise in the dental implant procedure. That would mean they have done extensive post-doctoral training on implants, they can do the surgery themselves, and have a lot of experience. Ask about their success rate. It should be at least 98%.
This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.
