My daughter has Down Syndrome. She is an adult now and mostly independent. Though she still lives with us, she holds down a job. She’s recently had a spate of cavities and one of her teeth recently had to be extracted. We did some research and it appears that dental implants are the best tooth replacement. We also received a bunch of recommendations and everyone said this dentist was the best implant dentist. We went to see him for our consultation. After he examined my daughter’s mouth he told us she does not take good enough care of her teeth and he will not give her a dental implant. My daughter burst into tears so I wasn’t able to stay and talk to him about this. We never got to find out our options. Should I try to reason with him to do them or do we need to look for other options or even another dentist who will do her implant?
Margie
Dear Margie,
Dental Implant with Crown
While I am certain you could find a dentist willing to place your daughter’s dental implant, I do not think you should. It sounds like your daughter is struggling with her dental hygiene. If that is the case, it was wise for this dentist to say no. If a dental implant is placed, it will likely fail. That is not just a matter of needing to do it again. Even to get the first implant, she would need surgery, then a healing time, then time for the bone to integrate to the implant. During all of this time, dental hygiene is paramount in order to prevent an infection from setting in. Implant infections can be serious.
Then, if you wanted to replace it, the implant would have to be removed. Then, she’d need a bone grafting procedure to build back up the lost bone in that area. Only after that would you get to start over on the whole procedure.
She does have options. I would consider getting a dental bridge for her tooth replacement. It is possible her adjacent teeth have decay and will need dental crowns anyway. In that case, a dental bridge will make more sense anyway.
I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.
