VIDEO -Hard or Soft Bone – What is Better for Dental Implants?

Most people think bone is just bone!  Actually, in the mouth it can be as hard oak wood or as soft as Styrofoam!!!

Your success with the dental implant procedure has got a lot to do with this.  The techniques of placing the implants into each type of bone is very different.  This video should help you understand this concept.

17 thoughts on “VIDEO -Hard or Soft Bone – What is Better for Dental Implants?”

  1. Hi
    I will be getting an implant lower left jaw at the back, but bone in Xray is very white all the way through and dentist tells me that means it’s very hard, Is that a problem? Txs!

    Reply
    • If the bone is too hard that means there is very little blood inside of it. So the bone is a bit dry and overly dense. It is still possible to have an implant in this area as long as there is no pathology and special techniques for high density bone is used. Definitely there is a higher rate of failure so I would suggest you see somebody who has a lot of skill and experience in doing this. Really hard bone and really soft bone have the highest complication rates but certainly can be successfully managed!

      Reply
  2. Hello doctor, I am currently 20 yeard old and I have been missing my lateral incisor since I was 12. Last year december I got a bone graph done and this year july I got an implant placed, when i woke up from surgery my doctor told me that the bone was poor and said that it could happen because this part of my mouth havent been stimulated in so long. Now he wanted to take the implant off three weeks later and wants to give me a bridge(I cancel that appointment cause I wanted a second oppinion). I don’t want to get a bridge, so I would like to know if there anything that can be done so that I could keep this implant?

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  3. Hello, I’m 21 years old, I just got my implants done and have to wait for three months to get the crown on it, my concern is that my doctor implanted on a soft bone and in scared of it will cause any failure. Also my gums aren’t so strong. What do you suggest?

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  4. I have an upper right back teen removed and placed implant at the same time 3 month ago. Today I am called by the dentist to go back check how the gum is healing.
    The dentist tells me;
    1. X-ray shows bone is growing good, and is ready to place abutment today.
    2. He injects some dosage of anesthetic at the gum, waiting about 5 minutes, I feel pain when pressure the gum with the sharp tool.
    3. He injects more dosage of anesthetic. He takes off the implant and says the bone is not hard enough for abutment today, then he places back the implant. Terribly I feel much pain when he does this, I almost jump from the chair. He closes the wound with suture and ask me to come back in 3 months. Nightmare !!!!!!!!
    4. Now I am afraid to go back to the dentist. Can you please advise if this is normal practice to check the bone hard? It is like a torture.
    5. Since I did not pay the rest of money, can I change a dentist? What I should do if I change a dentist, thank you for your review my case.

    Reply
    • it’s hard to follow exactly what happened here. It sounds like you are going in for an uncovering procedure. It sounds like the gum was lifted up to attach a healing abutment and perhaps the implant moved. Typically the upper back teeth has very soft bone. I would suggest you leave it alone for a full 4 to 6 months before attempting to re-exposing implant. It sounds like torture because you probably were not numb enough. I do things very differently than what you have described but I guess this can work to. You can always change dentist. We still live in a free world 😉

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  5. Hello. I have found this site by accident in searching for treatment for my daughter. We are both in the UK but wondered if you may be able to give us some helpful advice. Unfortunately my daughter was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition as a small child, she is now 24 years old. The condition she has is hypophosphatemic rickets (vitamin D resistant) which means that her calcium and phosphate levels are too low, which has had a detrimental effect on the development of her bones and also with her teeth. She was treated throughout her childhood at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital and at The John Radcliff in Oxford. She has just been told that she will need root canal treatment on her lower front teeth and should prepare herself to lose at least two of them. Obviously if this becomes the case, then she would like the opportunity of having dental implants, however she has been told this probably won’t be possible due to the defectiveness of bones. Is this something you may of heard of or ever dealt with? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank you

    Reply
    • I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s condition. Dental implants may not be the best idea for your daughter. The physiology of bone formation includes phosphorus and calcium metabolism along with vitamin D. The bone is the reservoir for these minerals. If dental implants are to be tried, I would suggest doing just one in the lower jaw and seeing how everything goes before doing multiple dental implants. A young person at age 24 has such a better healing ability then someone who is older. You also may want to consider a dental school for treatment that may be able to consult with her orthopedic physician.

      Teeth can also be replaced with bridges that are more conservative such as a Maryland bridge. Be sure these are bonded very well so they don’t pop-off too frequently.

      Very respectfully,

      Ramsey A. Amin, D.D.S.
      Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology /Implant Dentistry
      Fellow-American Academy of Implant Dentistry

      Reply
  6. I was so happy to read your info Ian 54yrs I look very young but my teeth is all missing from the side you were very helpful I live in Cleveland Ohio I want to have teeth implants can you send me your price and how you can put in my dental implants please email me Thanks for the info

    Reply
    • Hi Jackie,

      Thank you for your kindness. I wish I could tell you more about your unique situation but I would really need to examine you in person and review your 3D scan for dental implants.

      Reply
  7. My daughter has missing (born without) 2 teeth . . . On either side of the front teeth. She is going through the implant process. She had bone grafting done since the site area was very narrow. That seemed to work. However step 2 of the process was done yesterday and she got posts and temporary crowns. The surgeon seems very disappointed since he said the grafted bone area is strong but the rest of the bone involved is very, very soft. He is not optimistic that the implants are going to work. We have to wait 8 mos tohave the final step done and have the implants put in . . . Before we will know if this will work or not. Is there anything we can do to encorage the bone to fuse correctly? This has cost $12k and we r so upset and concerned. We knew there was a chance of failure but this is just so upsetting. . . Any suggestions?

    Reply
  8. Thank you for all this useful information. I did not think of implants until I had my left upper 7th molar extracted last year in August. I have waited 8 months. On Saturday, Aprl 23rd, 2011 I had a sinus lift with bone graft and implant, hoping that in about 4 months time all will have stabilized. I wish I had known about same day implants in August last year. Thanks again.

    Reply
  9. many thanks Dr. Amin, you have a lot of information here on dental implants that I am considering to have implanted now. I am not from the US and I cannot come to your office, of course, anyway your site helps me a lot in making a decision. Thanks again
    Shirrah, slovakia

    Reply

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