Hi janie,
Yes, please send me the pre op xrays. Did I understand you correctly in that you have not had any post op x-rays after the implant was placed? Without taking a post op x-ray, there is no way to know the location of that implant in relation to the sinus. I have assisted on countless surgical procedure to place dental implants and I have always taken at least 2 x-rays at the time of the placement. One is taken at the onset of placing the implant to be sure of the location and angle of the placement and the second x-ray is taken as a final x-ray to determine the exact location/depth of the implant just before we dismiss the patient. I truly do not know of any oral surgeon who does not take post op placement x-rays.
Regarding the dental CT scan, yes it is more radiation than regular dental x-rays. However, in most cases involving the maxillary a DENTAL CT scan is done prior to the surgery to rule out radio graphic pathology (infection or an anomaly), to determine the location and density of the sinus and to calculate the height, density and depth of the existing bone. Without that scan, the dentist goes into the bone based on the limited findings on a 2 dimensional x-ray.
So tooth #5 was root canaled and after one year it was extracted and that occurred 15 years ago, correct? Supposedly this is where the dentist put the recent dental implant, correct? Tooth #6 had also been root canaled and was recently extracted, correct? What is the plan to replace that tooth?
If that is the case then the jaw bone of where tooth #5 had been extracted from many years ago did not remain open, did it? Or did the adjacent teeth #6 and #4 move in toward that open space?
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by janieburmy
Thanks you so much for your very detailed response. I really do appreciate your comments and they help me to understand the dynamics possibly going on here.
I feel I have misled you a little on one of the points though...my 6 extraction that took place a fortnight ago does not have an implant in it. It is still healing.
The 5, where I have the new implant, only lasted about a year (15 years ago) with the root filling in it before I cracked the tooth and it had to come out (admittedly after developing the periodontal abscess I spoke about). I can pm you my X-rays of the site prior to implant if that's helpful. I do not have any post treatment.
I had x-rays, but no CT scan. They are not routinely available here and I did ask about being referred for one prior to the implant but was advised that in all his years in hospitals working with ct scans for implants, he felt they didn't give any real advantage over several well placed apical x-rays and gave far more radiation. That kind of thing that subjects patients to radiation has to be justified here in the UK.
Emailed my dentist today to give him an update and he is confident that he did not penetrate the sinus membrane even if he did actually penetrate the bony sinus shell. He also said that he could see the shell of the sinus and it was intact on the tooth he extracted.
My antibiotics course is finished now. The discharge is far less this afternoon than it was. Not sure where to go from here.
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