Hi Bryanna, found this forum through Google and have a few questions regarding the dental implant process I'm currently going through.

My upper left front incisor had cracked about 3 months ago all the way up to the gum line. Prior to consulting with a dentist, I had been going to a corporate dental office near my parents and had decided to go to a smaller office where the wait time wouldn't be as long and the staff would "know" my dental care better. This dentist recommended I get a dental implant, since bonding was not going to work (the crack was too much) and the teeth next to my cracked tooth were healthy and shouldn't be ruined for a bridge.

Long story short, the tooth was extracted and the implant/bone graft was done immediately after. I was fitted for a flipper while we waited for the graft/implant to take to my jawbone and was examined in early December. The x-ray and examination showed I had a small infection and that there appeared to be bone loss at the implant site. The dentist immediately opened up the implant site to test the stability of the implant and said it was stable, despite the bone loss. He did another bone graft with synthetic bone (not sure what brand) that was in a syringe and told me not to apply any pressure to the area for 2 weeks, until the stitches can come out. He also said there was a lot of granulated tissue around the implant and used a laser for something but did not tell me what. I can now see a visible separation in my gum line where the implant is, but I cannot see the actual implant itself.

I'm on Amoxicilin for the infection (which I was not aware I had, since I had experienced no pain and saw no visible signs of infection), but I'm wondering what will be the next step when I see him in 4 days? He didn't have time to explain the possibilities to me, since another patient came in needing emergency oral surgery. Will I have to wait another 3 months after the stitches are taken out to see if the bone graft holds? If the graft doesn't hold, will he do another one or tell me I should just stick with the flipper?

Also, I did not get a second opinion after I found out about the infection, but this dentist does extractions, root canals, implants, etc. I don't think this is normal for most practicing dentists, should I be concerned that his work is maybe not being done with the level of specialization I could have received going to an oral surgeon who only does implants/root canals?

TIA!