I had a consultation with a dental implant specialist. He told me that he has the highest success rate of all the specialists in his area because he uses screw retained crowns. I just wanted to check that with another dentist about it’s legitimacy. He’s kind of pricey, but it will be worth it if it gives the procedure the best chance of success. Something about the dentist makes me uncomfortable.

Meagan L. – Florida

Meagan,

I want to clear something up. Though some dentists have invested more time in dental implant training, there isn’t a recognized dental implant specialist. If he’s trying to pass himself off as one, then I’d be careful. Now, it might be true that he’s done a lot of training and has a great success rate. Don’t be shy about asking him what type of training he’s received. For instance, Dr. Coleman has reached fellowship status with the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI).

There are many things that can factor into dental implant failure. It’s helpful if you can get a dentist who’s able to do both the surgery and cosmetic portion. That way there’s less chance of communication issues causing a problem. You’ll also want to make sure you’re not a smoker. Smoking greatly reduces your chances of a successful procedure.

You specifically asked about a screw-retained crown. The biggest benefit to the screw is the elimination of cement. Even the most careful dentists have some cement seep out. They’ll remove the remaining cement with hand tools, but if any gets left behind it will trap bacteria and could lead to infection, which is a leading cause of implant failure.

There are a couple of instances where a screw-retained crown won’t work. The first is if the patient has a hard time keeping their mouth open for an extended period of time. The other is a cosmetic issue. It could negatively impact how the crown looks. An expert cosmetic dentist will be able to tell you which one is best for your particular case.

If you’ve got misgivings about a dentist, it wouldn’t hurt to check their reviews, just to make sure there aren’t too many complaints about his work.