Can I Place Implants Adjacent to Failed Root Canal Treatment?
Dr. C asks:
I am a general dentist and I restore implants but I do not surgically place them. I have a new patient referred to me by a colleague who presented with the chief complaint of throbbing pain, “somewhere on the right side”. The patient is a healthy, 44 year old female. All the upper and lower premolars and molars on her right side have single metal ceramic crowns. Upon probing the periodontal pockets I found furcation lesions on all the molars. The crown margins fit very well. My radiographic examination shows multiple, catastrophic root canal treatments with post perforations, gutta-percha extending way beyond the apices, interproximal bone loss and many radiolulcent apical areas.
Regardless of where her current pain is coming from, my problem is that her upper right canine [#6; 13] is the abutment for a fixed partial denture that was recently removed by a periodontist who together with prosthodontist have treatment planned for a 4- unit anterior fixed partial denture with 2 implant abutments. Is it good practice to place implants next to obviously failing endodontics?
I attended a restorative dentist implant failure lecture in 2008, where it was stressed that implants and bacteria have opposite surface charges, and even seemingly good endodontics can form sinus tracts in the direction of the implant because of this phenomenon. She has taken out a loan to afford the implants and anterior fixed partial denture, as she cannot afford the treatment out of hand. Will the implants fail if they are adjacent to failed root canals? What should I do for this patient?