I Think I Can Smell My Husband’s Dental Implants

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My husband is getting the all-on-4 procedure. He has the implants and some temporary dentures that are made from acrylic. His dentist used metal implants and I think his mouth is reacting to the metal because there is a horrible smell. I’ve asked him to take out the metal ones and put in the metal-free ones, but he insists that is an unnecessary procedure. My husband is not confrontive so he’s just living with it, but I don’t want to live with that smell. What can I say to convince the dentist he is wrong?

Sunny

Dear Sunny,

I am sure that you are smelling something, but it will not be your husband’s dental implant. The metal implants are made from titanium. These are both biocompatible and inert. They’ve been used for decades as prosthetics; not just in teeth, but in hips and legs as well as several other things.

If you asked your dentist to let you smell one of the titanium implants that he has in his office, I’m sure he’d let you. There would not be any smell and that is outside the mouth. Your husband’s is buried deep in the bone.

Bear in mind that I have not examined your husband, but my guess would be that the smell is coming from some food or other bacteria getting trapped around his temporary dentures. You can get something like a WaterPik to help him get that area all cleaned out. I would try this before anything else because it is an inexpensive and non-invasive option.

There is a good reason your dentist doesn’t want to remove your husbands implants. First it requires surgery. Doing so would remove bone structure. Then, he’d have to have some bone grafting done, that is another surgery. Then, after that heals, he’d need a third additional surgery in order to place his new implants. At every stage, there is risk for failure.

Right now, your husband has healthy, successful dental implants. You would be requiring three additional and unnecessary surgeries while possibly ending up with the new implants failing.

If you think about it, your dentist could make a small fortune by doing what you are asking. Instead, he’s thinking about what is best for his patient. That sounds like a good dentist to me.

This blog is brought to you by Naples, FL Dentist Dr. Long.