Yes, a dental implant can be removed. It is uncommon, because implant failure itself is uncommon, but it is a routine procedure for a periodontist who does it regularly. This page covers why an implant needs to come out, how removal is done, and what can be placed afterwards.
If you have been told your implant has to be removed, or you suspect something is wrong with one, a second opinion is worth having before anything is taken out.
Why Would A Dental Implant Need To Be Removed?
An implant is removed when it can no longer do its job safely. The reasons split into two groups, and which group you are in changes everything about what happens next.
Early implant failure means the implant never fused to the jawbone. Osseointegration, the process where bone grows onto the implant surface and locks it in place, did not happen. The implant stays mobile instead of becoming solid. This usually shows within the first few months, and the causes are surgical or biological: not enough grip at placement, infection at the implant site, bone damaged during preparation, or a site that was compromised from the start.
Late implant failure means the implant fused, worked for years, and was then lost. The usual cause is peri-implantitis, an inflammatory condition driven by bacteria that destroys the bone around the implant. Because that is a periodontal disease process, it is periodontists who treat it. Smoking, uncontrolled diabetes and poor oral hygiene all raise the risk.
Two other reasons for implant removal come up less often. An implant can fracture, which is rare and generally not repairable. And an implant can be placed in a position that cannot carry a tooth properly, in which case it may be sound in the bone but useless for restoring the smile.
What Are The Signs A Dental Implant Is Failing?
The clearest sign is movement. A healthy implant does not move at all.
Watch for any of the following around the implant:
- The implant or the tooth on top of it feels loose or shifts when you bite
- Pain or a pressure ache that returns after it had settled
- Gums that are red, swollen or bleed around the implant
- Gum receding so that metal becomes visible
- A persistent bad taste or discharge, which suggests infection
- Difficulty chewing on that side
An implant that has integrated properly is silent. It feels like nothing. Anything that draws attention to itself is worth having looked at, and early attention sometimes means the implant can be saved rather than removed.
Can A Failed Dental Implant Always Be Removed?
In practice, yes. The question is not whether removal is possible but how much bone it costs to do it.
An implant that has failed to integrate is often simple to remove, because it is not held by bone in the first place. A fully integrated implant that has to come out for another reason is harder, since bone has grown onto its entire surface. That difference decides which technique is used, and it is why the same procedure can take a few minutes in one patient and much longer in another.
How Is A Dental Implant Removed?
Removal starts with a 3D CBCT scan of the implant site, so the exact position of the implant, the surrounding bone and nearby nerves and sinuses are known before anything begins.
Two techniques do most of the work.
Reverse torque. A device grips the implant and applies rotational force in the opposite direction to the one it was placed in, backing it out of the bone. Nothing is cut. This is the first choice whenever it is possible, because it preserves almost all of the healthy bone around the implant.
Trephine removal. Where reverse torque will not shift the implant, a thin hollow drill cuts a narrow channel around it and the implant is lifted out. This removes a small collar of bone with it, so it is used when the alternative will not work.
The technique that preserves bone is worth the extra effort at the time, because whatever bone survives the removal is the bone available for whatever replaces the implant. A removal done quickly and roughly can turn a straightforward replacement into a grafting case.
Does Dental Implant Removal Hurt?
No. Implant removal is done under local anaesthetic, so the site is fully numb and you should feel pressure and movement but not pain.
The experience is closer to having a tooth taken out than to the original implant surgery. Sedation is available for patients who would rather not be aware of the procedure, and it is worth asking about at the consultation rather than on the day.
What Happens After A Dental Implant Is Removed?
The site is left to heal before anything else is decided, and how long that takes depends on how the implant came out.
A clean reverse torque removal leaves a small socket that closes over within a few weeks. A trephine removal, or one where infection had already destroyed bone around the implant, leaves more to heal and is more likely to need bone grafting before a replacement can be planned. Some swelling and soreness for the first few days is normal in either case.
Your periodontist will give you instructions before you leave, covering pain relief, swelling, eating and keeping the area clean. Those depend on how the removal went and how much bone was involved, so they are specific to your case rather than general advice. We see you for review to check the site is healing as expected and to confirm what it can take next.
Will I Need A Bone Graft After Implant Removal?
Sometimes. It depends on how much bone was lost before the removal and how much came out with the implant.
Where an implant failed because of peri-implantitis, bone loss around the implant is usually the reason it failed, so grafting is often part of the plan. Where an implant simply never integrated and comes out cleanly by reverse torque, the site may need nothing at all.
A bone graft rebuilds the missing volume and is left to heal before a new implant goes in. It adds months to the timeline rather than weeks, which is the main reason removal technique matters so much.
Can A New Implant Be Placed In The Same Site?
Usually, yes. Sites where an implant has been removed can take a new implant, and published survival rates for second implants placed in previously failed sites are good, though slightly below first-time placement.
Timing is the real question, and there are three possibilities:
- Immediately. A new implant goes into the site at the same appointment. This needs healthy bone and no active infection.
- After healing. The site is left for a few months to heal, then a new implant is placed.
- After grafting. Bone is rebuilt first, healed, and a new implant placed after that.
What matters more than the timing is understanding why the first implant failed. Placing a second implant into the same conditions that destroyed the first is how patients end up going through this twice. If the cause was gum disease, that gets treated first. If it was smoking, that conversation happens before anything else. If it was position or angle, the plan changes.
What Does Dental Implant Removal Cost?
Cost depends on the case, and an accurate figure needs an examination and a scan.
The things that move it are the technique needed, whether bone grafting is required, whether sedation is used, and what is going to replace the implant. A straightforward reverse torque removal sits at one end. A removal with grafting and a new implant is a full treatment plan rather than a single procedure.
Where an implant was placed elsewhere and has failed, it is worth asking your original dentist what their policy is before assuming the cost falls to you.
Speak To A Periodontist About A Failing Implant
Not every implant that is causing problems has to come out. Some can be treated and kept, particularly where the problem is caught while the bone loss is still limited. That assessment is worth having before a removal is agreed to.
Our periodontists have placed and restored dental implants across Manhattan, Nutley, Long Island and Westchester for over twenty years, and a large share of what we see is work that began somewhere else. Call (347) 493-2439 or book a consultation. A 3D CBCT scan is included at your consultation at no charge.
