• Home
  • About Us
    • Dr. Phelan Thomas
    • About the Staff
    • Request an Appointment
    • What Can I Expect My First Visit?
    • Financial Policies
    • Contact Us
  • Cosmetic Dentistry
    • Smile Gallery
    • Porcelain Veneers
    • Beautiful Smile Guarantee
    • Porcelain Crowns
    • All-Porcelain Bridges
    • Invisalign
    • Composite Bonding
    • Tooth Colored Fillings
    • Teeth Whitening
  • Implants
    • Dental Implants
    • Dentures
  • Technology
    • DIAGNOdent
    • Electrosurgery
    • Air Abrasion
    • Panorex Imaging
    • Computerized Anesthetic
    • Dental Implant Placement System
    • Diagnostic Wax-up Model
    • Smile Blueprint
    • Intraoral Camera
    • Digital Photography
    • Vizilite
  • Other Services
    • Endodontics
    • Periodontal Disease
    • Pediatric Dentistry
    • Emergency Dentist
    • Occlusion Therapy
    • Preventive Dentistry
    • Gum Tissue Sculpting
    • Mercury-Free Dentist
  • Make a Payment

Iowa Center for Family and Cosmetic Dentistry - West Des Moines

Iowa Center for Family and Cosmetic Dentistry –  West Des Moines
  • Best Des Moines Dentist
  • Des Moines Holistic Dentist
  • Privacy Policy
  • Blog

The Healing Cap Came off My Dental Implant- What Do I Do?

June 24, 2015 by smiles4u

I’m about six months into the healing phase of the dental implant process and the top metal bit came off. I can only imagine where it went. I’m terrified that I’ve swallowed it. Worse yet, I’ve got a gaping hole in my mouth and I’m afraid something bad is going to happen. Will I get an infection or something? I really don’t know what to do. I’ve left my dentist a message, but he hasn’t returned my call and it’s the weekend. Can it wait until Monday or do I need to find somebody to fix this right away? — Morgan

 

Dear Morgan,
It sounds like your dental implant lost its healing cap. It’s rare, but it does happen, and it’s not a huge cause for concern.

As far as swallowing it goes, it will probably pass through your system undetected. Because of its smooth shape, it’s incredibly unlikely to cause any issues for you at all in this respect.

The soft tissue around your dental implant should be healed by now, which means the risk of infection is extremely low as well. However, if you injure or traumatize the area, you could cause a problem. Just be very gentle around it and try to stick with soft foods until you can have it replaced.

You’ll need to see the doctor who placed the dental implant as soon as possible, but it’s not so urgent that it can’t wait until they’re back in the office again on Monday. If the hole is bothersome or you’re catching food in it, you can try packing cotton or gauze in it. A denture adhesive may also work, but don’t attach anything permanent to it- only use temporary materials that are designed to go in your mouth. You can find these in the dental section of most grocery or drug stores. Yes, you’ll have to replace it frequently, but it’s the safest option.

Long-term, this should not affect your dental implant. However, if you go without the cap for too long, the tissue around it can collapse or try to heal over the top. Obviously, this will make it much more difficult to get a good fit when the doctor goes to place the permanent crown on it later. This won’t happen over the course of a weekend, but it’s something to keep in mind so, don’t put off your office visit for too long.

This blog post is brought to you by Des Moines cosmetic dentist, Dr. Phelan Thomas. For more information on the services he provides, please visit his Des Moines cosmetic dentist website.

Filed Under: Dental Implants Tagged With: Des Moines Emergency Dentist, hole where my implant is, implant emergency, lost implant healing cap, will uncovered implant get infected?

Recent Posts

  • Switching Dentists After Invisalign
  • Zoom Whitening for Uneven Tooth Color?
  • Fixing a Gummy Smile
  • My New Crowns are Turning Yellow
  • A Fortune Wasted on My Smile Makeover

Categories

  • Best Des Moines Dentist
  • Cosmetic Dentist
  • Dental Bonding
  • Dental Emergency
  • Dental Implants
  • Emergency Dentist
  • Full-Mouth Reconstruction
  • Gum Contouring
  • Holistic Dentist
  • Invisalign
  • Porcelain Veneers
  • Teeth Whitening
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014

Contact Us

Iowa Center for
Family and Cosmetic Dentistry
4100 University, Suite 105
West Des Moines, IA 50266
New Patients Call:
Office: 515-223-8800
URL of Map

Office Hours


Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm

Read Our Reviews


SEO by Infinity Dental Web


View Map and Get Directions
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Dr. Phelan Thomas
    • About the Staff
    • Request an Appointment
    • What Can I Expect My First Visit?
    • Financial Policies
    • Contact Us
  • Cosmetic Dentistry
    • Smile Gallery
    • Porcelain Veneers
    • Beautiful Smile Guarantee
    • Porcelain Crowns
    • All-Porcelain Bridges
    • Invisalign
    • Composite Bonding
    • Tooth Colored Fillings
    • Teeth Whitening
  • Implants
    • Dental Implants
    • Dentures
  • Technology
    • DIAGNOdent
    • Electrosurgery
    • Air Abrasion
    • Panorex Imaging
    • Computerized Anesthetic
    • Dental Implant Placement System
    • Diagnostic Wax-up Model
    • Smile Blueprint
    • Intraoral Camera
    • Digital Photography
    • Vizilite
  • Other Services
    • Endodontics
    • Periodontal Disease
    • Pediatric Dentistry
    • Emergency Dentist
    • Occlusion Therapy
    • Preventive Dentistry
    • Gum Tissue Sculpting
    • Mercury-Free Dentist
  • Make a Payment
  • New patients
    (877) 631-9967

  • Existing patients
    (515) 223-8800

©2000-2022 Phelan R. Thomas, DDS. • All Rights Reserved

Privacy Policy