Anyone here had a dental implant after a kidney transplant?

[JoanC645]

Anyone here had a dental implant after a kidney transplant?

[RHOC]

Not after, not I've done them before. I'm still waiting for a kidney/pancreas .

[JoanC645 in reply to RHOC]

Thanks for your reply; I hope that you have your transplant soon.

[Powerfalcon]

Hello, I received my transplant over 3 years ago. Since then my saliva has diminished due to the tacro or cellcept, not sure. My dentist (who happens to have a father with a lung transplant) explained to me that my teeth were great before the transplant but since then I have had to change a lot of my dental hygiene. I am not getting cavities and have to have an implant soon. While I don't know if this helps, I have a consultation with an oral surgeon soon and we can keep each other informed? Best to you.

[JoanC645 in reply to Powerfalcon]

Thanks for your reply. I am in the UK and this seems to be new territory here. I had an abscess, subsequent root canal but there is a crack in the tooth so it will have to come out. Otherwise, my teeth are in very good condition.

[ChristopherW]

Yea, i have. Should be no problem for you. Depending on the dentist, they may want you to have antibiotic cover.

[JoanC645 in reply to ChristopherW]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Are you in the States? I am in the UK and this seems to be new ground here.

[ChristopherW in reply to JoanC645]

Nope UK. So i had it done when i was on both steroids (prednisolone) and Fosamax for osteoporosis. My Dentist, an experienced lecturer at King’s in London said that as i was on both drugs, he had to be really care. He probably took twice as long as he would have done but it all was pretty straightforward forward in the end. Only my wallet suffered lasting damage!!!

[JoanC645 in reply to ChristopherW]

Ah! That is very good news. I live in Norfolk. Did your dentist want a note from your renal consultant, or liaise with him at all? Would you mind giving me the name of your dentist as it may be the the implant specialist here could liaise with him?

Thank you again for taking the time to reply.

[ChristopherW in reply to JoanC645]

No he didn’t need anything from the consultant.

He retired many years ago, I’m afraid.

[DexterLab]

Yes. Getting the tooth installed today. Transplant was 4 years ago. Dentist was skeptical and thought there was a chance that the implant would not bond to the jaw bone because of infection, but all went well.

[JoanC645 in reply to DexterLab]

Thanks for your reply. Are you in the States? I am in the UK. My dentist is excellent and does carry out implants, but because I am a kidney transplant recipient on immunosuppressant medication, has referred me to his implant specialists colleagues. Several don't want to do it because they are concerned about the medication; I read that at one time, kidney transplants were a contraindication for dental implants, but this is no longer the case.

[DexterLab in reply to JoanC645]

Yes, I am in the colonies. My regular dentist had no qualms, but implant specialist, an older fellow, was not sure. I said to go ahead and try, and it went just fine.

[DexterLab in reply to DexterLab]

As a further follow up, my transplant center also thought it was not going to be a problem. They also don't recommend antibiotics before dental work.

[JoanC645 in reply to DexterLab]

That is interesting! Thanks for your replies.

[Transplant314]

Had my transplant 4 years ago and have had a post and crown implanted. Since my transplant for all dental work I take antibiotics even for cleanings. Talk to your doctor to double check.

[JoanC645 in reply to Transplant314]

Thanks for your reply. Where are you based please? I am in the UK and this seems to be new ground here.

[ChristopherW]

As a p.s. mine was done over 15 years ago

[JoanC645 in reply to ChristopherW]

Wow! So maybe just new ground where I live!

[ChristopherW in reply to JoanC645]

I will make no comment at all about Norfolk being behind the times 🤣

[Nate94]

I have had three implants since my transplant. In my case, a tooth had to be removed because it broke off at the gum line so a root canal or cap could not be done. The first step is synthetic bone graft material is put into the space where the tooth was removed. This takes a few months to grow and heal. Then a Titanium screw is inserted into the new bone graft. That is allowed to heal for another few months. Finally a tooth can be made that attaches to the implanted screw.

With my latest implant , some blood was drawn and parts were mixed with the synthetic bone to make it less likely to be rejected.

I have had no problems with any of the implants. They are the strongest teeth in my mouth. I know that there are places that advertise doing the graft and screw in one day, but my dentist wanted to make sure each step healed properly before moving forward. Plus , it’s expensive, so good idea to make sure each step worked. Good dental insurance is a big help

[JoanC645 in reply to Nate94]

Many thanks for you reply and apologies for the delay in mine!

[JoanC645]

Thanks to everyone for replying - it gave me confidence and made me feel much better about the issue. I thought that I would update on here in case others find themselves in a similar position:

A dental implant specialist has agreed to do the implant if he received confirmation from one of my renal consultants that they were happy for the procedure to go ahead - this has been sorted and I have my first appointment at the end of this month.

Thanks again to all of you who took the time to respond.

[JoanC645]

Just to update everyone:

Implant carried out successfully in 3 stages after tooth extraction (abscess with root canal treatment but crown not fitted as crack in root).

The actual implant took about 20 minutes and was completely painless - was given paracetemol beforehand and anaesthetic injection.

Follow up appointment to x-ray and check implant 2 weeks later.

Then about 3 or 4 months later, measured for crown to be fitted to implant.

Two weeks after, crown fitted.

I was given antibiotics when implant placed.

Virtually pain free, aside from the occasional mild pressure discomfort. Very happy with final result. Has been an expensive tooth with the implant and root canal treatment, but very grateful to the lovely dental implant specialist in Norwich who agreed to do the implant (the others in the area refused as I am immunocompromised - kidney transplant).

I am also very grateful to people on this forum who shared their experiences and completely removed any worry or concern that I had - thank you! 😀