The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) School of Dental Medicine is informing more than 180 patients that the implant they received at the school's Faculty Dental Practice may fail.
A review of the implant process at the practice found that sterilized healing abutments were reused in 184 patients seen between 2014 and 2017, according to the dental school. The manufacturer of the abutments recommends they be discarded after one use.
The school has called all affected patients and will also send a notification letter. The follow-up examinations and any implant replacements or alternative treatment will be free of charge for three years if the failure is caused by a reused abutment.
The abutments were sterilized, and the school is not aware of an increased risk of infectious disease, the dental school noted.
