What does it mean if an implant crown has a bite that suddenly feels high?

Implant with broken crown part still attached

 If your implant crown has a bite that has changed , its time to see your dentist right away. This often can mean that the screw holding in either the abutment or crown is coming loose. This should be addressed since leaving it for a later time can cause the implant screw to break, or even cause the implant to fail if due to due to a failure of the osseointegration that secures the implant to a patients jaw. No matter what the cause is, its best to notify your dentist and ask to come in for a visit as soon as they can schedule an appointment (hopefully with in the week). 

broken screw retained implant crown

Two weeks ago a patient called me up to let me know that her bite had changed with her implant crown and I saw her promptly. By the time she came in her screw retained crown had fractured and left part of the crown still attached below the gingiva. Fortunately the screw had not broken and I was able to remove the screw and the retained broken part (as seen in the above photo). This type of failure is pretty unusual , but murphy's law aptly states : if something can happen it eventually will happen. 

If you are having a problem related to your occlusion on an implant restoration its best not to wait and let your dentist know right away. My own patient had noticed a change two weeks prior to  calling me . Probably the screw was loosening and causing her high bite, but it only when she felt pain on biting that she called me. By this time clearly the crown has developed a fracture and was hurting her gingiva when she bit down on it.