14 Dec Can Anyone Get Dental Implants?
Are you looking for a permanent tooth replacement option? Dental implants are a durable, long-lasting solution to replacing damaged or missing teeth. But can anyone get dental implants? Here’s how to determine whether or not you’re a good candidate for implants.
Can Anyone Get Dental Implants?
Because dental implants look just like natural teeth, are very strong, and can last 20 years or more with proper care, they are an ideal tooth replacement option. However, not everyone is a good candidate for this type of dental restoration.
How Dental Implants Work
Dental implants restore your smile by filling the gap with a natural-looking tooth attached to a metal post. The post is surgically implanted in the jaw, which keeps the implant sturdy enough for chewing. The implant post also stimulates the jaw bone just like a natural tooth root does, preventing resorption (when your body absorbs bone that isn’t being stimulated and applies it elsewhere).
Who Can Get Dental Implants?
In order to be eligible for dental implants, you need to meet several criteria. First, you must be an adult and be willing to undergo invasive surgery. Second, your gums and jawbones have to be healthy enough to support dental implants. There are also several risk factors that can affect the success of the treatment. Here’s how to tell if you’re a good candidate.
Four Factors that Affect Your Eligibility for Dental Implants
1: Gum Health
Your mouth needs to have healthy gums in order to support the crown of a dental implant. Healthy gums are pink and firm, and they do not bleed when brushing or flossing.
If your gums bleed easily, or if you have receding gums, then you could be suffering from an infection called gum disease. You can not get dental implants if you have gum disease, because the infection will only continue to attack your gums and make your mouth too weak to support the implants over time.
Gum disease can cause your natural teeth to loosen and fall out, and it acts the same way on dental implants. Depending on the severity of the infection, you may need to undergo a deep dental cleaning, gum grafting, and/or bone grafting before you will be a good candidate for implants.
2: Jawbone Health
Because the implant post needs to fuse with your jawbone in order for the surgery to be successful, you also need to have healthy bone tissue. The process of bone resorption can begin just a few months after losing a tooth, so It’s essential that you replace missing teeth with implants as soon as possible.
Gum disease can also spread to the jawbone in its advanced stages, resulting in loss of bone tissue. If you have weak jawbones, you may need bone grafting to make your jaw strong enough to support dental implants.
3: Age
You must be at least 18 years old to be eligible for dental implants. This is because dental implants cannot be placed in bone that is still developing. While there is no other age limit, older adults are more prone to osteoporosis, which often makes the jaw too weak to hold dental implants.
4: Tobacco Use
It takes up to six months for the implant posts to fully fuse with your jaw and for the bone to heal. Smoking significantly slows your body’s ability to recover after surgery. You’ll need to quit smoking before the surgery so that your mouth can heal properly.
Dental Implants in Prescott
If you’re considering getting dental implants, it’s time to schedule a consultation with an experienced oral surgeon. At Prescott Dentistry, implant surgery is one of our specialties. We can determine whether or not you’re a good fit for dental implants. Call us at 928-445-1660 today to schedule an appointment.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (12/14/2022). Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash