Dental implants are the standard for long-term teeth replacement. They give you a perfectly natural smile and maintain the integrity of your teeth, gums, and jaw. Each implant anchors prosthetic teeth. Therefore, your adjacent teeth get no burden from excess strain and pressure.
Another notable reason for enjoying this teeth replacement procedure is care is as simple as flossing twice a day. There is no special dental liquid or need to remove artificial teeth for cleaning. After the healing is over, you can continue maintaining daily oral hygiene.
As much as this intervention is excellent, not everybody qualifies for this procedure. However, most people are good candidates. What sets the distinction for qualifications?
JAW BONE HEALTH AND INTEGRITY
The jaw bone provides the foundation of a dental implant. The implantation procedure entails the surgeon screwing the titanium-based artificial root on your jaw bone. The surgeon can only secure the implant if your jaw bone has sufficient bone density and healthy tissue. Just like a natural root canal, the implant is an anchor. It helps your tooth grind, bite, and hold firmly onto the gums.
Therefore, the implant fails to function when your jaw bone is fragile from infection, disease, or poor bone health. We recommend proper oral care to improve your dental condition. Including the needed nutrition in your diet and brushing your teeth every day can quickly enhance your dental health. Consult us to help you with the oral rehabilitation process.
We examine your jaw tissue first to determine if it is suitable for the procedure and will function well after surgery. The analysis entails assessing your jaw bone’s dimensions, structural resilience, and health. If your jaw bone is not stable enough, but the procedure is still doable, we recommend bone grafting to strengthen the region.
PRE-EXISTING ILLNESS
Certain conditions and ailments make patients unfit candidates for dental implants. Diseases that interfere with blood circulation also slow down wound healing. After the procedure, the surgical site needs to heal in good time. Slow recovery increases your risk of infection and diseases.
An illness like hemophilia delays scar-tissue formation because of low clotting factors in the blood. Diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases disrupt circulation making it hard for the injured site to receive blood nutrients that expedite healing.
Aside from heart and blood issues, other conditions can complicate the procedure and healing. A disease like osteoporosis weakens your bone density, making it unstable for the implants. Your prosthetic tooth cannot work if the implant fails to anchor. Autoimmune diseases and cancers increase your susceptibility to rejecting foreign body parts.
Therefore, we must carefully review your medical history to determine if you are a suitable candidate for the surgery. Furthermore, your health after surgery is of equal importance. A condition that affects both states disqualifies the patient because the risks outweigh the gains.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Most substances are harsh on teeth and gums. If the patient is a frequent user, their oral health before and after surgery disqualifies them from the procedure. For instance, a side effect of frequently using cocaine, heroin, and cannabis is dry mouth. The condition increases susceptibility to tooth decay.
Cocaine and alcohol are highly corrosive. The conditions expose the mouth to tooth-decaying bacteria. Frequent users have a higher likelihood of developing gum ulcerations and tooth erosion.
Ecstasy side effects are tooth grinding and jaw clenching these cause teeth to wear out. An artificial tooth cannot fare well under such conditions. Tobacco increases vulnerability to gum disease and slows down gum healing. Therefore, the recovery process from a dental implant surgery would be long and slow, with higher chances of infection and disease. Rehabilitation is pertinent for such conditions or prolonged periods of abstinence before and after the procedure.
DENTAL HYGIENE
Poor dental hygiene prevents a patient from qualifying for the procedure. It enhances the presence of tooth-decaying bacteria, which slow down the healing process. Slow recovery affects the tissue that the implant occupies and may eventually make it unstable.
A patient’s oral hygiene must meet the dentist’s standards before and after surgery. A healthy oral cavity quickens the implanting and integration process. The entire process takes four to 12 months to complete. Within this period, oral hygiene should be near perfect for a successful surgery and proper healing. If you have a pre-existing dental disease or infection, maintain your oral hygiene to improve your dental health.
MEDICATION AND ON-GOING MEDICAL TREATMENT
Side effects from medication can make you unfit for a dental implant. For example, chemotherapy drugs, bisphosphonates, and corticosteroids interfere with bone mass inducing osteoporosis. The condition weakens your jaw rendering it ineffective in supporting a titanium implant.
Exposure to high-doses of chemoradiation also makes the body vulnerable to infection. Having surgical intervention for conditions that are not life or death is not recommended. Your immune system may not be capable to ward off possible infections at the surgical site. Wound healing also slows down because of systemic disruptions.
PREGNANCY
We frown upon denying pregnant women medical intervention. However, when the treatment has high risks to their and the child’s health, we always advocate for postponement. Any elective procedure during the gestation period is discouraged. We only approve such surgeries after delivery.
The mother and child’s health are vulnerable to infection and disease before delivery. Furthermore, the intricacies of maintaining stability between the mother and child during surgery are enormous. Therefore, if the benefits do not outrank the risks, we postpone the surgery. Most times, the dangers are far more significant.
ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
The dental implant can securely anchor. However, as the jaw grows, it may misalign the implant disrupting the teeth positioning. The outcome can be a bigger problem than missing teeth. Young people may not have stable bones because they are still developing. Pediatric patients can only get implants once they are older.
SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY
If you meet all the conditions necessary for having a dental implant procedure, you can reach out to us to schedule an appointment. If you are unsure about your oral health, you can contact us for a consultation. We endeavor to create beautiful smiles. Don’t hesitate to visit us as our dental team has the training, experience, and skillset to handle tooth replacement procedures.