Am I a good candidate for dental implants?
As implant technology progresses, dental implants are becoming an option for more and more people. In fact, it’s very rare that we see patients in the clinic who have no option of implant treatment at all. Some risk factors we look out for are:
- Uncontrolled diabetes
- Osteoporosis medications
- Smoking
- Severe dental bone loss
However, none of these factors completely eliminate you from receiving dental implant treatment. Though certain conditions can increase the risk of implant failure or infection, they do not necessarily prevent you from receiving implant treatment.
After a consultation, if a dentist suspects you may be a high-risk candidate, they can work with you to help lessen that risk. Reducing or quitting smoking and getting blood sugar under control, for instance, are two steps we can help you take to prepare for implant surgery. If you have pre-existing medical conditions, we work with your specialist or GP to create a treatment plan with their recommendations in mind. Lastly, if you have severe bone loss, there are bone grafting and implant placement techniques that can help restore bone or use surrounding bone to anchor the implants, however the treatment process can take a more significant amount of time to complete.
