Several characteristics describe someone who may need to be a better candidate for dental implants in North Naples. Sometimes, these factors may delay your eligibility for dental implants until the underlying problem can be resolved. Whether any of these factors apply to you and affect your candidacy for receiving dental implants is something a dentist near you will determine after taking a careful medical history from you after reviewing the health of your gums and remaining natural teeth, and after examining dental images carefully.
Smoking — Smoking slows the body’s natural healing process and affects the process of osseointegration through which a dental implant becomes fused with your natural bone tissue. Patients who smoke suffer an increased risk of infection and implant loss. Smokers may still be candidates for receiving dental implants near you if they abstain from smoking for an appropriate period before implant surgery and after implant surgery. If you’re a smoker, just how long you would need to abstain from smoking is something to discuss with the staff at your dental clinic in North Naples. The staff will ask you how long you’ve smoked, how often, and how much.
Gum disease. Serious and untreated gum disease destroys both gum and bone tissue. Suppose you have a periodontal disease when you consult with the staff at a dental clinic in North Naples about receiving dental implants. You will be a good candidate for dental implants once your gum disease is treated and controlled.
General health. The process of receiving dental implants involves several procedures over a month, including a relatively invasive surgery in which incisions will be made into your gums, the material will be removed from your jaw, the placement of implants into your jaw, and the placement of sutures. Any dental surgery can be a physically stressful procedure under some form of anesthesia, and complete recovery before the process can continue. To be a good candidate for dental implants, you need to be healthy enough to undergo implant surgery and related procedures.
Diabetes. Diabetes affects your body’s natural healing processes. Because patients with diabetes will have more difficulty healing from implant placement surgery, you may be a poor candidate for receiving dental implants if your diabetes is not well-controlled. Your dentist will recommend that you defer any consideration of receiving dental implants until your diabetes condition is brought under control. As a general rule, Type 1 diabetes is more difficult to control — and thus creates a slightly greater risk of complications relating to dental implants — than Type 2 diabetes.
Medications. Certain medications — such as steroids and blood thinners — may affect your candidacy for dental implants. Whether or not the risks associated with those medications can be managed by adjusting your dosage and avoiding those medications for a time — or whether the medications are completely disqualifying — is something your dentist will need to discuss carefully with your treating physicians.
Radiation therapy. Patients currently undergoing radiation treatment (or who have undergone radiation treatment in the past) affecting their face and neck are poor candidates for receiving dental implants. Prior or current radiation therapy doubles or triples the risk of implant failure, though this effect depends on at least two important factors. First, the location where you received the radiation treatment and how much of your jaw was exposed to radiation. Second, the amount of radiation used. Some studies have established that exposure to 55 Grays (Gy) of radiation may increase a patient’s risk of implant failure. Suppose you are receiving or have received radiation. In that case, your dentist will need to consult carefully with your oncologist to determine whether you should not pursue receiving implants or how to minimize the risks of implant failure.
These are not the only criteria that affect a potential patient’s eligibility for dental implants (and the risks associated with implant procedures). Other criteria are pregnancy, age and bone density, and mass. Based on these factors, make an appointment to discuss your situation with a dentist near you to determine if you are a good candidate for implants.