What Contributes To A Successful Dental Implant Procedure?

Dental implants have a very high success rate, but which factors give you the best chance of a great outcome?

Despite the complexities involved in the placing of a dental implant, the success rate is very high indeed; somewhere around the mid 90% mark, and often higher. Much of this success depends on a number of things. Some of these are simply factual, whereas others depend on the skills of the dentist and also the patient’s willingness to do what is needed to prepare for the procedure and follow aftercare instructions.

For today’s topic then, we will be taking a look at some of the factors that can influence the outcome of this increasingly popular tooth replacement procedure and what our potential Wickford implant patients can do to play their part in this journey.

The skills of the dental team

This should go without saying but it is worth mentioning here. Some patients might be tempted to go overseas to have their dental implants placed, often enticed by a cheaper cost. There are many potential risks to this approach though. How experienced is the dentist? Are they suitably qualified? Do they use high quality materials? All of these can be factors that could cause an implant to potentially fail. For the reasons above, we recommend that patients opt to have their implants placed in the UK where the dentistry industry is carefully regulated to ensure that patients receive their treatments from reliable practices.

Good oral health

One of the main reasons why a dental implant is likely to fail is poor oral health, and more specifically, gum disease. Periodontitis, an advanced form of gum disease, can affect the health of the bone that the implant will be placed into, so it is important to assess the health of this before treatment starts and address any issues that are found before the implant procedure can go ahead.

Bone density

Before a tooth implant is placed, you will have an initial consultation with one of our implant team. Part of this will include scans and x-rays that are taken at the Cygnet Dental Practice in order to check if there is sufficient bone for the implants to be placed into. There are a number of factors, such as age, that can affect this. Where insufficient bone is found, there are a number of options which can be discussed, including prior treatments of bone grafting or sinus lifts which can rectify this problem in some situations.

Smoking

This is where we start to look at what the patient can do to increase the chances of a positive outcome. One of the biggest risk factors for implants is whether a person smokes or not. If they do, they are more likely to have gum disease and this is therefore potentially a bigger risk to the bone that the implant will be placed into. In addition to this, smoking slows down the healing process as it reduces blood flow to the area due to the narrowing of blood vessels caused by nicotine. This in turn increases the risk of infections. We will discuss this with you during your consultation and look at the options available if you do smoke.

Aftercare

Related to the above, we will need to discuss how to look after a dental implant, once placed, and whether the patient understands the importance of following advice. This applies especially to the earlier stages following placement where special instructions and soft food diets need to be followed until the implant and bone integrate; usually around three months. In the longer term, patients will need to ensure that they brush well and especially around the implant, use floss and see the oral hygienist on a regular basis to keep the area around the implant, and underlying bone, in good health. A healthy lifestyle, including sufficient exercise, will also help to contribute to your teeth implants long term health.

Medical conditions

Certain medical conditions such as diabetes and other conditions where the immune system is compromised, may present challenges for having implants placed. We will discuss this with you and treat each case individually, depending on the circumstances.

As you can see then, a number of factors need to come together for a successful implant placement. Our Wickford implant dentists have many years of experience behind them and we only use high quality materials during the procedure in our practice. If you are considering having dental implants to replace your missing teeth but have questions or concerns, an initial no obligation consultation is the best place to start. If you would like to contact us about arranging one for you, please call the Cygnet Dental Practice today on 01268 733078.