Dental implant surgery has a success rate of about 98%, which is actually very high. If you're considering dental implant surgery, this statistic should help put your mind at ease. However, you still want to know how to avoid falling into the two percent of patients whose dental implants fail. There are things you can do to increase the chances that your dental implants will last for the long term. Take a look at these tips for dental implant success.
Don't Delay Your Surgery
Dental implants are made up of titanium posts that are implanted underneath your gums and attached to your jawbone. They also include tooth-like crowns that are placed over the posts. For your implant to be successful, the titanium post must fuse to your jawbone.
Missing teeth can lead to bone loss in your jaw and affect the health of your bone over time. The sooner you have dental implant surgery, the healthier the bone is likely to be and the more likely your surgery is to be successful. It is possible to receive dental implants when you have lost bone in your jaw, but you may need other interventions, like bone grafts, in order for the surgery to be successful. The more interventions you need, the more chances there are for the surgery not to succeed. The sooner you have your dental implant surgery after losing a tooth, the better your chances are for long-term success.
Give Up Your Bad Habits
Gum disease can lead to dental implant failure, so it's important to decrease your risk for gum disease as much as possible. Bad nicotine habits like smoking, chewing tobacco, or vaping can increase your risk of gum disease, since nicotine directly affects the blood vessels in your gums. Your dentist will probably ask you to quit or limit your nicotine use for some time before and after your surgery to increase the chances of success. Giving up nicotine permanently helps increase the long-term success of your implants.
Your dental implants, like your natural teeth, can also break or be damaged as a result of trauma, so it's important to avoid bad habits that can cause trauma to your teeth. Habits like chewing ice, grinding your teeth, or using your teeth as tools to open packages can all cause trauma to your dental implants and lead to implant failure.
Keep Them Clean
Just because your implants aren't made of enamel doesn't mean that you don't have to worry about cleaning them. Without regular brushing and flossing, you can still accumulate plaque on your teeth and implants as well as under your gum line.
Stick to the brushing and flossing schedule recommended by your dentist to keep plaque-causing bacteria away from your implants. Make sure that you visit your dentist regularly as well; you need the same professional cleanings and regular checkups you had before you got implants to ensure their continued success.
Dental implants are a permanent solution to missing teeth, so it's important to plan to take care of your implants on an ongoing basis. With proper care, your implants will last for the rest of your life. For more information about dental implants, contact the office of a knowledgeable dentist like Kenneth Schweizer DDS PA.
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