Are You a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

Can You Jump Straight Into Treatment? Or Are You Not an Immediately Suitable Candidate?

Dental implants are the best tooth replacement solution, no doubt, but not everyone is immediately a suitable candidate, especially if they've had missing teeth for a while.But that doesn't mean you can never have dental implants—with Dr Pedro Gutierres, anything is possible. It does mean that you might have to undergo additional procedures to ensure your mouth is healthy and stable enough to support the artificial, titanium tooth root.

✅ Immediately Ready for Dental Implants

You'll typically be immediately suitable and ready for implantation if:

• A good amount of bone volume and density
• Healthy gums and oral hygiene (no symptoms of gum disease)
• Healthy adjacent teeth
• Non-smoker (or someone who's recently quit)
• No history or radiation therapy in the jaw
• No uncontrolled chronic medical conditions

⚠️ Not Immediately Suitable

Patients suffering from the following problems might not typically be immediately suitable for dental implants and may need to undergo pre-treatment or require further evaluation:

• Insufficient bone density/volume
• You've been told you need a bone graft or sinus lift
• You have active periodontitis
• Poor history of oral hygiene
• Have conditions like diabetes or bleeding disorders
• You severely grind your teeth
• You're under the age of 18

How we would overcome the majority of problems

How we'll essentially turn the "no" into a "yes":

• Insufficient bone: To add bone to fit the implant, we recommend a bone graft or a sinus lift for upper back teeth. The healing period is 4–9 months before an implant can be placed.
• Active gum disease: Treat with a hygiene appointment, antimicrobial rinses, laser therapy, or further periodontal treatmentsto rebuild the gum. There is only a few weeks' delay.
• Poor history of oral hygiene: General dentistry treatments and hygiene appointments to bring your oral health back to a stable state.
• For diabetes: Stable blood sugar is key to successful healing. Work with your doctor to get your condition well-controlled before implantation.
• For bleeding issues: Certain medications can be used.
• Severe teeth grinding: A custom nightguard will be recommended to protect your implants. Botox can also relax overactive jaw muscles.
• Under the age of 18: Wait until the jaw has fully developed. In the meantime, temporary solutions like bridges or dentures can be used.

Bone is by far the most important factor

Dental implants are placed directly into the jawbone, so there needs to be a significant volume for them to bond to.Dental implants are designed to mimic natural tooth roots. Without a sufficient amount of bone volume to fuse with over time through osseointegration, patients won't have long-term, secure and stable dental implants.For example, placing dental implants without enough bone in the jaw to support them will cause them to be wobbly, loose, and fail over time.Osseointegration is where the bone in the jaw fuses and grows around the implant—it is by far the most critical part of the entire process.

What's required

• Bone height: A minimum of 10mm vertical bone height is preferred.
• Bone width (buccolingual thickness): Minimum of 6mm of width to accommodate standard implants.
• Length of implant site: Typically, 7mm or more of space is required between adjacent teeth.

How we tell if you need a bone graft.

What happens if you don't have enough bone

Don't lose faith if a CBCT scan reveals that you don't have enough bone in the jaw to support dental implants immediately. It's not the end of the line.You'll likely require a pre-implant procedure called a bone graft to build up the bone, which is the first step in becoming a suitable candidate. But don't let this put you off, either.Bone graft procedures are no more serious than a dental implant surgery. While it might be a bit annoying to undergo an extra step, which comes at an additional cost, it will mean you can receive implants and ensure they're stable enough to last up to 30 years.Explore the procedure and costs of bone grafts.