Missing teeth may often make you feel quite self-conscious and often people look to replace these teeth with dentures, bridgework, or, better yet, dental implants. Indeed, the latter is a great choice – and a more permanent solution. After all, these are the closest you can get to properly replacing your natural teeth.
However, please note that not everyone can get dental implants, and you have to be a certain age before even contemplating getting them placed in your jaw.
What You Should Consider Before Getting Implants
Before committing to dental implants, there are some important factors that your dentist will discuss with you that may influence your decision.
- Do you take osteoporosis medication- as this may affect the way an implant may heal and influence the structural stability of the implant.
- Patients who are diabetic have a higher risk of infection of the implant site and delayed healing times. Some extra precautions and due diligence may be taken by your dentist to increase the success rate of the implant
- Smoking significantly decreases the success rate of the initial stability and healing around the implant as well as the long term success of how long you may have the implant. Don’t be surprised if your dentist strongly suggests breaking the habit as you may find that due to the higher failure rates you may end up footing the bill if things don’t go to plan.
My Kid is Missing a Tooth; Should I Set an Appointment for an Implant?
Here’s the critical thing about dental implants. Dentists insist that you need to have a fully-developed jaw before even thinking about getting one.
The human jaw is not considered fully developed until an individual is in their early 20’s. Often the dentist may encourage imaging of the jaw over 1-2 years to confirm that the jaw is not growing anymore before considering placement of the implant.
In younger patients, the insertion of dental implants could inhibit the proper growth of the jaw and keep some teeth, such as molars and wisdom teeth, from coming in naturally.
All things considered, if you are overall healthy (including your gums and bones), it’s likely that you’re a good candidate for dental implants. You just may need to wait till you’ve finished completely growing before you can get that implant to replace that gap.
Thinking About Getting Implants? Get Our Professionals On Board
Rockingham Dental Centre is open for all your dental needs, from standard checkups to implant placement. So give us a call at 0895271093 to book an appointment today.
