There are three major players in your dental implant procedure–you, your implant dentist, and the dental implant itself–and they all have a role to play in ensuring the success of the procedure. Dental implants have a very high success rate, perhaps 95% or more, but there are some things you should do to ensure you’re not among those unlucky 5%.
Before Your Dental Implant Procedure
Dental implant success doesn’t begin with your surgery. It begins long before, and that’s when you should start doing what you can to ensure success.
First, commit to quitting smoking. At least during the implant procedure and for the duration of recovery, but it’s best if you quit altogether.
We will let you know if you need periodontal treatment before your dental implant procedure, but it’s your responsibility to make sure you’ve been properly tested for diabetes and other systemic conditions that can impact your dental implant. Hopefully we’ll be able to identify bruxism (teeth clenching) or jaw joint problems that could put stress on your dental implant, but if you know about any of these, make sure you mention them.
You also have to let us know if you’re undergoing medical treatment or taking prescriptions, because this can impact your dental implant success. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer are especially important consideration, but anything that might increase your risk of gum disease or affects your bone healing needs to be discussed.
After Your Dental Implant Procedure
After you get your dental implants, you play the most important role in ensuring your dental implant success. Of course, keep up with good oral hygiene, including brushing and flossing (we’ll show you how to floss around your implant). Most important is to make sure you’re making your follow-up visits. We can’t identify and correct a problem if you’re not coming to our office.
Curb bad habits after your dental implant is placed. We talked about smoking, but also be aware that habits like chewing on non-foods (such as ice, fingernails, pens, and pencils) can increase your risk of implant failure.
As a Team We Can Succeed
If you do your part to ensure your dental implant success, we will do ours, and we are confident that we will give you the best possible chance of having a healthy, attractive, and long-lasting dental implant.
To learn more about getting a dental implant in Orange County, please call (949) 551-5902 for an appointment at Rice Dentistry.
