The reason why dental implants are able to provide such amazing results is thanks to an organic process called osseointegration, which works to fuse your titanium implant fixture directly to your jawbone. It is this process that allows dental implants to work and feel just like natural teeth, and provides their unrivaled strength and reliability. Because of how important osseointegration is to the dental implant process, a patient’s candidacy is determined by whether or not this process will succeed for the patient.
For some patients, certain habits or conditions they have may be a threat to osseointegration’s success, and so these patients may be turned away from implant treatment. Here at our office, it is important to us that we make sure that patients can handle the treatment before we recommend dental implants to them. We encourage you to continue reading this page to learn about what factors Dr. Barry Cohen looks at when determining a patient’s candidacy for treatment with dental implants.
The Ideal Candidate For Treatment With Dental Implants
When it comes to determining whether or not a patient will make a good candidate for dental implant treatment, we look at certain traits in the prospective patient. Some of these traits include:
- One or More Missing Teeth: In order to qualify for treatment with dental implants, you must demonstrate a legitimate need for them. This means that you must either be missing teeth or be at risk to lose teeth before you will be allowed to move forward with this treatment.
- Good Oral Health: It is important that your mouth is free of any form of oral disease before you move forward with the implant process. The reason for this is the fact that these conditions can interfere with osseointegration, resulting in the implant’s failure.
- Stable Overall Health: Before you can receive any kind of surgery, we will need to make sure that your body is strong enough to handle the treatment. This means that your body must be stable before you will be able to move forward with dental implants.
- Sufficient Jawbone Quantity: Since dental implants are directly fused to your jawbone, you will need to have sufficient jawbone density, which can be a difficult standard to meet as the jawbone will begin to deteriorate after a tooth has been lost.
- A Good Grasp of the Treatment: It is important that a potential dental implant patient realizes that this treatment is not instantaneous. In fact, dental implants on average require three to six months before completion. That said, our patients agree that the results possible with dental implants make it well worth the extra time it takes for the treatment to finish.
Candidates Who May Not Qualify For Implant Treatment
Unfortunately for some patients, they may not qualify for treatment with dental implants because of a condition or habit they may possess. The reason for this is the fact that these factors may result in a higher chance of your implant treatment failing. Some of these habits and conditions include:
- Pregnancy: When a patient is pregnant, they are advised to steer away from surgical procedures. For these patients, we will be unable to place dental implants until after the baby has been delivered.
- Youth: When we are young, our jawbone is in a state of growth and change, which can make it hard to properly place dental implants. These patients will need to wait until this growth has ended before they will be able to receive implants.
- Smoking, Diabetes, and Osteoporosis: Patients with these conditions may be turned away from treatment with dental implants because their condition can cause osseointegration to fail. While we have had plenty of success placing dental implants in patients with these conditions, they must be aware that the chances of their treatment failing are higher than normal.
For most of these patients, it may simply be a matter of waiting for their condition to heal or change before they will be able to proceed with treatment using dental implants. Or, they may require a supplemental treatment, which can restore their condition to the point where they will be able to receive implants.
Find Out If You Qualify For Implants In Drexel Hill, PA
If you want to find out whether or not you might be a good candidate for treatment with dental implants, then you will need to attend a free no-obligation consultation with Dr. Barry Cohen first. Contact us today to schedule your consultation. We serve patients in the Drexel Hill, Upper Darby, Havertown, Springfield, and Broomall areas.
DENTAL IMPLANTS