Are You a Candidate for Dental Implants? A Checklist

Dental implants have a success rate of over 95%, making them one of the most reliable procedures in dentistry. However, that success depends on one major factor: case selection.

Implants require a healthy foundation to work. Before you schedule your surgery, your dentist will evaluate you against a few key criteria. Here is a checklist to help you understand what they are looking for.

This is the most critical factor. An implant needs thick, strong bone to screw into. If you lost your tooth years ago, your jawbone may have shrunk (resorbed). If your bone is too thin, the implant will fail.

You cannot place an implant into infected tissue. If you have active gum disease (periodontitis), it can attack the bone around the implant just like it attacks natural teeth, leading to failure (peri-implantitis). You must treat and control any gum disease before moving forward.

Since placing an implant is a surgery, your body needs to be able to heal properly. Uncontrolled diabetes, for example, can slow healing and increase infection risk. Autoimmune diseases or radiation therapy to the jaw may also affect your eligibility.

Smoking is the enemy of dental implants. Nicotine constricts blood vessels, reducing blood flow to the gums and bone, which is vital for healing. Smokers have a significantly higher rate of implant failure. Most oral surgeons will ask you to quit (or stop significantly) for weeks before and after the procedure.

Implants are generally not for children or young teenagers. We must wait until the jaw has finished growing (typically late teens or early 20s) before placing an implant, otherwise, the implant position could shift as the bone grows.

Few people are permanently disqualified from getting implants. If you have bone loss, gum disease, or health issues, you may just need some preparatory work first. The only way to know for sure is a consultation with 3D imaging.