Increasing Dental Implant Success Rate
Increasing Successful Outcomes in Implant Dentistry
Dental implants have become increasingly popular as an option for patients to replace missing teeth and improve their smiles and oral health. Dental implants are an ideal solution that can offer the function and look of your natural teeth and increase your confidence.
Today, more and more people prefer dental implants to dentures to replace missing teeth.
Recent advances in dentistry and dental implant technology and trained dental professionals who have been gaining experience in dental implant treatment have significantly elevated the success rate of this dental procedure.
Most dental implants are made up of titanium which is a biocompatible metal.
If titanium rods fail to attach to the bone well, and your bone refuses to accept this foreign body, the dental implant surgery is likely to be a failure.
Your dental implant treatment is considered a successful procedure if the implant fuses well with the surrounding bone and heals with no infection.
Generally speaking, the success rate of dental implants is somewhere between 90 to 95 per cent, which is considered an acceptable percentage for dental treatments.
Yet, several other factors are involved that can affect the outcome of implants.
Factors That Can Lead to Dental Implant Failure
Poor planning and the dentist’s lack of initial consultation before the treatment can lead to adverse outcomes, but other factors are also involved.
Some factors that can affect the outcome of the dental implants could be:
- the patients’ jaw health
- gum disease
- tooth decay
- certain medical conditions
- smoking, patients’ habits
- lack of good oral hygiene
Gum Disease
Gum disease is defined as infection and inflammation of the gums that can affect the soft tissue and the bone supporting the teeth.
Gum disease can have harmful effects on your mouth and change the oral tissues. Gum disease can cause tooth loss and affects the tissue around the dental implant.
These changes can affect the osseointegration process.
For Your Information: Gum disease is a serious oral health concern and needs to be addressed as soon as possible to prevent further complications. Poor oral hygiene habits can be one of the main reasons for gum disease.
Smoking
Another high dental implant failure rate is associated with smoking. Smoking will affect the health of your gums and bone in the long run.
Smoking can affect your immune system by constricting the blood vessels and reducing the blood flow to the soft tissue. Smoking can also delay the body’s natural healing process after implant placement, elevate the risk of infection, and eventually lead to dental implant failure.
Some dentists refuse to perform dental implant surgery for smokers because of the high possibility of dental implant failure. However, some dentists ask patients to stop smoking a couple of weeks before implant surgery. Patients are also advised to stop smoking for at least two weeks after the implant procedure.
For Your Information: Excessive alcohol consumption can also cause implant treatment to fail.
Certain Medical Conditions
Some medical conditions can affect your dental implant success. Medical conditions such as diabetes can increase the risk of inflammation and lead to a poor connection of the implant to the jawbone.
Diabetes may also elevate the risk of gum disease and consequently a condition known as peri-implantitis.
What Is Peri-Implantitis?
Peri implantitis refers to the inflammation in the tissues surrounding dental implants. Oral bacteria and germs surrounding dental implants can form a biofilm.
Peri implantitis causes the soft tissue to become inflamed and the hard tissue (alveolar bone) lost.
As a result of peri-implantitis, the bone surrounding dental implants will be lost and deteriorate. Peri-implantitis can lead to implant loss, which means dental implant failure.
Unfortunately, most patients won’t notice the infection until it has been well advanced.
Lack of good oral hygiene, smoking, diabetes and medical conditions like osteoporosis are considered risk factors of peri-implantitis.
Sufficient Bone in Your Jaw
How much bone mass you have in your jaw can affect the success rate of your dental implant surgery and is considered a key factor.
Osseointegration process
The bone below missing teeth starts to shrink over time and may not have enough width and depth to support the implant. Not having enough bone mass in your jaw to support and anchor the implant can interfere with the osseointegration process and increase the risk of dental implant failure.
Dental implants will become an integral part of your jawbone through the osseointegration process. This (the osseointegration process) is a process that occurs between the surface of dental implants and the living bone. The osseointegration process involves the dental implant fusing with your bones.
Bone graft
If there is not sufficient bone in the jaw, dentists will increase the volume of bone through specific procedures.
A bone graft is a surgical procedure necessary before dental implant treatment if bone loss has occurred in the jaw. A bone graft can provide a more solid foundation for dental implant surgery.
Dentists can add volume and density to the jaw during a bone graft by replacing the missing bone with material from the patient′s body. The bone graft material could also be a substitute, for instance, from an animal tissue bank or a human tissue bank.
By encouraging new bone growth and making your jaw stronger through bone grafting, there is an elevated chance of dental implant success.
Healthy Gums
Having healthy gums is one of the most important contributing factors to increasing dental implant success.
Patients with healthy gums have a relatively higher dental implant success rate.
Good oral hygiene and removing plaque bacteria from the surface of your teeth can reduce the risk of gum inflammation and gum disease. Gum infection left untreated can lead to peri-implantitis and cause damage to the bone surrounding the dental implants and elevate the risk of dental implant failure.
Practise good oral hygiene, stop smoking, brush your teeth twice daily, keep a balanced healthy diet, and arrange regular dental checkups to keep your gums healthy and prevent gum infection or inflammation.
Medications Effects on Dental implants Outcome
According to some research, some medications may help increase the dental implant success rate, while some may lead to dental implant failure.
Medications: Dental Implant Success
Based on some research, the dental implant success rate seems higher in people who take beta-blockers for hypertension.
Medications: Dental Implant Failure
People who take heartburn medications may have a higher risk of dental implant failure. Implant failure in people who take these medications is high because heartburn medications decrease calcium absorption in bones.
Dental Implant Evaluation In Brisbane
To enjoy the benefits that dental implants in Brisbane provide, professionals must conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the patient before beginning their treatment plan.
Patients should undergo a thorough pre-operative assessment, including multiple evaluations and an exhaustive medical history.
Thorough evaluation and assessment before the treatment will determine whether dental implants are an ideal treatment option to replace missing teeth and significantly increase the success rate of dental implant surgery and reduce the risk of dental implant failure.
The initial consultation should educate proposed patients about the procedure, possible risks, and complications and develop a treatment plan for services.
The discussion should also include the following:
Patients Investment
Implants can be a costly and time-consuming investment. Dentists should understand patients’ state of mind regarding commitment to the process of surgery and subsequent treatment and financial circumstances.
Here are some questions for addressing patients’ investment in implant rehabilitation:
- What are the patients’ habits? Do they align with the successful care of dental implants?
- Will patients be compliant with oral hygiene during treatment?
Patients’ Expectations
Individuals may come to the dental office with a wide range of expectations about what they want from dental implants. These beliefs need to be explored. Patients must be presented with sound and complete information specific to their situation, especially to address any expectations that may not be realistic.
Prosthesis Maintenance
The initial consultation must emphasize the importance of implant maintenance. Patients must understand that implant surgery is only one part of the process.
If patients fail to take necessary care of the dental implant due to poor oral hygiene habits and do not follow their dentist’s instructions after treatment, they will have a high risk of dental implant failure.
The Dentists’ Responsibility in Increasing Dental Implant Success
The dentist is supposed to take necessary precautions to eliminate the factors that may give rise to dental implant failure.
Before dental implant treatment:
- The dentist should determine that blood glucose levels are good enough in patients with diabetes.
- If patients have a compromised immune system, the dentist should prescribe antibiotics before and after treatment.
- In case of insufficient bone mass, the dentist is supposed to perform a bone graft before implant placement.
- The dentist should be extra careful not to place the dental implant too close to the nerves.
- If the dentist is uncertain about the person’s gum health, they should postpone the treatment until they are sure that the patient has healthy gums.
Visit Pure Dentistry
At Pure Dentistry, we not only strive to educate our patients, but we also take care to ensure they are satisfied. If you are interested in learning more about dental implants, contact us today on 07 3343 4869 for a consultation to find out how to help you achieve the smile you desire.
