Who Would Be a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

An ideal candidate for dental implants is anyone who has lost tooth structure and needs to build up their confidence and function lost as a result. Restoring the complete function of the mouth and teeth is what dentists are after. Most people have been suffering for decades as a result of not being able to eat and/or chew properly with dentures. Dental implants offer a much better solution to the problem by restoring the function of a patient’s dental makeup.

Moreover, to ensure a patient’s eligibility to be a good candidate for dental implants, dentists examine the patient’s overall health too. The most obvious bad candidates are patients who are smokers. Normally, smokers tend to slow down the healing process following a dental implant treatment. Since there will be a wound in the patient’s mouth following the dental implant treatment, smoking would not aid the healing process. Dentists don’t want to perform the dental implant treatment on patients who are smokers, diabetics or sufferers of any other uncontrollable medical condition which limits the possibility of quick healing. Hence, prior to the dental implant treatment, dentists will perform a thorough medical examination to ensure that the patient is fit for the treatment.

Another factor which increases the odds for dental implant success is the height and width of the bone. In other words, the higher the figure, the taller and wider the bone that the implant will be placed into, the better the prognosis for success. Generally, when a patient has lost a tooth, for example, a long time ago, the bone in that particular area essentially melts and gets thinner and shorter to the point where the space available becomes inadequate for even the smallest of dental implants. In such a situation, dentists will consider grafting bone to the affected area. In addition, they may also try out advanced techniques to re-grow that area and establish more bones. This, as a result, will enable the doctors to place the dental implants without an issue.