3 Reasons To Quit Smoking Before You Get A Dental Implant
Posted on: 2 September 2016
If you are missing a tooth, replacing it with a dental implant is your best treatment option; however, you may want to stop smoking if you decide to go through with this. As you probably know, smoking is not good for your health, but you might not realize how this habit could interfere with a dental implant. Here are three reasons you should stop smoking completely if you want to get a dental implant.
Smoking makes your body heal slower
Going through the process of getting a dental implant involves surgery. The implant is placed deep inside your gums in your jawbone. After this is completed, your dentist will wait for the implant to totally fuse to your bone before completing the procedure. The problem with this is that smokers tend to heal slower. Wounds that heal slow are much more prone to developing problems, such as infections.
Smoking can lead to gum disease and a loss of bone
People who smoke have a greater chance of developing gum disease, and untreated gum disease can lead to a loss of bone mass in the jaw. The problem this creates directly affects an implant because of its placement in the jaw. If you start developing gum disease after getting an implant, it could cause the implant to become loose or fall out. While there is a chance you could get gum disease even if you do not smoke, your chances are greater if you do.
Dental implants have a higher rate of failure for smokers
According to a study, dental implants have a higher rate of failure for people who smoke. If you are going to spend a lot of money replacing your missing tooth with a dental implant, you will not want the implant to fail. According to this study, dental implants failed in 1.4% of the participants that did not smoke, but they failed with 15.8% of the participants who smoked.
With the average cost for a dental implant at around $5,000, taking this risk would be huge. You can reduce your risks by cutting smoking out of your life. Not only would this be better for your implant, but it would help you become healthier overall.
If you have a missing tooth and are interested in finding out your options for replacing it, contact a dentist. You will find that dentists often recommend using dental implants to replace missing teeth, but they may also recommend that you stop smoking first. For more information, talk to a dentist at an office such as Dansville Family Dental Care.
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