If you've experienced tooth loss or your dentist recommends tooth extraction, dental implants offer a healthy, permanent, comfortable, and attractive tooth replacement solution. However, since the titanium post needs to fuse with the bone of your jaw before the crown can be attached, there are certain factors that affect the success rate of this process. Before you can receive this treatment, the following criteria must be met.

How to Tell if Implants Are Right for You

1. Robust Bone Tissue

You need areas of strong, solid bone in your jaw to support the small titanium posts that form the basis for this treatment. Unfortunately, after you lose a tooth, the bone in the area generally begins to deteriorate over time.

Your dentist will take X-rays and let you know if you have enough bone tissue. If not, you will need a bone graft first, which is a simple surgical procedure that will take a few months to heal.

2. No Advanced Gum Disease or Infections

Infected gum tissue can prevent the bone tissue from growing around the base of the post, causing the procedure to fail. It can even make your body reject an implant that's already healed in place. Active gum disease may automatically disqualify you from this treatment—particularly if it’s advanced to the periodontitis stage—until the infection can be eliminated and enough healing takes place.

3. Overall Good Health

Aside from your lost tooth, you need to be free of other mouth and jaw problems that could affect your healing process. You also need to not smoke or use tobacco, since tobacco use can cause dry mouth and increase your risk of infections.

There are other health conditions that can make a minor surgery like the dental implant procedure dangerous or affect your healing, such as diabetes, so let your dentist know your full medical history to determine if you have any risk factors.

For implants and other general dental treatments in Ross and Jackson counties, choose William U. Britton, DDS, MAGD. With locations in Jackson and Chillicothe, OH, Dr. Britton offers a broad range of services due to his 35 years of dental practice and Navy experience. To make an appointment, call (740) 772-2225 today. Learn more about their services by visiting the website.