How Your Gums Affect Your Dental Implant Recovery

Dental implants have an impressive 98% success rate. While the odds are in your favor as far as avoiding implant favor, it can happen and some patients heal better than others. The key to a successful implant surgery is the healing that takes place afterwards. There are things you can do before getting dental implants to ensure the stage is set for a quick and effective healing.

Your implant must fuse to the jawbone in order to be able to strongly anchor a prosthetic tooth or teeth. This is an integral part of the healing process. However, healthy gums play a key role. Your bone and implant get nutrients through the gums via your bloodstream. Therefore, any reduction or constriction in blood flow can affect how long or well your implants heal.

Reduced Blood Flow

Smoking is a leading culprit for decreased blood flow to the gums. Nicotine is vasoconstrictor, so the gums aren’t getting a full supply of blood. This is the reason why dentists suggest quitting smoking at 12 months before your procedure as well as for the 3 o 6 months of healing after the implant is placed.

Unmanaged diabetes can also cause reduced blood flow to the gum due to narrowed capillaries throughout the body. Therefore, treating and managing diabetes and other overall health conditions is critical before you initiate dental implant surgery.

Disease and Infection

It is common for patients to lose a tooth due to gum disease. Whether you lost the tooth naturally or it had to be extracted, the infection doesn’t always leave the surrounding area when the tooth is removed. It is imperative that you follow instructions on taking a course of antibiotics, getting a deep cleaning or other therapies to ensure the harmful bacteria is completely eradicated before dental implants are placed. Existing infection or disease within the gums is likely to cause your body to reject the implant altogether.

At the office of Dr. Wayne Suway, we help patients have the most successful outcome with dental implants. In doing so, we are careful to evaluate the condition of their gums and overall health before moving forward. If you have questions about your candidacy for dental implants, please give us a call in Marietta.