Worth the Small Risk? How Safe Are Dental Implants?

Whether you tend to be reckless or cautious, when it comes to your health, you need to know a few things before you agree to a treatment like dental implants. You don’t want to go through the whole, complicated process (along with pay the higher price tag) only to find out that it wasn’t successful or you have a setback you could have avoided in the first place. Prior to replacing your missing teeth with dental implants, become familiar with the risks and what your dentist does to keep you and your smile safe!

Risks of Dental Implants

With any treatment—even minor surgery—you will have some amount of risk, but relatively speaking, having dental implants placed is mostly safe and reliable. In fact, it is still successful in 95 percent of cases 10 years after the procedure! Regardless, you should be aware of what might happen, no matter how small the likelihood. Here are some of the risks associated with this treatment:

• The implant may not integrate properly with the jawbone for a variety of reasons.
• You could develop an infection at the incision site.
• You could have an allergic reaction to the implant, but this is rare.

If you have certain conditions, implant failure or complications may come with a higher risk. These include the following:

• Diabetes.
• Using tobacco.
• Autoimmune disease.
• Gum disease.
• Osteoporosis.
• Chemotherapy or radiation in the head and neck area.
• Certain medications.

How Your Dentist Can Make Dental Implants Safe

A lot of the risk mitigation for dental implants occurs before the implants even go in your mouth. When you work with the right professionals, you can enjoy a successful restored smile that allows you to lead a fully functional and confident lifestyle.

Thorough Examination and Preparation

The time preceding the minor surgical procedure indicates whether this treatment is a good idea for your situation. Your dentist can conduct a thorough exam with digital X-rays and ask you questions to see whether you meet the requirements for these replacements. If you have an issue, such as one of those listed above, you and your dentist can work on a strategy to put you in a better position for implants or other replacement teeth.

Once you seem like a good candidate, your dentist will refer you to a local implant specialist, who can further inspect your gums, jawbone, and mouth and then create a precise treatment plan for the surgery.

Qualified Implant Specialist and Dentist

Although your dentist certainly has learned about dental implants in post-graduate school, these prosthetics are among dentistry’s most complex treatment. To ensure success, your general dentist may send you to a specialist they trust professionally. With a highly trained and experienced specialist performing this procedure, you can feel much more peace of mind about your implants—if you follow their instructions afterward and continue to meet with your general dentist for the restoration and follow-up care.

In the end, life is full of risks and rewards, but when it comes to replacing your teeth, properly placed dental implants are almost always worth the rare chance of failure. When you have the right professionals on your side and when you take care of your health, they can set you up for decades of successful smiling!

About the Practice

As general dentists, Dr. Aiyana Zenobia Anderson and Dr. Michele Moreno love to serve a wide range of patients in terms of age and needs at Alamo Springs Dental. We happily see children all the way up to the elderly; as a result, we refer to local specialists for implant placement to give our patients the highest chances of success. After that, we can work on fabricating a beautiful, realistic prosthetic to make your implant-replaced teeth look naturally stunning. Contact us online or call our San Antonio office at 210-463-9339 for an appointment today!