You might be eager to try dental implants if you’ve lost some of your pearly whites. After all, these replacement teeth have the power to restore your smile, self-confidence, and more! Even so, you might want to hold off on treatment if you’re a smoker. Smoking leads to oral health problems that tend to make implants unsuccessful. It’d be best to kick the habit before considering this restoration procedure. To learn more, here’s a summary of the stormy relationship between smoking and dental implants.
Smoking & Oral Health Don’t Mix
As you probably already know, smoking seriously affects your oral health. It turns teeth yellow, causes mouth and throat cancer, etc.
More relevant to this discussion, though, is how smoking can expose you to oral infections. You see, inhaling smoke burns your mouth’s tissues and dries up saliva. As a result, it creates a breeding ground for disease-causing bacteria. Since it also lessens blood flow to the gums, that means it affects immune mechanisms and your body’s healing ability.
Smoking Would Harm Implant Fusion
Due to its influence on immunity, smoking harms the implant recovery process. In particular, it delays the fusion between your replacement teeth and your jawbone. That effect, in turn, prevents the implant(s) from being securely held in place. In other words, you wouldn’t be able to rely on your implant for a good smile or intense chewing.
It also greatly raises your risk of infection and implant loss.
Smoking Can Cause Implant Failure After Recovery
Even post-fusion, smoking would put your implants in danger. Namely, it would increase the rate of bone loss around them. Left untreated, said loss could result in implant failure despite a successful fusion. As evidence, a recent study revealed that twice as many implant failures occurred in people who smoked compared to non-smokers.
How to Ensure Successful Treatment
Despite the risks, you could still have successful implant treatment. It’d just require you to make a few habit changes first. Here are some ways you could minimize the chance of complications:
- Quit smoking entirely before getting dental implants. Doing so would improve your oral health and the odds of your procedure’s success.
- At the very least, try to stop smoking for a week prior to treatment. Those days without tobacco smoke would strengthen your mouth for implant placement.
- Practice good oral hygiene! Brush your teeth twice daily, floss once daily, and see your dentist regularly for cleanings and checkups.
If you can manage a few of the tips above, implants might just work for you. Feel free to talk with your local dentist, though, for more information on your options.
About the Practice
Gold Coast Oral Surgery is based in Rosalyn, NY. As led by Dr. Steve Yusupov, the practice provides the best oral surgery possible for members of the local community. To that end, it offers dental implants, wisdom tooth removal, bone grafting, and maxillofacial surgery. The team is also a qualified provider of IV anesthesia and dental sedation. For more information or to book an appointment, you can reach them on their website or by phone at (516)-744-6262.