Can I Get Dental Implants with Gum Disease?

Can I Get Dental Implants with Gum Disease?

Can I get dental implants with gum disease? The good thing about dental implants is that most patients who’ve lost one or more teeth qualify for them. Therefore, more patients can enjoy the many benefits they offer, such as more lifelike replacement teeth and a healthier, stronger jawbone. However, there are a few circumstances that could interfere with your dental implant procedure or the success of their placement. For instance, if the reason you lost teeth is because of severe gum disease, then you may need periodontal treatment or other preemptive treatment before your implants can be placed.

As the most common cause of adult tooth loss and the most comprehensive option for replacing lost teeth, gum disease and dental implants can highly influence each other. Patients with severe gum disease are the most frequent patients to lose teeth. Having existing gum disease complicate the ability to replace lost teeth with lifelike dental implants. Preventing tooth loss often means preventing gingivitis from forming. It should be controlled before it becomes severe periodontal disease. Meanwhile, rebuilding your smile after tooth loss due to gum disease will also require keeping the disease under control so that it doesn’t cause your dental implants to fail.

Losing Teeth to Gum Disease

Gum disease directly attacks the periodontal tissues (i.e., gums) and the underlying jawbone structure that hold your teeth in place by their roots. As it progresses, gum disease destroys these tissues and structures until you can no longer successfully support all of your healthy, natural teeth. This can lead to one or more teeth becoming loose and falling out, or requiring extraction due to the loss of support. The first step to rebuilding your smile, then, will be to address the condition that caused your tooth loss and ensure that it doesn’t relapse after your implants have been placed.

Getting an implant replacement tooth with gum disease is more difficult. The healing process is compromised with poor oral health.

What This Means for Dental Implants

In the same way that gum disease erodes your teeth roots’ support system, it also erodes the jawbone where your implant posts are placed. You should receive periodontal treatment before receiving your implants, but if you neglect to continue periodontal treatment afterward,  then the disease can lead to the failure of implant posts. A weakened jawbone can cause the implant posts to shift out of alignment, which can damage your jawbone, oral tissues, and surrounding teeth.

The Effects of Gum Disease

Advanced gum disease, or periodontal disease, is the leading cause of tooth loss, but it doesn’t directly affect your tooth structure. On the contrary, the disease erodes the gum tissues that surround your teeth roots, which are part of the support system that your teeth rely on. As it becomes more severe, gum disease can affect the jawbone underneath your gum tissues, eroding the structure in areas where your teeth roots are embedded. The destruction of your gums and jawbone leaves your teeth without adequate support, leading to tooth loss or the need for tooth extraction.

Qualifying for dental implants when the patient has gum disease

Before replacing your lost teeth with dental implants, your dentist will have to diagnose and treat your gum disease. The health of your gums and jawbone must be achieved first. Then other medical conditions and risk factors must be reviewed. Certain medicines such as anti-depressants decrease success rates of implants. Care must be taken with bisphosphanate use also. After treatment, it is important to learn to care for your implants.

Routine periodontal maintenance can help your gums heal and prevent the disease from flaring up again. If there was bone loss, your dentist can also suggest jaw bone grafting to strengthen your jawbone so that it can adequately support your implant posts.

Learn More About Getting implants with gum disease

Gum disease not only leads to tooth loss, but its presence often prevents you from being a candidate for dental implants. To ensure the success of your dental implants, your dentist may first recommend undergoing treatment to manage your gum disease. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling us, at 847-234-0517. We also proudly serve residents of Chicago and all surrounding communities in the Chicago Metro area.