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Why You Never Want to Smoke with New Dental Implants |
Posted on 6/22/2020 by Todd Jorgenson |
You may have been thinking about getting dental implants. However, you may have been reluctant to get dental implants because you smoke. Some people will tell you that it is ok to get dental implants if you smoke. However, we don't think smoking with dental implants is a good idea. Keep reading to find out why smoking is not good if you have dental implants.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are part of restorative dental work. Implants are used to replace teeth that have been lost due to illness, injury, tooth decay or gum disease. While you can have other dental pieces, such as bridges and partial dentures, that fill in the holes left by a missing tooth, they do not address the problems of bone loss. When a tooth is missing, if there is not a replacement, the body thinks that the bone is not needed, and it will begin to remove bone from the jaw.
Implants screw into the jawbone. The body thinks that the tooth is still there and will not remove the bone. Implants are the closest thing to real teeth that you can have without the actual tooth.
Why Smoking Is An Issue
While there are some providers who will allow you to get implants if you smoke, we don't recommend it. Smoking decreases the blood flow to your gums and jaws. This means that your teeth will not be as healthy as the teeth of a non-smoker. If you continue to smoke, you risk having complications with your implant. In some cases, the implant will fail.
There are some measures we can take to try and ensure implant success. We can try grafting bone if it is needed. We can also give you extended healing time, as people who smoked cigarettes have slower healing times than non-smokers. The best thing you can do for your teeth and your implants is to quit smoking. If you have questions about cigarette smoking and implants, give us a call.
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