Are You An Ideal Patient For Dental Implants ?
If you’ve considered undergoing surgical treatment for dental implants then you’ll no doubt have heard the term ‘ideal patient’. You might even be wondering if this is you. Let’s take a closer look at what a good candidate for dental implants in Richmond entails.
Trouble free mouth
You might already think that because you have missing teeth that your mouth is far from trouble free. In fact it’s all the other issues such as gum disease, degrees of bone wastage, and any other dental problems that might hinder implant success. For this reason you’re given a thorough examination and any issues highlighted will need to be dealt with first.
Good lifestyle
Another aspect that’s looked at when considering dental implants are lifestyle choices. Do you drink or smoke heavily? Do you maintain a relatively healthy diet? Unfortunately drinking and smoking (aside from being bad for you) is also bad news for implants. Firstly both alcohol and nicotine can dramatically slow down that all important healing process making it unpredictable at best. In addition smoking carries bacteria which can affect the implant itself. For this reason anyone that does smoke will need to quit before implants are placed and continue to cease smoking while the healing process is occurring. This can take 3-9 months.
Good health
Because a dental implant in Richmond requires a surgical procedure it’s important for the patient to be relatively healthy. This means no heart or cardiovascular problems, no diabetes issues (particularly those that are uncontrollable), and no suffering from certain types of cancer (particularly to the head, face and neck), and you could be turned down if you are receiving radiotherapy.
But what about age, is this a factor?
Provided that the patient is in relatively good health then age shouldn’t be a barrier towards having implant surgery. In fact here at Sheen Dental we’ve successfully placed dental implants into patients well into their eighties.
The good news is that even if you do have initial health complications it doesn’t automatically count you out from receiving implant treatment. On the contrary each case is dealt with on an individual basis and this is why potential patients go through a rigorous medical check-up. If anything is found to be untoward then plans can be put in place to get it dealt with first. Whether this be help in quitting smoking, trying to get your diabetes under control, or lowering high blood pressure, steps can be taken to ensure that you’re fit for implants should you really want to go ahead.
To find out more about whether you’re an ideal patient then why not contact Sheen Dental on 020 8876 5277 for a no-obligation, free consultation. Here you can get all your questions and concerns answered to decide whether dental implants in Richmond are right for you. Alternatively if you’d like to carry out some more investigation into what the process actually entails, then visit our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk where you’ll find a wealth of information to help you make an informed dental decision.