Implants do not decay, and adjacent healthy teeth do not require crowns to support them. And because it is easy to clean and floss between implants, the gum tissue and underlying bone are more likely to remain healthy.
With a bridge, if one of the supporting crowned teeth breaks or develops decay or nerve damage, the bridge and its three or more crowns must be removed and replaced.
Implants can replace individual lost teeth or many teeth in a row. For those who have lost most of their teeth, implants can be used to anchor a full or partial denture. About half a million implants are placed each year in this country.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
How Long Do Dental Implants Last?
The major question that people ask when it comes to dental implants is, “What is the long-term success rate?” or “How long will they last?”.
The simple answer to the long-term success rate of dental implants is that dental implants can fail but very infrequently. Failure rates vary depending on the site in the mouth, whether they are placed into natural or grafted bone, and whether the patient smokes or has other underlying health problems. The overall success rate in natural bone is over 95%, although this falls slightly in grafted bone. If a patient smokes it has been shown that he or she is statistically two and a half times more likely to have an implant fail than a non-smoker.
As to the longevity of dental implants, at the present time we cannot answer this question numerically. Many patients who had implants placed over 40 years ago still have original implants in function today.
The best steps to take to avoid encountering ailing or failing dental implants are to maintain meticulous oral hygiene, and to evaluate the dental implant both clinically and radiographically at frequent recall visits with your dentist.
The simple answer to the long-term success rate of dental implants is that dental implants can fail but very infrequently. Failure rates vary depending on the site in the mouth, whether they are placed into natural or grafted bone, and whether the patient smokes or has other underlying health problems. The overall success rate in natural bone is over 95%, although this falls slightly in grafted bone. If a patient smokes it has been shown that he or she is statistically two and a half times more likely to have an implant fail than a non-smoker.
As to the longevity of dental implants, at the present time we cannot answer this question numerically. Many patients who had implants placed over 40 years ago still have original implants in function today.
The best steps to take to avoid encountering ailing or failing dental implants are to maintain meticulous oral hygiene, and to evaluate the dental implant both clinically and radiographically at frequent recall visits with your dentist.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
