Is There a Deadline for Dental Implant Replacement?

Deciding on dental implant treatment is a big step, usually when you’ve lost one or more teeth. It’s normal to think about the pros and cons, but waiting to replace missing teeth can cause serious issues for your oral health and overall quality of life. Keep reading to discover what might occur if you postpone replacing those missing pearly whites for too long.

The Optimal Scenario

The best time to get a dental implant is right after removing the old tooth. At this point, your jawbone is easily accessible, your mouth is numb from the extraction, and you’ll have just one recovery period. But if immediate placement isn’t possible due to time limitations or other reasons, waiting a week or two is still okay because the jawbone maintains enough density for successful implantation.

What Happens if You Wait?

Postponing dental implant treatment after an extraction, whether due to physical limitations or financial concerns, increases the likelihood of it becoming impractical. After an extraction, the bone surrounding the former tooth starts to degrade naturally since it’s no longer needed to support a tooth.

Over time, this deterioration weakens the area around the extracted tooth. Without a strong bone structure to attach to, the titanium rod may struggle to fuse correctly or become unstable within a relatively brief timeframe.

Restoring Bone with a Graft

Although bone loss following an extraction is unavoidable, it doesn’t mean dental implants are entirely out of reach after a certain period. Dentists can perform bone grafts for eligible patients, where weakened bone is replaced with strong bone taken from elsewhere in your body or obtained from a donor.

This process establishes a suitable foundation for implant stability. It’s comforting to know that even if considerable time has passed since an extraction, there’s still hope for dental implants, though it may require allowing additional time for the bone graft to integrate successfully, which could take several months.

Additional Concerns

Apart from bone loss, several complications could affect your suitability for a dental implant. Adjacent teeth to the extraction site may shift, causing misalignment nearby, or you could encounter supra-eruption, where surrounding teeth try to fill the gap.

In such cases, dental implantation could still be possible. Even so, additional treatments might be needed to resolve resulting issues and establish a suitable base for the implant.

Usually, there aren’t any significant physical barriers preventing you from getting dental implants. Dentists can employ techniques such as bone grafts and other procedures to get your mouth ready for implant placement. So, achieving the smile you’ve always wanted is still completely within reach!

About the Practice

At Lancaster Family Smiles, our top priority is ensuring the comfort and safety of our patients. Our inviting office atmosphere is designed to accommodate individuals of all ages, ensuring a pleasant experience for everyone. Our dental team is dedicated to educating patients on effective oral hygiene practices and offers a comprehensive range of dental services suitable for patients of all ages. Additionally, we specialize in offering dental implants to address gaps in your smile and ensure its completeness. To schedule an appointment or learn more about our services, contact Lancaster Family Smiles at (469) 729-7707 or visit our website.