Angela Martinez
Medical Content Writer
Dr. Carrasco
Medical Reviewer
Dental implants provide an excellent tooth replacement solution for patients struggling with missing teeth or chronic denture discomfort. However, for habitual smokers considering implants, the effects of tobacco pose complex risks that require discussion with your oral health providers about viability, timing and supplemental treatment to protect your investment.
Can I Get Dental Implants if I Smoke?
- The short answer remains yes –
smokers can and do get dental implant treatments with careful coordination. However tobacco intake does negatively impact implant success rates, healing capacity, lifespans and risk of post-surgical infection or complications. Thus smoking patients must collaborate closely on management strategies with their entire healthcare team before undergoing implantation.
Cigarette Smoking Affects Your Oral Health
Beyond lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases, smoking wreaks havoc orally too – being a leading causative factor in gum disease, tooth decay and tooth loss. The array of toxic chemicals in cigarettes increase inflammation, restrict blood flow, attack immune response and accelerate plaque build-up. Smoking quickly advances infections around natural teeth structures.
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How Does Smoking Affect Dental Implants?
Specifically regarding dental implants, cigarette smoking sabotages the process at multiple critical junctures:
- Moderate Drinking:
The 600+ toxins in cigarettes trigger severe inflammation that disrupts the localized blood vessels trying to deliver nutrients and oxygen to incision areas attempting to heal post-operatively. Patients experience much greater discomfort, swelling and bruising.
- Increased Risk of Implant Failure:
Smoking’s free radicals and cocktail of chemicals interfere with osseointegration – the gradual fusion of titanium implant screws into living jawbone for stability. Failed integration means implants loosen prematurely.
- Increased Risk of Infection:
When protective white blood cells and antibodies cannot access surgery sites due to constricted blood vessels from smoking, patients suffer more frequent infections of gum tissues or deeper jaw bone structures.
- Increased Risk of Peri-Implantitis:
Peri-implantitis describes severe gum infection and bone loss specifically around previously integrated dental implants – eventually causing catastrophic loss. The bacteria is very stubborn against antibiotics and re-treatment in smokers.
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Symptoms of Implant Failure
If implants weren’t able to fully osseointegrate or become infected, you may notice these warning signs:
- Mobility, loosening or slight shift of position.
- Unexplained swelling, inflammation and reddening.
- Pockets of pus discharge.
- Continued or worsening discomfort weeks later.
- A “lazy” implant not taking proper bite pressure
Promptly inform your dentist if your implants demonstrate any concerning symptoms for assessment about whether removing hardware and attempting later re-implantation is necessary after you quit smoking and heal.
Tips to Minimizing Implant Failure
If determined to attempt implants presently while still smoking, your dentist can better optimize outcomes by:
- Prescribing a strong initial antibiotic course
- Utilizing Narrow diameter implants with roughened surfaces for better grip
- Over-engineering cases with extra implants or wider platforms
- Prioritizing rear molar arch placement with thicker bone
- Avoiding extensive bone grafting and faster project timelines
- Establishing diligent re-care visit schedule to monitor and maintain
Patients before & after results
Tips for Quitting Cigarette Smoking
The US Surgeon General insists no amount of smoking is considered safe given the breadth of health dangers posed. Thus fully eliminating cigarette consumption remains imperative to protect natural teeth let alone invasive implants.
Ask your dentist and primary doctor to design a cessation plan utilizing options like:
- Prescription assistance – Chantix/varenicline, Wellbutrin/bupropion, nicotine patches.
- Counseling and support groups.
- Nicotine gum or lozenges.
- Hypnosis and acupuncture.
- Identifying / avoiding triggers.
- Creating financial incentives per smoke-free day.
Even curtailing tobacco use through vaping devices or smokeless chewing tobacco still introduce health hazards. Your whole care circle stands eager to champion required lifestyle adjustments to uphold oral wellness.
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Conclusion
Responsible implant dentists have ethical duties to educate patients on smoking’s demonstrable threats to dental implant lifecycles – including integration failures, infections and rejections requiring removal. Quitting smoking remains imperative for ideal outcomes.
While highly motivated smokers can attempt implants presently through supplementary measures, just know future risks and maintenance efforts escalate. Set quit milestones with your health providers so any subsequent treatment occurs after fully weaning off cigarettes for beautifully functioning implants.
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Dr. Carrasco
MEDICAL REVIEWER
Dr. Carrasco Graduated dental school in 1981 from the U.A.C.J. Since 2005 he has specialized in Prosthodontic and Oral Implantology. He is a member of American Dental Association (ADA), a fellow of the Mexican Dental Association, The American Society of Osseointegration and an associate fellow of The International Congress of Oral Implantologists,
Dr. Carrasco has completed continuing education courses at prestigious U.S. universities such as Loma Linda University and New York University. He was the Former President of the College of Dental Surgeons, Former professor of undergraduate and graduate of the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez.
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