As with any minor surgical procedure, there are some conditions that can disqualify you as a candidate for dental implants. Some of them are temporary, although you must still wait until they’re fixed before undergoing the surgery. Here are some of them:
Are your gums healthy?
Your gums will need to heal after dental implant surgery, but they need to be healthy at the time of surgery. If you have gum disease, like gingivitis, it may disqualify you from getting dental implants. Although you can treat gingivitis in its early stages, in time it can result in serious complications, maybe even requiring surgery to correct any problems.
Do you have adequate jawbone?
Since the implant needs to be inserted in the jawbone, it is important to have enough solid jawbone for the procedure. Loss of jawbone due to deterioration over time or trauma may disqualify you from receiving dental implants. This condition may be solved with a bone graft, which, when healed, may provide sufficient bone for dental implants.
Do you smoke, drink heavily or abuse drugs?
Dental implants have a 97% success rate among most patients. However, patients who smoke or drink too much reduce their success rate to below 70%. Abuse of substances can greatly affect your capacity to heal and may jeopardize the dental implant. Many clinics may refuse treatment or ask you to sign a waiver recognizing your risks prior to surgery. Dentists will require serious commitment on your part to stop ingesting substances before and after the surgery and failure to comply may result in complications, cancellation of the treatment, or even failure of the dental implants. Uncontrolled addictions such as alcoholism and drug abuse may permanently disqualify you from getting dental implants.
Do you have a disqualifying medical condition?
Conditions that reduce your ability to heal, deteriorate your bone structure, or put your health at risk can disqualify you from the procedure. Some risky medical conditions include diabetes, hemophilia or any blood disorder, any disease or condition that jeopardizes your immune system such as HIV AIDS, cancer, serious liver or kidney malfunction, heart disease and many others. If the condition is under control, your dentist may allow you to receive dental implants, although it may involve a higher risk than normal.
Are you pregnant?
Pregnancy will disqualify you from the procedure, although you can get dental implants after giving birth and after any complications or medications are finished.
Most people do not have a condition that would disqualify them from getting dental implants, and some of these conditions can be fixed. This means that most people are perfectly fine candidates for dental implants.
Note: It is important that you are honest and straightforward about your medical condition and any impediments with your dentist. Withholding information or lying about your medical condition will put you and your care at risk of failure.
To learn more about dental implants in Costa Rica, visit CostaRicaDentalImplants.com. You can also fill out a form on this site to receive a referral to the leading dental implant clinics in Costa Rica.
