Smoking and Implants Are Bad Combinations

Just as cigarettes poorly affect people’s overall health, cigarettes and dental implants don’t go well together either. The rates of failure and complications are directly proportional to the frequency of tobacco use—i.e., how many cigarettes a patient smokes per day. 

When you’re looking for a highly trained and experienced periodontal practice, your best choice is the office of Rockville Centre for Dentistry. Our mission is to educate our patients about all of their oral healthcare options and help guide them in choosing a treatment plan that’s most suitable and appropriate for their needs. When you walk through our doors, you can be confident that you are receiving the finest and most advanced periodontal treatment.

Tobacco and nicotine cause blood vessels in the mouth’s soft tissues and bone tissues to constrict or narrow. Studies show that smoking and dental implant failure rates are from 6.5 percent to 20 percent compared to non-smokers. If you smoke, take note of the many harmful risks they pose. 

An inability for the bone and soft tissue to function and react properly to each element of the implant procedure: Smoke can hinder the implant’s long-term success. 

Impeded bone grafts: If a bone graft is needed before the implant’s anchor is put in place, smoking can curb the success of the grafts. 

Prolonged healing of the site: A lag in the location’s recovery can spur major complications—perhaps even implant failure. 

Bacterial infections: Cigarettes can diminish the output of salivary glands. Among the glands’ many jobs is to wash away germs and fight bacteria with the antibodies they carry. 

Periodontal disease: Cigarette smoke escalates the possibility of gum disease, which can jeopardize the success of an implant. 

Patients should quit smoking at least three weeks before implant surgery and continue their abstinence for at least eight weeks afterward, and ideally never smoke again.

Rockville Centre for Dentistry’s main mission is to bring your oral health to its optimal condition. We pride ourselves on our ability to fulfill our mission to deliver superior patient care. For more information about our practice and how we can help you, please call us to schedule an appointment.