If you want a beautiful and bright smile, a dental implant can be the right choice for you. One of the most important benefits of dental implants is that they are a permanent solution. If you take proper care of them, you can expect them to be as durable as your natural teeth. A dental implant is the best choice for patients who have broken or missing teeth. Unfortunately, if you want to get dental implants, certain requirements must be met.
You need to have enough jaw-bone to support the implant and enough space to replace your missing tooth. If you don’t fulfill these conditions, your dentist might recommend other methods such as bridges, dentures, or crowns. My Dental Home, Dr. Kevin Brown & Associates, can run a quick check-up of your mouth to identify whether you’re the ideal candidate for a dental implant or not. Here are a few downsides of dental implants that you must keep in mind before opting for this treatment.
Dental Implants Can Be Costly
The first and foremost disadvantage of dental implants is that they can be very costly, and even if your insurance plan covers them, you’ll still have to pay for a portion of the procedure. A single dental implant might cost you between $3,000-$4,500. This cost will include the surgery for placement of an implant, the implant crown, and all the other components. This cost estimate might differ depending on the dentist you choose and the area where you live. Cost is considered the greatest barrier to dental implant treatment.
Dental Implants Are A Lengthy Procedure
If you’re looking for a quick fix procedure to restore your smile, a dental implant might not be the right procedure for you. Getting dental implants fitted with your jawbone mostly takes a long time, as you’ll have to wait up to five to six months for your implants to fuse with your jawbone. Smoking tobacco products and consuming alcohol after the surgery can affect your healing time due to circulation.
There Are Chances Of Losing Bone Around Your Implants
Another major disadvantage of getting dental implant treatment is that you might lose bone around your implants. Although dental implants are considered to help you maintain bone mass in your jaw, it is quite common to lose bone around your implants after this treatment. If you lose too much bone around your implants, you might need to get your dental implants replaced. The long-term risk associated with a dental implant is a condition called Peri-implantitis, which is an Infectious disease that causes severe inflammation of the surrounding bone and gum of an already integrated dental implant. This ultimately leads to the loss of supporting bone. This is why it’s necessary to get your dental implants placed by an experienced dentist.
Tissue Or Nerve Damage
If the dental surgeon is inexperienced and inadvertently places a dental implant very close to a nerve, it can cause tingling, long-term numbness, or pain. If you experience persistent numbness on the lower lip and chin and the side of the implant after the dental implant procedure, you should immediately see your dentist. An upper jaw dental implant can protrude into your sinus cavities, causing extreme swelling of the sinuses known as sinusitis. The potential symptoms of sinusitis are- a blocked nose, tenderness, pain, or swelling around the eyes, cheeks, or forehead, sinus headaches, yellow or green nasal mucus, bad breath, toothache, and a reduced sense of smell.
Dental Implants Also Come With A Risk Of Failure
If you’re receiving a dental implant treatment, there are chances that the dental implant might fail. Typically the failure rate is very low, but still, if you’re investing your time and money, you need to know that this procedure doesn’t come with a 100% success rate. You should get dental implant treatment from a highly trained and skilled dentist for a lower risk of failure.
Dental Implants Might Require Additional Procedures
In some cases, you might have to take additional procedures before getting the dental implant. For example, many people might not have enough bone mass to support the implant. This means that they might require a bone graft. It’s also possible that a few people might need a sinus lift if their sinuses are located very close to their jawbone. These additional procedures can increase the waiting time for the implants and make the dental implant procedure very costly.
Though there are a few downsides associated with dental implant surgery owing to their functionality, and durability they are the best option for missing teeth replacement.
