Many experts consider dental implants the ideal way to replace missing teeth because of their many unique advantages. They’re the only restorations that are directly inserted into your jaw and fuse with the bone for added durability and stability.
Furthermore, they have an incredibly high success rate of over 95%, but that doesn’t mean they’re invincible. If you regularly use tobacco products, your implant could fail. Continue reading to learn more about 4 reasons why!
Reason #1: It Constricts Blood Vessels
Cigarettes, vapes, and chewing tobacco contain nicotine, which causes your blood vessels to narrow. That means they’re less able to deliver oxygen and other nutrients to your mouth where they’re needed to form a blood clot to heal the implant site. Sufficient blood flow is essential for recovery, and if you smoke, you’ll delay the process.
Reason #2: It Hinders Osseointegration
Dental implants typically rely on a titanium rod that’s embedded into your jawbone to anchor your restoration in place. This metal is incredibly strong and lightweight, making it ideal for use in an artificial tooth. It’s also biocompatible, meaning that your body won’t reject the material. This characteristic is what allows for osseointegration. As your body produces new bone growth, eventually it wraps around and fuses with your implant.
Unfortunately, smoking interferes with this process because sufficient blood flow is essential to building new bone tissue. The failure rate during this stage of recovery is higher among smokers than non-smokers.
Reason #3: It Promotes Gum Disease
Did you know that saliva is your mouths’ natural defense against potential dental problems? It has a nearly neutral pH balance to counter any acid damage to your enamel, and also rinses away unwanted food particles and germs.
Inhaling smoke can burn the tissues inside your mouth which thickens the top layer of cells and blocks off your salivary glands, resulting in dry mouth. This creates ideal conditions for unhealthy bacteria to flourish and penetrate your gumline. Without enough moisture in your mouth, you’re more likely to develop gum disease which, if left unaddressed, can result in receding gumlines that cause implant failure.
Reason #4: It Suppresses the Immune System
To make matters worse, regularly indulging in cigarettes and vapes can also reduce your body’s ability to fight infection by inhibiting your immune system. It reduces antioxidants and other healthy ingredients in the bloodstream and impairs the activities and functionality of important cells that fight infection. That’s bad news when you’re trying to heal from a surgical procedure like dental implants. Without a strong immune response, the site can become infected and your prosthetic could fail.
To keep your dental implants in good condition, it’s best to leave this unhealthy habit in the past!
About the Practice
At Painted Skies Dental Center, you and your family benefit from a husband-and-wife dental duo that offer a full array of services at one convenient location. Drs. Natalie and Ramon Ortiz share a commitment to helping patients of all ages enhance their lives by improving their dental condition. They understand how your oral health impacts your general well-being and strive to provide fully individualized solutions to meet your unique needs. Then, they use state-of-the-art technology to improve patient comfort and the accuracy of their results. If you’re interested in dental implants, you can request a consultation on the website or call (575) 521-8720.