What You Should Know About Dental Implants And Gum Disease

What do dental implants and gum disease have in common? Quite a bit! Here's an overview:

• Tooth loss can result from gum disease.

• Dental implants are a surgery to replace missing teeth.

• Dental implants are a surgery to replace missing teeth.

• Gum disease can occur even after installing dental implants.

• An implant can fail due to gum disease.

Let's look more closely.

What Is Gum Disease?

Gum disease, also known as periodontitis or periodontal disease, is a serious but common gum infection. It is brought on by bacteria-filled plaque that adheres to and accumulates at the gumline.

Tooth loss in adults is most commonly caused by gum disease. It can affect other systemic illnesses like diabetes and some forms of cancer, and is linked to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and coronary artery disease.

Several different symptoms of gum disease include:

• Gums that are swollen, red, tender, and easily bleed

• Receding gum line

• Inflammation or pus between the teeth

• You feel as if your teeth are loose

It's important to now that periodontal disease can also exist without any symptoms or warning signs. That's why it is crucial to maintain proper oral hygiene habits and visit the dentist at least twice a year. The sooner you address the condition, the better are your chances to combat it rapidly and stop undesirable effects like receding gums or, worse, tooth loss.

Please keep in mind that bleeding gums are not normal or healthy gums. Contact us to make an appointment if your gums bleed every time you brush or floss.

What are implants?

Missing teeth can affect your health and lead to major changes in your lifestyle. This is where dental implants come in. Dental implants are considered the best way to replace one or more missing or severely damaged teeth.

Dental implant is a titanium post that is surgically placed in your jaw to act as the root of your tooth, later a crown, bridge, or another type of natural-looking restoration will be fixed on top of the implant. When procedure is completed, no one will be able to tell you where even missing a tooth, that's now seamless they are.

This procedure has a high success rate and has many benefits, for example:

• It prevents further bone loss

• Implants are durable and stable

• They allow patient you to chew and speak better

• Implants look just like natural teeth

Does Having Gum Disease Mean You Will Lose Your Teeth?

It is commonly known that periodontal disease is a leading cause of tooth loss in adults. However, having gum disease does not automatically mean that you will lose your teeth.

If the issue is addressed in a timely manner, the infection is reversible and tooth loss can be avoided.

Tooth loss is a result of severe damage to the surrounding soft tissues of your gums. As the bacteria moves deeper into the tissues, it can even affect the bone that is supporting your teeth.

Losing a tooth as a result of periodontal disease is probably the worst case scenario and it doesn't have to get to that stage. If you notice constant inflammation in the gums and your teeth feel loose, contact our office immediately.

No Tooth Means No Gum Disease?

If the periodontal disease is severe and tooth loss is unavoidable, the best solution can be to have the tooth extracted. However, not having a tooth in the gum does not mean that the gum disease will just disappear. If left untreated, gum disease will continue to spread, and can even lead to the loss of more teeth.

In that case it's important to address both periodontal disease and missing tooth, one at a time. When you’re missing a tooth, your gums and bone begin to weaken, recede, and even dissolve. This can create problems in the future if you decide to have an implant but there is not sufficient amount of bone to support it.

How We Treat Gum Disease At Archer Dental?

There are a variety of gum disease treatments available. The right treatment plan for you will depend on your specific situation and health. Here at our office, we offer some incredible treatment and prevention options, including:

• Deep Cleanings- A deep cleaning uses an ultrasonic cleaning device to remove plaque and tartar from your teeth, cleaning under the gumline of the tooth and the root. This procedure also helps smoothing out rough surfaces of the teeth and roots to encourage your gums to reattach to your teeth.

• Periodontal Laser Therapy- A procedure in which a special laser is used to remove inflamed tissue. The laser distinguishes between healthy and inflamed tissue because the infected tissue has a darker color, eliminating infected gums with a high level of precision. It also sterilizes the area around the tooth, which helps prevent the spreading of infection. After the laser is applied to the infected gums, healthy gum tissue can regenerate .

Can You Get Implants While Having Gum Disease?

No, all patients need healthy, strong gums to start with dental implant procedure. As mentioned above, gum disease can affect both gum tissue and bone and having gum disease during the surgery poses a high risk of further complications. In fact, after the gum disease is treated, you need to be evaluated by the dentist to see if the gum tissue and bone are strong enough to support an implant.

For any dental implant, the bone must be thick and wide enough to safely position and support the implant. Your gum tissue must also fully surround the implant and final restoration.

The good news is that you may be a candidate for a bone and/or soft tissue graft. These are both very common procedures with a high success rate. Once the treatment is completed and tissues have healed, you will be a much better candidate for a dental implant. In fact, thanks to these and other procedures, there are relatively few people who cannot get implants.

Can Gum Disease Develop After An Implant Procedure?

One the implant has been placed, there is still a risk of developing gum disease. If the patient does not follow the recommendations of the dentist, they could develop peri-implantitis — also form of gum disease.

Peri-implantitis is when bacteria builds up and infects gum tissue and bone around a dental implant. Symptoms include:

• Bleeding around the implant

• Acidic taste around the area

• Bad breath

• Loose implant

If left untreated, peri-implantitis can cause the implant to fail and fall out completely. Which is why we can't stress enough that prevention is key.

When you get an implant, you must follow these simple recommendations:

• Adopt good oral hygiene habits: brushing and flossing twice a day

• Visit your dentist at least twice a year

• Eat a healthy diet

• No smoking/vaping. Smoking is one of the biggest risk factor for peri-implantitis!

If you do develop peri-implantitis, treatment options are available to stop the disease and stabilize and fix your implant.