As many people already know, smoking and chewing tobacco have a serious impact on our teeth. But it’s important to realize smoking can also cause harm to dental implants as well. While quitting is always the best option for your health, there are alternatives that will give your dental implant the best chance of success if you continue to smoke.
How does smoking affect my dental implant?
Tobacco causes changes to blood flow, and reduces the amount of oxygen headed to your bone and gums. These reduced oxygen levels will prevent the body from healing quickly and creating strong support around the dental implant.
Using tobacco can also weaken your body’s immune response, which can lead to problems like gum disease and tooth loss. If you smoke, there is a higher chance of complications when you have a dental implant procedure.
How to quit
Quitting your smoking habit is always recommended and will also offer a better prognosis of your dental implant since it will extend the life of your dental implants. There are many ways to quit so it’s essential to find the right method that works for you. Some people gradually wean themselves off, while others quit cold turkey. You can also find quitting aids in your local pharmacies.
Other options
If you aren’t ready to quit just yet, there are some other things you can do during your healing process. Stopping or reducing smoking before and after a dental implant procedure has shown some signs in helping bone growth, and will help your immune system’s ability to fight off pathogens. However it’s still a risk to smoke and have an implant procedure done.
Getting dental implants will be a process that spans a couple of months from start to finish. Contact the professionals at Princeton Prosthodontics and Dental Implants to learn more about the procedure and what you can expect.