Dental Implants When You Have Diabetes

I am thinking about getting dental implants. My concern is that I have diabetes and that there would be a complication. Please help.

Thank you.

Deb

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Dear Deb,

Dental implants work fine with patients who suffer from diabetes as long as the diabetes is in check and under control. If it is not under control complications can arise. During the 1980’s dental implants first came into existence. They became a great alternative in providing jaw and mouth stability while preventing jawbone re-absorption that is caused when teeth are missing.Over time, dental implants have only gotten betterand their success rate isvery high. Research now shows that there is only about a 6% rate of dental implant failure with patients with diabetes. And most of those patients did not have their diabetes under control and/or had been smokers.

When under control, the success rate for dental implants with a diabetic patient is very high. However,extra precautions should be taken withall diabetic patients and they should have an adequate screening and their health history made known to the dentist. Metabolic control for diabetic patients should be at an appropriate level before implant surgery andcontrol must be maintained throughout the healing process. Infection is always a concern. So it isrecommended that diabetic patients have a 10 day supply of antibioticsbeginning on the day of surgery. If a diabetic patient smokes, it is alsorecommended that he/she stop several days before surgery to reduce the possibility of implant failure.

This post was provided by Elgin dentist Dr. Steve Sirin.