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Reviewed by a licensed dentistTreatment: ImplantCode: D6010 and othersQuestion: Trade-offs

Implant: risks and benefits

The short answer

Implants have a strong track record: more than 9 in 10 are still in place after ten years. They don't involve the neighboring teeth and feel close to a natural tooth. The trade-offs are surgery, cost, months of healing, and the need to care for them like natural teeth, because the gum and bone around them can get diseased too.

Side by side

Benefits

  • Long-lasting: large research reviews find more than 9 in 10 implants are still in place after 10 years
  • Doesn't require filing down the neighboring teeth, as a bridge does
  • Fixed in place, with nothing to take out
  • Chews and feels close to a natural tooth
  • Helps preserve the bone where the tooth was
  • The implant itself can't get a cavity (though the gum and bone around it still need care)

Risks and downsides

  • Surgery, with some swelling and soreness for a few days
  • Takes time: often several months from start to finish, longer with a graft
  • Usually costs more than a bridge or partial denture
  • Gum and bone around an implant can get inflamed and infected (peri-implantitis). About 1 in 7 people with implants has this after 10 years, and it's more common with smoking, diabetes, or a history of gum disease
  • The crown or its screw can loosen or chip, and the porcelain can wear. Heavy grinding raises the odds, so a night guard may be suggested
  • Lower back implants sit near a nerve. Some people have numbness or tingling in the lip or chin afterward. It usually fades within weeks to months; numbness that lasts is uncommon
  • Upper back implants sit near the sinus and can occasionally cause sinus problems that need treatment
  • A 3D X-ray before surgery helps the dentist plan around the nerve and sinus
  • Some implants don't fuse with the bone and have to be removed and redone

Questions to ask

  • What could make an implant less successful for me?
  • How should I clean around it, and how often should it be checked?
  • What happens if it doesn't heal into the bone?
  • What would you do if the crown loosens later?
  • How close is the implant to the nerve or sinus, and how will you plan around it?
  • Before we schedule, can I get my cost in writing? (A predetermination if I'm using insurance, or a good faith estimate if I'm paying myself.)

When a second opinion makes sense

Reasonable if you have health risks (smoking, diabetes, past gum disease) and aren't sure an implant is the best fit, or if the plan seems more complex than you expected.

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