Dr. Mounir Iskandar is a leading dental health specialist serving patients in and around Irving. The practice offers advanced treatments to address aesthetic issues as well as problems with dental wellness.
Dental implants have proven effective at treating tooth loss, allowing patients to laugh, smile, bite, chew, and speak with confidence again. Of course, smoking can be a major setback to the treatment process. Let’s take a look at how smoking affects implant dentistry right now.
ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS
Dental implants are artificial tooth roots that are surgically embedded in your jawbone and gum tissue. These artificial tooth roots fuse with the hard and soft tissues of the mouth, essentially becoming new roots that can support various kinds of restorative appliances, such as dental crowns, dental bridges, and dentures.
Dental implants are a great option for many people who are missing teeth since they help support appliances and also help fight gum recession and bone loss, two problems often associated with missing teeth.
THE EFFECTS OF SMOKING ON DENTAL WELLNESS
Smoking is bad for your health in general, and it can have a major impact on your dental wellness.
For one, smoking can increase the risk of developing oral cancers later in life. In addition, smoking will cause issues with tooth discoloration and stains as well as bad breath.
The most important issue to consider about smoking in this regard, however, is that tobacco products make gum disease more likely. This refers to the bacterial infection of the gums, that can lead to gum recession and a host of other problems.
HOW SMOKING AFFECTS DENTAL IMPLANT SURGERY RECOVERY
If you smoke while recovering from dental implant surgery, you are putting the entire treatment process at risk.
Smoking will slow down your body’s ability to heal, which means that the months-long healing process necessary for implant dentistry will be extended if you smoke. If you smoke, the dental implants may not properly fuse with your bone and gums.
Since smoking increases your risk of gum disease, this means that the use of tobacco products while healing will make infection more likely. This could mean failure of the dental implants process.
BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT
Given the risks above, it’s important that patients avoid smoking before they undergo dental implants surgery and as they are recovering from the procedure as well. This will put the patient in an optimal position to heal properly and free from complications. Successful implant dentistry treatment is of the utmost importance, and it should not be jeopardized by any sort of bad habit given the cost of treatment and the amount of time necessary.
CONSULT WITH HEALTH EXPERTS TO HELP YOU KICK THE HABIT
If you are a smoker and would like to kick the habit for good, it’s important that you meet with your general practitioner to receive tips on quitting. There are many resources out there for people who would like to quit smoking, and your doctor can help to make smoking a thing of the past.
CONTACT RADIANCE DENTISTRY
To learn more about dental implants and how they can help you have a healthy and beautiful smile, we encourage you to contact our advanced dentistry and oral surgery center today. Dr. Mounir Iskandar and the entire team will help you make the best possible choices about your dental wellness.