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Can you get dental implants if you have gum disease? Question

Not while gum disease is active. Untreated gum disease makes implants a poor option, so it must be treated and controlled first. People who lost teeth to gum disease can still get implants. A systematic review found implants are not ruled out for them with good infection control and regular maintenance, though their peri-implantitis risk is higher.

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What to know

  • A good candidate has enough jawbone and gums free of periodontal disease.
  • A 2014 meta-analysis found no significant difference in implant survival for people with a history of periodontitis.
  • The same review found more bone loss and peri-implantitis in that group.

Sources

  1. Cleveland Clinic: Dental Implants
  2. AAP: Dental Implant Procedures
  3. Schou. Implant treatment in periodontitis-susceptible patients: a systematic review. J Oral Rehabil, 2008 (PubMed 18181930)
  4. Ramanauskaite et al. Effect of history of periodontitis on implant success. Implant Dent, 2014 (PubMed 25343317)

Reviewed by , Director of IT and Medical Compliance: 25 years in dentistry, medicine and HIPAA compliance. Updated . Checked against the sources listed. General information, not medical advice.

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