Gum Diseases And Dental Implants

Gum diseases ( periodontal diseases ) are not a contraindication for dental implants.

Gum disease is a disease of the cementum ( the layer that cover the root ) and the ligaments that attach a tooth to the bony socket. Once the tooth is removed , there is no more gum disease. However the mouth must be clean and all existing gum diseases in the mouth must be controlled.

Long term studies have shown that dental implants in patients with gum diseases are just as successful, provided patients’ oral hygiene is good and all existing gum inflammation in the rest of the mouth is treated . A regular maintenance program for professional cleaning by the dentist must be strictly enforced. 

The first visit consists of a thorough clinical and x-ray examination of your teeth and gums. This may include a cone-beam CT Scan. At this stage, the teeth are thoroughly scaled and polished . Good oral hygiene procedures will be taught by our hygienist and will be strictly enforced. In more advanced cases of gum diseases , deep cleaning or root planning will be carried out by our periodontist ( gum specialist ) .

2nd visit: teeth that are not responding to gum treatment are reassessed , and hopeless teeth are planned for removal. Molds are also taken to fabricate provisional teeth so that you will never leave the clinic without teeth !

3rd visit : Oral hygiene review .Hopeless loose teeth are removed and provisional teeth are installed.

Sometimes in the presence of minimal infection, implants can be installed at this stage.

4th visit : usually after a period of gum healing of 4-6 weeks , dental implants will be installed at this stage.

Recently , researchers have found that people with gum diseases are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease and stroke.

This is because oral bacteria in gum diseases can affect the heart when they enter the blood stream , attaching to fatty plaques in the heart blood vessels and contributing to clot formation . This blood clot will result in obstruction of normal blood flow and thus cause a heart attack. In the same way, oral bacteria from gum diseases can result in narrowing or obstructions of fine blood vessels in the brain resulting in a stroke.

Loose teeth due to gum diseases are associated with chronic infections. The xray on the left shows how advanced gum diseases of the premolar and molars have resulted in extensive bone loss in the lower jaw. By keeping these bad teeth, there will be further bone loss due to the presence of pus associated with bacterial infection.

By removing the bad teeth, the jaw bone is now free of chronic bacterial infection and in the absence of bone infection, bone healing and regeneration will occur. Therefore, teeth with advanced gum diseases should be removed as soon as possible to preserve as much bone as possible for dental implants placement.