However much you want dental implants, you can't just get them at a moment's notice. To ensure your dental work goes well, you'll need to see whether you're a good treatment candidate first. After all, only people with the right qualities can receive implant posts for their smile. As for what those traits are, they aren't some hidden secrets. Just keep reading to learn the four key qualities of a good dental implant candidate.

Which Qualities Do Good Dental Implant Candidates Have?

All in all, the best candidates for dental implants have four crucial characteristics. These are the following:

Dedication to Oral Hygiene

While dental implants don't decay, the best candidates for them still need a strong commitment to oral hygiene. These posts depend on good smile care, as they fuse with your jaw and only remain secure when nearby teeth and gums are strong. If cavities or gum disease occur next to an implant post, they could loosen your new tooth and make it fail. That means patients who neglect their grins put their restored smiles at risk.

Healthy Gums

A good dental implant candidate will also have healthy gums. Since implant posts behave like natural teeth, they rely on gum tissue to remain stable over time. It follows that infected or inflamed gums would put your final implants in danger, as they can cause gum recession. The latter would slowly but surely detach your implants, ensuring their failure.

A Strong Jaw

Along with healthy gums, great candidates for dental implants have strong jaws. Implant posts must anchor to your jawbone to work, so they depend on your jaw's dense bone tissue to remain stable. This anchoring won't happen if your jawbone is weak and lacks enough tissue. On the contrary, a patient would find that their implants lack support and can't stay in place.

No Drinking or Smoking

To be a good dental implant candidate, you mustn't drink or smoke excessively. These habits have effects that disrupt the implant fusion process – osseointegration – and cause implant failure. In particular, alcohol can cause tissue loss in your jaw and make an implant hard to place. Smoking would also increase your risk of gum disease – an issue that slows treatment recovery and loosens implants.

What About Good Candidates for All-on-4?

You know the qualities needed for dental implants, but what about All-on-4 requirements? Perhaps you'd prefer an implant denture instead of just the posts.

The truth is that good All-on-4 candidates have the same qualities as good dental implant candidates. Since the final denture is secured by specific implants, it depends on what the posts need – good oral hygiene, healthy gums, etc. The whole device would fail if key implant supports stopped working.

If a good All-on-4 candidate needs anything extra, it'd be more regular dental visits. Their entire smile is ruined when certain implants fail, so they must keep their posts functional.

Remember to Consult Your Dentist

Even with the points above, you should consult your dentist about your dental implant candidacy. They're the only ones who can know for sure whether you qualify for the posts.

Don't forget that dentists know more about oral health than you do. By performing a close oral exam, they can confirm whether your mouth is healthy enough to support implant posts. (Some dentists even have the technology to check your jaw for implant treatment's required bone density.) After they review their findings and draw conclusions, they'll tell you if dental implants suit you.

Would you like to learn more about good dental implant candidates? If so, consult your dental provider – they'll gladly share the relevant details!