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September 1, 2016 Can You Get Dental Implants If You Have Diabetes?
Yes, You Can Have Dental Implants
Even if a diabetic patient manages his or her condition well, it can still be frustrating for their contraindication to deny them certain medications and surgeries. Previously, diabetes was a potential risk factor for those who wanted to get dental implants and replace missing teeth.
Since diabetics have a harder time healing well and quickly, many of these patients’ implants would fail and they wouldn’t be able to replace their missing teeth.
Successful Dental Implants
The good news is that new technologies have made it easier for you to have successful implants if you have diabetes.
How Synthetic Biomaterial Can Help
Because dental implants are fused to the jaw bone, it is imperative that you have strong bones and supporting tissues. Diabetics are prone to joint and bone disorders—like osteoporosis, which reduces bone mass and strength—so, this can greatly affect the success rate of an implant fusing.
However, the Journal of Oral Implantology related some research which showed that when fluoride was mixed with a bioresorbable material (called synthetic hydroxyapatite), cell growth increased! This mixture activated osteoblasts, which are bone-making cells, meaning that there was bone regeneration.
Coating the Implant with a Bioactive Material
Another similar study found at the National Center for Biotechnology Information also shows that certain factors can improve the success rate of implants. One factor was coating the implant with a bioactive material—like the one previously mentioned—to help the implant integrate into the bone.
If you know your jaw bones are weak, you can talk to your dentist about this kind of procedure or even a bone graft. And even though you would have to delay your procedure for this process to take effect, it would be worth it in the long run if it meant that your implants took.
What Can you Do to Increase the Odds?
According to Dear Doctor, there is no reason these days that a diabetic cannot get implants, as long they are exercising, watching their diet, and documenting their blood glucose levels. If you aren’t doing any of these things now, it may be a good time to start.
Get HbA1c tested
You can improve and figure out if your body can control its blood sugar over longer periods of time by getting a test that checks a blood marker called “HbA1c.” Testing this marker can give you a good idea of your glucose levels over a period of about three months. If your doctor shows that your average glucose levels are steady, then you may want to set up a consultation with your dentist to show him or her that you can manage your condition.
Lastly, you will want to change any other contraindications that you have control over—like smoking for instance. Smokers have a decreased rate of success because their habit shrinks blood vessels, which are needed for proper blood flow and healing. If you can whittle down other risk factors and just focus on improving your diabetes, you may have closer to your goals of replacing lost teeth.
