People who have lost teeth due to decay often wonder, can you have dental implants with gum disease? Gum disease leads to bone loss, and dental implant surgery requires a healthy jawbone with adequate tissue density to support the implant post.
While you cannot get dental implants with active gum disease, you may become a candidate once you address the issue and your mouth is healthy. Learn the facts about periodontal disease and how it affects dental implants.
What is Gum Disease?
Gum disease, also called periodontal disease, is an infection of the soft tissue and ligaments that hold your teeth in place. You may have gum disease if you have: 
- Red or swollen gums
- Tender or bleeding gums when you brush or floss
- Painful chewing
- Constant bad breath
- Loose or sensitive teeth
- Receding gums
Gum disease occurs when bacteria form a sticky biofilm called plaque that hardens into a tartar calculus along the gum line. Tartar irritates the gum tissue, causing inflammation. If inflammation remains untreated, mild gum disease (gingivitis) can develop into an infection called periodontitis.
Can you have dental implants with active gum disease? Because periodontal disease causes bone loss, an active infection reduces the likelihood of successful dental implant surgery, making you ineligible for dental implant surgery.
Treating Gum Disease
Gum disease can be treated in several ways, starting with good oral hygiene habits. Floss twice a day and brush after every meal to help eliminate plaque. Before flossing, use a hand sanitiser to avoid introducing any other bacteria into your oral microbiome. Use fluoridated toothpaste and a mouth rinse designed for periodontal disease.
Schedule more frequent visits to the dentist to have your teeth cleaned and your gums checked. Your dentist can use an ultrasonic scaler to eliminate tartar that you cannot remove with brushing alone. Your dentist can also evaluate your oral health and dental hygiene habits and suggest changes to help protect your gums, such as changing your brushing technique.
Your diet also plays a significant role in oral health care and helps you alleviate the symptoms of periodontal disease. Foods that support gum health include:
- Foods rich in vitamin C (oranges, kiwi, spinach)
- Fibre (ground flax, whole grains, non-starchy vegetables)
- Omega-3 essential fatty acids (salmon, fish oil, avocados)
- Dairy products (cheese, yoghurt, kefir)
However, to reduce the number of harmful bacteria and plaque in your mouth, you should avoid:
- Highly refined carbohydrates (white flour, white bread, pasta)
- High-sugar items (cookies, cakes, candies)
- Alcoholic beverages
- Hydrogenated items (deep-fried, junk food, heavily processed)
- Beverages with a lot of sugar or acid (coffee, soft drinks, fruit juice)
Dental Implant Procedure
Knowing how the dental implant procedure works can help determine if you can have dental implants after gum disease. The dental implant process consists of several appointments over a few months. This includes treatment planning, implant surgery, bone growth evaluation, abutment placement, and restoration placement.
Unfortunately, gum disease impacts implant surgery and bone growth, so you must treat it before undergoing the procedure. Your dentist makes an incision in the gum and drills a hole in the jawbone to surgically embed the implant post. Once it is in place, your dentist seals the surgical site.
Once the post fuses with your jawbone, you revisit your dentist to have the abutment (connector) added. The wound is reopened to do this and takes about two weeks to heal. After the site has healed, it is topped with a dental crown, denture, or bridge.
Getting Dental Implants After Gum Disease
During treatment planning, your dentist will do a CBCT X-ray to get a full, three-dimensional view of your jaws, teeth, nerves, and sinuses. Your dentist carefully examines how much bone you have available.
Your dentist may determine that you do not have enough bone depth, width, or density to receive implants, and in that case, recommend a bone graft or sinus lift.
Bone graft
A socket or ridge preservation graft is when a small piece of bone is added to the tooth socket. This procedure protects the remaining bone and ensures there is enough depth for the stability of the post. People with a history of gum disease often get this procedure.
A ridge augmentation graft increases the width of your jaw to provide room for stable implant posts. People who have battled chronic periodontal disease and have been missing teeth for some time are most likely to need this procedure.
Sinus lift
If gum disease has caused tooth loss in your upper jaw, your dentist may recommend a sinus lift. This procedure increases bone depth, protects the sinus membrane, and provides enough bone for an appropriately sized implant post.
Your dentist lifts the sinus membrane back into the proper position and places a bone graft between the membrane and the existing bone.
Healing from these procedures takes a few months but provides a more substantial platform for dental implants, yielding superior results.
Preventing Recurrence of Gum Disease
Maintaining an excellent oral health care regimen is essential after getting dental implants. Research shows that patients with a history of periodontal disease have higher implant failure rates.
Patients previously treated for periodontal disease had higher rates of bone loss and peri-implantitis, an inflammatory condition occurring at the implant site.
Our Commitment to Cleanliness
At No Gaps Dental, we are committed to providing safe and sterile surgeries to protect the health and safety of our patients and staff. We thoroughly clean each patient room between appointments with clinical-strength detergent.
We clean dental instruments by scrubbing, ultrasonic vibration, heat, and high-pressure steam. This process ensures every instrument is free of any debris and bacteria.
Our staff cleans their hands with hand sanitiser before and after every patient contact. We also provide hand sanitiser in the waiting areas for your convenience.
Get Started on the Path to Your New Smile
Dental implants are an excellent option for tooth replacement, providing the most natural-looking and convenient result. Treating gum disease takes some time and effort, but you will love the results and the confidence boost.
Contact No Gaps Dental today on (02) 8806 0227 to make an appointment for an oral health evaluation. If you show signs of gum disease, your dentist can explain the answer to, ‘Can you have dental implants with active gum disease?’ and create a treatment plan to eliminate periodontal disease.
Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
References
A systematic review of implant outcomes in treated periodontitis patients
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26381260/
Periodontal (Gum) Disease
https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/health-info/gum-disease
Dental Bone Graft
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/21727-dental-bone-graft