Age alone tells us very little about whether someone can receive dental implants. As we get older, however, our health and our bodies change. Bone loss, chronic health conditions, medications, and frailty can affect surgical planning and healing, making an individual evaluation particularly important for older adults. A published case report on dental implants for seniors helps demonstrate why.
Researchers described a 77-year-old man with severe bone loss who took several medications and was too frail for extensive surgery. His loose lower denture was also making it difficult for him to eat. His dentist placed four mini dental implants using a minimally invasive procedure to secure the denture. Researchers followed him for eight years, during which the implants remained functional.
Dental implants aren’t limited to one size, design, or placement method. When age-related changes make one approach less suitable, another implant option may be a better fit. Today’s options give us more ways to adapt implant treatment to the changes that can come with age.
Are Dental Implants a Good Option for Seniors?
You may have heard that dental implants require a certain amount of bone or involve extensive surgery. If you have already experienced bone loss, that information can be discouraging. But not all dental implants have the same requirements.
Traditional dental implants are generally about 5 millimeters wide. At Diana Rodriguez & Associates, we use mini dental implants, which are less than 3 millimeters in diameter. Their smaller size requires less bone for placement. We can also place them using a minimally invasive technique that typically does not require incisions or stitches.
A concern that complicates conventional implant treatment may not affect mini implant treatment in the same way. Your bone structure, health, and ability to tolerate a procedure give us much more useful information than your age alone.
How Dental Implant Treatment Helps Our Patients
Many of the patients we see at Diana Rodriguez & Associates have dealt with missing teeth or dentures for years. Some come to us because their denture moves when they eat or speak. Some use adhesive every day and are tired of depending on it. Others have stopped eating certain foods because they do not trust their teeth to stay secure.
We have helped many of these patients with mini dental implants. Depending on what someone wants from treatment, we can stabilize a removable denture or use mini implants to support semi-removable or fixed teeth. A patient who still likes the convenience of removing a denture for cleaning doesn’t have to give that up to gain more stability.
For seniors who have worn dentures for years, the difference can address frustrations that have gradually become part of everyday life. An implant-supported denture connects to implants in the jaw, which helps keep it from lifting or shifting while you eat and speak. It also removes the need to depend on adhesive to hold the denture in place.
We often use dental implants for seniors who want more stability from their replacement teeth. You may want to keep a removable denture but stop depending on adhesive, or you may be ready for teeth that stay in place. Mini implants give us options for both, so we can focus treatment on what you want to change without replacing what already works for you.
Ask Us About Dental Implants for Seniors in Union City, NJ
Your age cannot tell you whether dental implants are an option, and neither can bone loss, a medical condition, or years of wearing dentures on its own. We have to look at your health, your available bone, and what you want your teeth to do differently before we can answer that question.
At Diana Rodriguez & Associates in Union City, we use 3D imaging to evaluate your bone and discuss which options make sense for you. Contact us to schedule a free consultation and find out whether mini dental implants can help you secure your denture or replace missing teeth.
