Dental Implants and Smoking

One of the worst habits that harm oral and dental health is smoking. Tobacco products cause discoloration of teeth and bacteria formation. In the long term, it causes tooth loss due to dental caries. People who have lost their teeth can achieve the new teeth they dream of with implant treatment. However, regular smoking causes implants to fail. For this reason, dentists do not recommend the use of tobacco products during treatment. Implants are parts that are no different from natural teeth due to their structure. Therefore, proper maintenance is very important.

Dental Implants and Smoking Negative Effects

If the patient to be treated with the implant smokes at a level of up to one pack a day, the chance of failure of the treatment is quite high. Many dentists consider the treatment of people who use tobacco as risky. All risks related to the application are reported to the patients by the dentists before starting the treatment. After the patient accepts all the risks, the implant process is started. The patient is informed not to use tobacco immediately after the surgical procedure. Many toxic substances in tobacco products damage the implant and gingival tissue, which are in the healing process. It harms the healing process. Although the implants are closed with sutures, these areas are open wounds. For this reason, dentists recommend patients to quit smoking even for a few weeks. The ideal method is to give up smoking completely. Even if the person consumes a small amount of tobacco, he should regularly and carefully take care of his mouth and teeth. Tooth brushing, flossing and mouthwash procedures should be done on a daily basis. It is important to go to regular dentist control after the implant treatment is completed. Regular doctor control is recommended in order not to experience any negativities after the treatment.

The main negative effects of smoking are:

• It causes dry mouth.
• By disrupting the structure of saliva, it causes the saliva to lose its protective feature.
• It causes staining on the teeth, loss of papillae, bacteria formation.
• As it damages natural teeth, it also damages implants and shortens the life of implants.

Can Smokers Have Implants?

There is no harm in having implants for people who smoke and use tobacco. However, the treatment decision should be made after being examined by the dentist in terms of the course of treatment. Considerable results have been obtained in research on dental implants and smoking. According to the results, the implant failure rate of people who use tobacco increases by up to 20 percent compared to people who do not smoke. Many dentists advise their patients to limit the number of cigarettes to a maximum of 10 cigarettes per day. Regular tobacco use causes both tooth loss and tissue loss in the jawbone. The higher the daily amount of cigarettes, the more tissue loss will increase accordingly. After the clinical examination, the dentist informs the patient about all the details about cigarette consumption. Before starting the treatment, the application plan including the risks is presented to the people.

Success Rate of Implant Treatment in Smokers

Tobacco or cigarette consumption negatively affects the course of treatment in implant applications, as in all dental treatments. The nicotine in cigarettes damages the salivary gland and causes dryness in the mouth. At the same time, it slows down the blood flow to the tissues and constricts the vessels. Therefore, the tissues cannot obtain the amount of blood they need. Therefore, due to low oxygen, it causes a delay in the immune system’s responses. Tissues of smokers and tobacco smokers heal more slowly and more difficult than in non-smokers. In implant treatment, screws are mounted on the patient’s jawbone. It takes a certain amount of time for the screw to fuse with the bone. Smoking negatively affects the recovery and integration period. Implants that heal in the late period have a shorter lifespan and threaten bone health. Studies have shown that the majority of smokers suffer from implant failure. The deterioration has been proven to be due to tobacco smoke. Bone loss increases in people who do not pay attention to oral hygiene in addition to smoking. For this reason, it is necessary to stay away from tobacco products for gum and dental health.

When Can I Smoke After Implant Surgery?

Experts recommend that you do not smoke for the first three days after receiving implant treatment. Especially if the teeth were extracted at the same time during the operation, the problem of dry socket, ie alveolitis, may occur. After teeth are extracted; Deterioration of the structure occurs due to blood clotting in the place where the teeth are located. While smoking, deterioration occurs in the damaged area due to the sucking action. The exposed bone tissue is infected by smoking. For this reason, experts state that smoking should not be smoked after the treatment. It is stated that smoking should be stopped at least for the first three days after the treatment. Since implants have a healing process, smoking should be stopped until the healing process is completed. The healing process of implants mounted on the jawbone takes an average of 3 months. It is very important not to smoke for 3 months in order for the implants to fuse with the bone in a healthy way. In this way, the implants will heal in a short time. It is definitely not recommended to consume cigarettes during the treatment, both before and after the surgery. Smoking is among the factors that cause treatment failure.