Do Receding Gums Prevent You From Getting Implants?

Receding gums expose the roots of your teeth. This is something you must deal with before you can get dental implants because you need a stable, enough jawbone and healthy gum tissue for them to be successful. The best way of dealing with this is by having gum grafts.

Why You Can’t Get Dental Implants When You Have Receding Gums

Placing a dental implant in your mouth when you’re actively suffering from gum recession will leave your implant partially exposed. This means that it won’t have enough support to hold the crown that’s on top of the implant. It will also affect any surrounding natural teeth and put you at risk for developing a lot of other types of dental issues.

What Can Be Done?

Sometimes we can use a bone or tissue graft to reinforce your jaw and gums so that the implant surgery will be successful. A bone graft is a great way to reinforce your jaw so that the implant will have more support. On the other hand, a tissue graft will improve your gums so they can cover your tooth’s roots better and thus protect the implant. Typically, these grafts are done before the implant procedure and then you’re given enough time to heal so that we can make sure that the procedure was successful. This means that your jawbone and gum tissues are healthy and strong.

If you have receding gums it doesn’t mean that you can’t get a dental implant. It does mean that we’ll need to do some grafting before you can get one though. If you’d like to get more information about any of these procedures, please give our office a call. We’re happy to talk to you and provide you with all the information you need to make a good decision about any of these procedures.