Age Limits and Dental Implants—the Right Number

Missing teeth can be a source of discomfort, unease, and insecurity for anyone. No matter your age, anyone would opt for the opportunity to replace their missing teeth with an alternative that would allow them to continue their regular oral functioning and give them a smile that looks natural.

Losing a tooth, or a number of teeth, is not entirely dependent on the age of a person. The reasons, however, greatly differ across the age spectrum. Past the age of 65, people tend to have at least one missing tooth. This may be owing to decades of poor hygiene, disease, and decay. For younger people, teeth are usually lost in accidents or when they sustain injuries while playing sports.
Either way, dental implants offer several benefits: the titanium root secures the tooth and allows other teeth to stop moving from their positions, they appear natural, and allow you to continue doing everything you were doing before without fear or embarrassment.

While age doesn’t necessarily determine whether an individual can get dental implants, it does have different implications for people at each end of the spectrum.

Are you too young for implants?

If you are younger than 18 years of age, dental implants are usually not recommended; this is primarily owing to the fact that the procedure requires healthy bone mass and a fully developed jaw. Since this doesn’t happen until early adulthood, at the earliest, it is not advised. While a fixed age is not a prerequisite, jaw development definitely is.

For people younger than 18, the consent of parents or a guardian is also imperative before the procedure can begin. There may be other alternatives that can be considered to help a minor deal with the aftermath of losing a tooth since implants may not always be advisable.

How old is too old?

An upper age bracket isn’t set that determines whether you can or cannot get dental implants past a certain age. There are, however, certain requirements that must be met beforehand.

Along with general health, bone mass, strong gums free of periodontal diseases, good oral hygiene, and the ability to undergo the procedure are prerequisites. The procedure is often very successful for people who are 80–90 years of age, but anyone over 65 years old is a good candidate for it.
If you’re looking to perfect your smile or do away with the hassle of removable dentures, Advanced Dental Center offers an array of services to give you just that! We provide dental care and preventative dentistry in Germantown, MD.

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