i am 43 and have very severe gum disease which has resulted in me losing quite a few teeth. I have, as a result lost a lot of bone and wear a partial denture. i was considering a fixed denture or implants but my dentist is not qualified in the bone grafting needed to make this option possible. it is causing me some distress now and i’m finding it hard to get the proper advice. could you explain whether bone grafting and implants may be an option and how successful this process is. I am a smoker, but am taking steps to quit. Can you help?
Thanks for your question.
Firstly congratulations on taking steps to stopping smoking – this will vastly improve your oral health and make many treatments more successful.
The first step before considering implants or bone grafting would be to get your gum disease under control. For this you would probably need several appointments with an experienced hygienist who would clean the surfaces of the teeth below the gum line to remove the infection and show you how to maintain excellent oral health at home.
A consultation with an experienced implantologist would be required and diagnostic imaging such as x-rays and possibly a CT scan would be required to determine what bone is available for dental implants or what areas may be suitable for augmentation with grafting techniques.
Bone grafting and dental implants can be very successful procedures but it’s essential that any gum disease infection is treated. It should be noted that success rate for the treatments is much lowers in patients that smoke; so you’ve really done a great thing by starting to stop and you’ll feel great overall health benefits too.
Regards
George Glover BDS MSc
Dr Glover
Fergus and Glover
160 Union St Aberdeen AB10 1QT
Web : www.fergusandglover.co.uk Tel: 012 246 44876
