When considering dental implants, patients often ask about the impact of preexisting conditions on being able to proceed with an implant treatment plan, with questions around diabetes and high blood pressure being some of the most common.
Having high blood pressure or diabetes does not prevent you from having dental implants inserted. However, these conditions must be under control before the procedures can be initiated by your implant dentist or prosthodontist. To begin with, no surgical procedure should be performed on a patient with high blood pressure, even if the procedure is not being done under general anesthesia. An individual’s blood pressure needs to be under control prior to any implant surgery.
In addition, uncontrolled diabetes will adversely affect the long term prognosis of implants that are inserted in the jaw, as it will affect other parts of the body, as well. When a person has diabetes, it is imperative that he or she be controlled by medications, otherwise healing and the formation of new bone will be adversely affected and the implants will fail. Maintaining a strict diet that does not upset the sugar balance in the blood stream is imperative. If all of this performed with the glucose levels closely monitored such that the diabetes is under control, the implants should have a good prognosis, but that can change if the regimen is not adhered to.
So while dental implants are a viable treatment option for people with diabetes and high blood pressure looking to correct their smile, maintaining your medication and overall health related to these conditions is directly tied to the long term success of your implant treatment. Discuss your specific conditions in detail with your implant dentist or Prosthodontist, and a long-term healthy smile with dental implants can be yours.
