If I Smoked Can the Implant Still Take?

Ginger asks:
I recently had an implant put in a tooth that was a problem (tooth #12). It had two root canals and still couldn't be saved. My periodontist told me nothing about "not smoking before implants." I read about smoking and implant surgery today and stopped immediately. Am I too late, is there a chance now that the implant won't take? Is there a specific time I need to wait if I want to smoke again?

Answered by: Dr. Carlos Boudet

West Palm Beach, FL

Dear Ginger:

Smoking has a negative effect on blood flow and healing of the tissues, such as the bone and gums around implants. You have done the right thing by deciding to stop smoking.

The American Academy of Periodontology has published their opinion in a media release that states that when implants are placed in smokers they are more likely to fail than when placed in non-smokers. The article that they cite states that "the consumption of >20 cigarettes per day increases this risk to 30.8%."
You can view the AAP release here: http://www.perio.org/consumer/implant-failure.htm

Now that you are aware of the risk, it is a good opportunity to decide to quit smoking for good.

Hopefully you will have stopped in time not to cause your implant to fail.

Your surgeon will evaluate the healing over the next few months to make sure everything is ok.

Good Luck!

Carlos Boudet, DDS, DICOI
http://www.boudetdds.com