Can People with Heart Disease Get Dental Implants?

Can People with Heart Disease Get Dental Implants?

April 1, 2022

Heart patients generally need to lead a cautious lifestyle for the rest of their lives. Any other health complication or medical procedure can easily aggravate their heart problem, leading to further problems. The stakes are much higher when you need to undergo a multiple-step procedure. Until recently, dental implants used to be such procedures that heart patients avoid. Modern dentistry, however, has flipped many practices and treatment protocols today.

What Are Dental Implants?

They are small screw-like titanium metal posts that replace missing teeth. Union dentists erect the metal posts in the jawbone through oral surgery, hence replacing the roots of lost teeth. When you decide to get dental implants in Union, you would require a different procedure from the implantation surgery. The dentist will install a different oral appliance, either a dental crown, dental bridge, or denture. The appliances cover the implants to replace the crowns of teeth. The entire process may take about four months to complete.

Are Dental Implants Worth It?

Given that other alternatives for replacing teeth are available in dentistry, one would wonder why many people prefer dental implants. While it may all be a matter of preference, the following aspects make dental implants unique for replacing lost teeth:

  1. Sturdiness – the titanium material creates a sturdy tooth root that cannot break easily. Besides, the process of getting implants dictates that the metal post be erected in the jawbone. As such, a tooth implant closely matches the sturdiness of natural teeth as no other oral appliance can.
  2. Bio-compatibility – though metal is involved, you do not need to worry about allergic reactions. Titanium is a unique material used in various fields of medicine because it is bio-compatible, integrating well in the natural bone tissue of your body.
  3. Durability – once you get dental implants, it is a permanent solution to tooth loss. You can go ahead and forget the need for dental repairs or repeat procedures to replace your lost natural teeth. This benefit makes dental implants especially unique since many oral appliances for replacing lost teeth only last a few years before you must replace them.

Understanding Implantation Procedures for Heart Patients

If you have any type of heart disease, dental care measures that involve surgery are a tall order for you. Usually, with cardiovascular diseases, doctors prescribe regimens of blood thinners for long-term use. Therefore, surgery becomes a risky procedure because the blood thinners could impact the clotting process necessary to control bleeding. Since the idea of stopping your medication just to get implants is a little far-fetched and could aggravate your heart condition, dental experts must consider a different approach to implantation surgeries.

Flapless Surgical Technique for Dental Implants

One of the considerations that our dental team at Emerald Dental Spa has to make for heart patients is the speed of treatment. The longer a heart patient is under treatment, the more likely complications are to arise. Besides speed, dentists have to factor in reducing bleeding, especially in the site of anticoagulants.

The flapless surgical technique involves drilling the dental implant straight through the soft tissue into the jawbone. It means that the oral surgeon bypasses the step for making an Incision on your gum tissue. Studies around the effectiveness of the technique reveal that patients are likely to experience lesser bleeding and shorter recovery periods than through the typical implantation surgery. However, more research is underway to ensure that the technique indeed lowers the risks of complications for heart patients by a significant percentage.

Should You Get Implants if You Have Heart Disease?

The matter of replacing your teeth relative to your heart health is not a simple thing. You must be critical to evaluate the risks versus benefits before you decide. More importantly, maintain a constant liaison between your cardiologist and dentist to determine what would work best for you. Some heart patients have a higher risk of complications than others, given the current state of their hearts.

Fortunately, should dental implants not be suitable for you, you can explore other tooth replacement options in dentistry, including dentures and dental bridges. Ultimately, preserving your health should be the priority, overriding any preferences you may have.

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