How Long Implants Last
The part that lasts and the part that wears, the habits that shorten an implant's working life, and the daily and professional care that keeps it healthy.
How Many Years Should a Dental Implant Last?
With good care, the part of an implant that sits in the bone can serve for decades, often for the rest of your life; long-term research generally shows most implants still working ten or more years after they go in. The crown attached to it is a different matter: it wears as any crown does and may need renewing at some stage. What usually cuts an implant's life short is smoking, inflamed gums and missed hygiene appointments, which is why implants placed at Lanark carry a 5-year guarantee for non-smokers who attend hygiene visits every 3 months.
One Tooth, Three Parts
An implant tooth is easier to understand once you see it as three separate pieces, each with its own lifespan.
- The implant is the titanium post that bonds with your jawbone, and it's the piece designed to stay put. It can't decay, and as long as the surrounding gum and bone remain healthy, it seldom fails.
- The abutment is a small connector screwed into the implant. It can work loose or wear over time, and swapping it doesn't involve touching the implant.
- The crown is the tooth you see, and it absorbs every bite. Just like a crown on a natural tooth, it can wear or chip, and after a good number of years may have to be remade.
Replacing a crown after fifteen years counts as routine upkeep. It doesn't mean the implant has failed.
What Research Shows
Titanium implants of the modern kind have been in use since the 1960s. Study after study following patients over many years finds that most are still doing their job a decade or more after placement. How things go in your own mouth depends on your health, your habits and how well the implant is cared for, so no honest dentist will give you a fixed number of years. What we can tell you is which factors make the biggest difference.
Got Implants Already?
Plan B membership covers four Airflow hygiene appointments a year, a good fit for looking after implants.
Things That Shorten Its Life
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| Smoking or vaping | Cuts the blood supply to gum and bone, slowing healing and making inflammation and bone loss more likely |
| Peri-implantitis | Inflamed gum around the implant which, if left, wears away the bone holding it |
| Past gum disease | The bacteria responsible can target the gum around an implant too |
| Poorly controlled diabetes | Healing is slower and infections more frequent |
| Clenching or grinding | Puts excess force through the crown, the screw and the bone |
| Skipped dental examinations | Minor issues go unseen until they need more treatment |
| Poor planning | An implant set at the wrong angle or in thin bone has less support from day one |
Peri-Implantitis, Simply Put
Implants can't develop cavities, but the gum surrounding one can become inflamed, much as it can around a natural tooth. Plaque builds up where crown and gum meet, the gum swells and bleeds when brushed, and if nothing changes, the inflammation works its way down into the bone, which gradually shrinks back from the implant.
Caught early, while it's confined to the gum, it generally settles with a professional clean and better brushing at home. Ignored for years, it can leave the implant loose. So the way you clean around an implant has more bearing on its lifespan than anything else.
Caring for It at Home
- Twice a day, tilt a soft or electric brush into the gumline and work right round the implant
- Daily, clean each gap with an interdental brush of the right size; we'll show you which sizes fit
- Under bridges and full-arch teeth, where brushes can't get in, use a water flosser
- If you grind, wear a night guard; wear marks on your teeth will tell us if you do
- Give up smoking, and ask us if you'd like help with that
Professional Care
A hygiene appointment clears the hardened tartar a toothbrush can't shift. It also lets us look closely at the gum, track the bone level on X-rays and confirm that nothing has loosened. We advise implant patients to come in every three months, and keeping to that schedule is a condition of the guarantee.
Fiona Dyer, our hygienist, cleans around implants with Airflow, a gentle spray of fine powder and water that's kind to implant surfaces. Plan B membership covers four Airflow hygiene appointments a year and normally costs less than paying for each one separately. Details are on our dental plans page.
The Guarantee
We place MegaGen AnyRidge implants, which carry the CleanImplant Trusted Quality seal following independent testing for cleanliness. Implant treatment at Lanark includes a 5-year guarantee for non-smokers who attend hygiene visits every 3 months, and your consent form sets out the full terms. Failure is uncommon, but if it happens, the usual approach is to remove the implant, allow the site to heal and then place a new one. Our guide to failed implants walks through that process.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.