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A 40-year-old member asked:

How strong must jawbone be to get dental implant?

18 doctor answers35 doctors weighed in
Dr. Craig Fisk
Dentistry 14 years experience
Strong Jawbone: Your jawbone (especially lower jawbone) is almost always dense enough to support an implant. The real question is how thick and deep the bone is. If your dental surgeon feels that more bone is needed, he or she will discuss bone grafting options with you. Implants bond with the bone and will be very strong after some healing time. Smoking, diabetes, and osteoporosis can be a problem though.
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Dr. Matt Fulmer
Dentistry 17 years experience
It's about density: Bone density, width, and depth are the primary determining factors for implant success. These can be determined by your dentist.
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Dr. William Dapper
Dentistry 38 years experience
Depends: It depends on many factors including your overall health, the surrounding dentition and the quality and quantity of bone available. Whether or not u are a candidate depends on the volume of bone available. There must be adequate width and length of bone to place an implant that can heal and then sustain the bite forces placed on it.
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Dr. Gary Lederman
Dentistry 42 years experience
Bone quality: Bone quality can be measured with a ct-scan that looks at the shape of the bone as well as density. It varies by region of the mouth, as well as influenced by medications and physical condition. Different implants and techniques can be used for different bone types. It is rare today that sites cannot be successfully rehabilitated to receive an implant.
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Dr. Jonathan Neman
Dentistry 15 years experience
Not strength but...: Amount of bone you need to be concerned about. The dental implant needs to be in the bone. Best to get an evaluation, there have been many advances in bone augmentation/grafting that maybe able to add bone if necessary. See a dentist with experience in dental implants, good luck !
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Dr. Maryam Chiani
Dentistry 31 years experience
Dental implant: A patient should be thouroughly evaluated before implant placement. The quality of the bone as well as the availability of it is important and can be affected by the patient's state of health. Ie: osteoporosis.
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Dr. Jeffrey Bassman
Dentistry 47 years experience
Strong: The bone where the implant is to be placed needs to be strong for support.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Scott Frank
Immediate Implant Placement 36 years experience
Can't quantify...: But there are generally four different categories of bone types. Implants can be successful in all types but may require different healing times (2-6 months). The important criteria is implant stability, not bone strength.
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Dr. Brian Dorfman
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 21 years experience
Bone Density: Bone quality and quantity are both important. Quantity can be addressed with bone grafts, augmentation, or short or narrow implants. Quality or density can be addressed by compacting less dense bone with special instruments which increases the density . Osteoporosis is not a contraindications but some of the meds for it are.
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Dr. John Thaler
Prosthodontics 43 years experience
Depends: The only area we have any problems with in terms of bone density is the upper jaw. Mostly we are concerned with the amount and location and shape of the bone. The other concerns are the sinus location and the lower jaw nerve canal. If you have "normal" bone -- that is no special diseases, traume, etc. -- then there should be no problem with "strength". If initial stability is low, then you wait.
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Dr. Robert Tupac
Specializes in Prosthodontics
Typically OK: Dental implants are successful in all types of bone, hard or soft. Success rates may vary, but usually the biggest factor is that healing time differs according to bone density.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. James Vito
Prosthodontics 39 years experience
Depends: Dental implant success depends upon height and width of bone as well as the density of the bone. The density influences the amount of time that lapses between the placement of the implant and the final restoration.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Mark Venincasa
Dentistry - Cosmetic 37 years experience
See your dentist...: Your dentist can assist you with determining if the jawbone is strong enough. He/she can assist in determining the quality and quantity of jaw bone present.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. John Scuba
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 27 years experience
Bone and implants: It would be nice to "measure" the strength of bone prior to implants with some gadget or "meter". Many patients think only "bad bone" and "loss of calcium" causes tooth loss, when in fact lack of good hygiene, maintenance, and repair are more likely causes. So if your jaw ever held or is now holding teeth, then it's reasonable to assume implants will do fine.
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Dr. Gregory LaMorte
Periodontics 44 years experience
Bone Volume: The determining factor is the amount of bone in three dimensions. A cone beam 3d can give this information.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Kevin Owoc
Dentistry - Prosthodontics 21 years experience
Various Factors...: Dental implants are an option for many patients. However, there are many considerations which must be taken into account. These include your medical history, medications, bone availability for dental implants (both height and width), number of missing teeth, desired prosthesis, force considerations, esthetic concerns, and things such as clenching and grinding. See a prosthodontist.
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Dr. Eric Dale
Periodontics 28 years experience
Amount of bone: An implant needs to have enough thickness of bone to work. In most cases, the strength of bone is not the main issue. The density of the bone will determine how much healing time is needed. Similar to putting a cast on a broken bone, bone around an implant requires time to heal.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Don Millner
Dentistry - Cosmetic 45 years experience
H x W + Density!: The strength of the jaw bone necessary for an implant varies by the density of the bone, the height of the bone, the width of the bone and the size of the implant you are placing. Other factors include the load placed on the implant and the systemic health of the individual.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Last updated Nov 28, 2017
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