Dental implants are a great way to restore missing or damaged teeth. If you smoke, you may wonder if you can go through dental implant surgery and if the implants will be a success. Although you can get dental implants as a smoker, you need to know how your habit can impact your procedure. You can still get implants if you smoke, but there are some things you need to know:

How Does Smoking Impact Dental Implants?

There are several ways smoking can impact your dental implant procedure. First, smoking can harm the jawbone and your surrounding gums. Smoke can burn those tissues inside your mouth and can prevent your salivary glands from working properly. This results in dry mouth. When you do not have enough saliva, tooth decay and gum disease can occur. You risk weakened bones and gums that will not adequately support dental implants.

Nicotine also decreases your immune system. You need a strong immune system to properly heal from a dental implant procedure. Nicotine restricts blood flow through your gums and mouth tissues. Good blood flow is needed for proper healing.

Nicotine can also prevent proper fusing between the implant and your jawbone.

Can You Smoke After Your Dental Implant Surgery?

Just like any surgical procedure, there will be certain restrictions you have to consider to both properly prepare for your dental implant procedure and ensure you recover as quickly as possible.

Ideally, you should wait several months before you smoke once you have had your dental implant surgery. Right after your procedure, you will develop blood clots to help keep bacteria and food out of the surgical site. Any type of inhaling, whether with a cigarette, sucking on a straw, or doing any similar action, can loosen the blood clots. This results in a painful dry socket that can prevent you from healing properly. Waiting a few months allows your implants to fuse properly with your jawbone and fully heal. The longer you do not smoke, the better your mouth will heal.

You can get dental implants as a smoker if you have healthy gum tissue, and your jawbone is strong. To find out if you are a good candidate for dental implants and you smoke, you should visit a dentist for a consultation. They will look at the condition of your teeth, gums, and take x-rays to determine if a dental implant surgery would be successful.