How can I prepare to get dental implants? Is there a checklist?

Here, I am providing you with the “golden list”. This is the list of things / procedures / investigations that you need to complete, before your implant placement process can be started. Your implant professional will generally follow a checklist like the one below. However, it can vary for each dental practitioner.

Thorough preoperative examinations are performed to assess your eligibility for getting dental implants, consisting of:

-Blood test

-Check / treatment of systemic diseases like diabetes and blood pressure

-Mouth examination

-Bite check and condition of the gum ridge to determine the size and position of the implants.

-Check for gum disease, tooth decay, and biting anomalies, if any.

-X-ray examination to determine bone height in the gum.

-Computer aided tomography (CT) is an x-ray examination procedure which generates 3-D images and helps in planning the implant sizes, positions and angulations.

-Preparations before implant treatment

• Treatment of gum disease and tooth decay of teeth which are to be kept.
• Correction of bite and prevention of bruxism (teeth grinding and clenching habits)

-Preparative surgery:

• Extraction of unwanted teeth (in case of full dentures)
• Bone grafting where necessary
• Gum grafting where necessary

The patient will need to observe the following:

-Lifestyle changes. Give up (gradually, if necessary) drinking and/or smoking. It will speed up recovery and prolong the life of the implants.

-Get rid of any cold, fever, or any other underlying medical or dental illness that may hamper implant healing and ossoeintegration. You cannot be considered for getting dental implants, unless you are completely physically fit.