How Long Implants Last

The Short Answer

Implants are made to last for decades, and the large majority do. Long-term research generally finds well over 90% still in place ten years on. The very first patient to receive a modern titanium implant, back in 1965, still had them when he died around forty years later. What does wear is the visible crown, which is often renewed somewhere between year 10 and year 15, exactly as an ordinary crown would be. The implant itself, anchored in bone, generally goes nowhere.

Three Parts, Three Lifespans

An implant restoration has three components. The implant is the titanium post anchored in the jaw. The abutment is a small connecting piece fixed to the top of it. The crown is the visible tooth. The implant is the part built to last a lifetime. Both the abutment and the crown can be swapped without disturbing it, so a crown that chips after twelve years means a repair, not a new implant.

What Cuts an Implant's Life Short

• Smoking, which starves the gum and bone of blood supply and markedly increases the risk of problems
• Inflammation around the implant, known as peri-implantitis, which if ignored destroys the bone holding it
• Diabetes that is not well controlled, which slows healing and makes infection more likely
• Clenching or grinding hard, putting more strain on the crown, its screw and the bone than they are designed for
• Skipped dental examinations, so a loosening screw or early inflammation is missed until it needs bigger treatment
• Weak planning or inaccurate placement, the reason each implant here is mapped on our CT scanner and inserted through a MegaGen R2 guide

Peri-Implantitis Explained Simply

Titanium cannot decay, yet the gum that surrounds an implant is just as prone to inflammation as gum around a natural tooth. Plaque builds up at the gum line, the gum swells and bleeds, and if nobody removes the plaque the inflammation moves down into the bone, which begins to recede from the implant. Found early, it can be reversed with cleaning. Found late, it can loosen the implant. That is why daily cleaning and regular hygiene visits are not extras: they decide how long your implant lasts.

Caring for an Implant at Home

• Brush morning and night with a soft brush, working around the gum line of the implant
• Clean between your teeth daily with interdental brushes in the right sizes
• Use a water flosser around bridges and full-arch teeth, where it does the most good
• If you grind, protect the implant with a night guard; the wear pattern on your teeth will tell us if you do
• Stop smoking, and ask us about support to quit before treatment

Professional Care

A hygiene visit removes hardened deposits you cannot shift at home, and lets us inspect the gum and bone at every implant and confirm the screws are still tight. For implant patients we advise a visit every three months, and our guarantee depends on keeping to that. These visits are with our hygienist, Stefanie Goodall. Plan B membership, at £40.16 a month, includes four Airflow hygiene visits and two dental examinations a year, and saves £134.08 a year compared with paying for each separately. Our dental plans page gives the details.

Our Guarantee

Our implants are MegaGen AnyRidge, a system holding the CleanImplant Trusted Quality seal, which tests how clean implants are when they leave the manufacturer. Implant treatment here comes with a five-year guarantee for non-smokers who keep up three-monthly hygiene visits, and your consent form sets out the full terms before treatment begins. In the rare event that an implant fails, it can usually be taken out and replaced after the bone has had time to heal. Our guide to failed implants explains how.

Questions

This guide explains the options in general terms. Only an examination can tell you which of them suits your own teeth.