Bone at the site, health of the gums, medical conditions and habits. Age is rarely the deciding factor, which surprises people. Most adults are implant candidates; the useful question is what would need addressing first.
Bone is the first and most common obstacle for an implant candidate, and the most fixable. A ridge that has narrowed since the tooth was lost can usually be rebuilt, which is what Ridge Augmentation does. That turns a no into a yes with extra months attached rather than a refusal.
Gum health matters because the tissue around a post behaves like the tissue around a tooth. Active gum disease is treated first, not worked around, since the same process that loosened your teeth will attack an implant. The mechanism is covered on Implant Risks.
Medical history and habits make up the rest, and this is where honesty at the Implant Consultation pays for itself.
Candidacy
How it is assessed
Working out dental implant suitability, in four steps
Medical history
Conditions, medications and past treatment. Some drugs, particularly certain bone medications, change the plan significantly.
Gum assessment
Active disease is treated before implants are considered, because the same bacteria affect a post the same way.
Bone measurement
A CBCT scan gives the height and width. Short of bone means grafting rather than refusal in most cases.
An honest conversation
Where the odds look poor, we say so with the reasons rather than proceeding and hoping.
The real risks
What lowers the odds for an implant candidate
Smoking is the largest modifiable factor and it is not a small effect. Uncontrolled diabetes is the next, though well controlled diabetes is much less of a concern than the diagnosis alone suggests. Certain bone medications, some taken for osteoporosis, carry specific risks that need discussing before any surgery. Heavy grinding overloads posts and may call for a night guard as part of the plan.
None of these rule out an implant candidate automatically. They change the odds, the plan or the conversation. Where implants genuinely are not the right answer, the alternatives are set out on Dentures Vs Implants and Implants Vs Bridge, and what you gain when they are suitable on Dental Implant Benefits.
SmokingLargest factor
BoneFixable
Gum diseaseTreated first
Read next
Next steps for a dental implant candidate in Victoria
What follows a yes, and what the alternatives look like.
Victoria dental implant candidate questions, answered
Age, diabetes, smoking, medications and gum disease.
Age on its own is rarely the deciding factor, and implants are routinely placed in people in their seventies and eighties. What matters more is bone, general health, medications and being able to manage the cleaning afterwards. Healing is a little slower with age but not prohibitively so.
Not usually. Control matters far more than the diagnosis. Well managed diabetes carries only a slightly raised risk; poorly controlled diabetes substantially raises the chance of the implant failing to integrate. We look at recent readings rather than the label on your records.
Yes, but you deserve the honest numbers, because smoking meaningfully raises the failure rate. Stopping even for the healing period improves the odds measurably. We will say this plainly rather than skirting it, and the decision stays yours.
Some do, particularly bisphosphonates and related bone drugs, blood thinners and immune suppressants. Most do not prevent treatment, but they change how it is planned and often require liaison with your doctor. High dose intravenous bone drugs given for cancer are the exception, because of the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw, and implants are usually avoided in that situation. Bring a full list to the consultation.
No, but it has to be treated and stabilised first rather than worked around. The same bacterial process that damages bone around teeth damages bone around implants. Treating it first is not a delay tactic; it is what makes the implant worth placing.
Victoria patients
What Victoria patients say about being assessed
★★★★★4.9· 118 reviews on Google
★★★★★
Assumed my diagnosis ruled me out. They explained why control mattered more than the label.
U. Mbeki
Diabetes, Victoria
★★★★★
Assumed 78 was too old to bother asking. They looked at the bone and my health instead of my birth year.
B. Sørensen
Age 78, Langford
★★★★★
Had to have the gum disease sorted before anything else. Frustrating but they explained exactly why.
H. Okoye
Gum treatment first, Colwood
★★★★
A smoker. They gave me the real failure numbers rather than a sales pitch and let me decide.
R. Lindgren
Told the honest odds, Saanich
From the blog
Victoria implant guides: candidacy, bone grafting and cost
Find out if you are a dental implant candidate in Victoria
Suitability is settled by an examination, a scan and a conversation about your medical history, not by a checklist online. Where something needs addressing first, you will hear what and roughly how long it adds.
