Dental implants look and function just like natural teeth. And they are usually a great long-term tooth replacement option.
But how long do dental implants actually last?
What is the Average Lifespan of Dental Implants?
With proper placement by a skilled dentist and excellent long-term care, dental implants can often last for life. In fact, dental implants have one of the highest long-term success rates of any implanted medical device. Multiple studies have found that 95-98% of dental implants can survive 10 to 20 years or longer with appropriate care and maintenance.
Also, it’s important to note that there is no pre-determined “expiration date” for dental implants. They are designed to be a permanent tooth replacement solution as long as you care for them properly.
As you age, your mouth and dental needs will change. But with good oral hygiene and regular dental visits, your implants should last for many years to come.
What Factors Determine Dental Implant Longevity?
There are several key factors that influence how long dental implants will last:
Surgical Placement and Healing
A successful implant surgery with proper placement and healing sets the foundation for the long-term success of your implant. This is so especially when you consider the fact that issues like poor bone quality or density, bone loss, infections during healing, etc. can lead to failure later on. And so your oral surgeon must have advanced skills and experience with implant placement protocols to guarantee long-term success.
The Material of the Implant Itself
Most dental implants today are made from biocompatible titanium. Titanium has the unique ability to fuse with your living jawbone over time in a process called osseointegration. This creates a very stable and durable anchor for your false tooth. With its inherent durability and compatibility with bone and gums, a titanium implant can easily last 20-30 years or longer.
Design of the Parts and Connections
Well-made implants have strongly interconnected parts designed to handle normal chewing forces long-term without failing or loosening. The connections must prevent bacteria from entering and infecting the bone area around the implant.
Excellent Oral Hygiene at Home
To keep dental implants healthy for as long as possible, you must know how to maintain fantastic at-home dental hygiene. This includes brushing, flossing, antibacterial rinses, regular dental cleanings and checkups, etc. to prevent harmful plaque buildup and infection around implants.
Avoiding Trauma and Excessive Force
You should avoid trauma to the mouth area where you have implants, as accidents can damage the stability of implants over time. Also, excessive biting forces beyond the normal range can weaken implants if done long enough. This is why dental specialists adjust your bite properly around implants.
General Health and Lifestyle Factors
Things like diabetes, autoimmune disorders, osteoporosis, smoking, alcohol abuse, drugs, and more extreme lifestyle choices can negatively affect the longevity of dental implants. Your overall health impacts your body’s ability to heal and integrate implants over decades.
As you can see, there are a number of key factors that contribute to the lifespan of dental implants for an individual patient. With optimal conditions, a single implant can serve you well for 30 years or more before any issues arise! Even then, careful monitoring means implants with some wear can still function for additional years with proper maintenance care.
What Is the Success Rate of Dental Implants?
Many large studies have shown excellent long-term success rates for dental implant restorations of all kinds. Success is defined as an implant and crown remaining stable, functional, and free of defects over time.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- 95 to 98% survive the first 5 years (for single tooth implants)
- Up to 95% are successful after 10 years
- Studies report up to 89-92% still functioning after 15 years
- Even after 25 years, some implants keep working well
These positive statistics apply to implants placed properly by skilled dentists and surgeons using modern techniques. They also assume you maintain your implants responsibly with good at-home hygiene and regular dental visits.
However, you should note that full-arch bridges with multiple implants tend to have slightly lower success rates than single-tooth replacements over decades. But still, excellent success for full bridges is seen in 80-90% of cases or more.
What Factors Can Shorten the Lifespan of Dental Implants?
While today’s dental implants are incredibly durable and long-lasting in most patients, there are factors that negatively impact the longevity of implants for some people. These should be avoided if possible:
Complicated Surgical Process
If issues occur during the surgery, initial healing, or while integrating the implant to bone, early failure is more likely. Proper implant protocols must be carefully followed by your dentist to ensure the best long-term prognosis.
Poor Bone Health
Patients with osteoporosis or other causes of weakened, low density bone may not form a robust connection during healing. Also, ongoing bone loss later on can destabilize the implant.
Chronic Periodontal (Gum) Disease
Untreated advanced gum disease will continue destroying the bone around implants and this may lead to higher failure rates over a period of 5-10 years. And so stay on top of your gum health – it affects dental implant longevity.
Insufficient Care of Implants
Not properly brushing and flossing around implants allows plaque buildup. This introduces bacteria that inflame gums and erode bone stability.
Excessive Biting Force
If you regularly bite down too hard on implant restorations, the excessive pressure can damage connections to the bone, causing earlier failure.
Unhealthy Lifestyle Factors
Smoking, heavy drinking, and using immunosuppressive drugs all negatively impact the longevity of osseointegrated implants. Things like autoimmune disorders also lower success rates.
With multiple risk factors working against you, your implants may only last 5-10 years before needing repair or replacement. And so you should have issues treated early and avoid harming behaviors for best implant lifespan results. Get any underlying health conditions properly managed.
What Is the Process for Dental Implant Failure?
Dental implants fail gradually, not suddenly, in most cases. The titanium implant itself almost never “breaks” or fractures. Instead, destabilizing factors like infections, overload, and bone loss slowly wear down the implant’s foundation until replacement is required.
Issues to watch out for include:
- Loose Implant Post or Crown – If an implant crown shifts or seems to wiggle, the anchor post may be loosening within the bone. An early repair can get it secured again.
- Pain or Changes in Tissues – Inflamed, receding, or sore gums signal an infection that is eroding the bone. There may also be pain when chewing or biting.
- Bone Loss Visible on X-Rays – Progressive bone level decrease around an implant over months/years indicates the stability is weakening.
- Inability to Place Implant Crown Properly – If a new crown no longer fits right due to implant angle changes, there is likely bone loss near the failure level.
Your dentist will monitor these signs of destabilization in your implants over decades. If bone loss exceeds 40-50% or an infection cannot resolve, they may recommend implant extraction and bone grafting before attempting a new one.
Stay vigilant with your at-home care as well – prevention is the best policy!
Who is at Higher Risk of Dental Implant Failure?
There are several categories of patients who may experience higher than average dental implant failure rates or shortened lifespan of their restoration:
- Patients with Uncontrolled Diabetes – Poor blood sugar control inhibits healing and fighting infection. It also accelerates bone mineral loss later on. But controlled diabetics can still do very well with dental implants.
- Heavy Smokers – Smoking severely restricts blood flow while also suppressing the immune system and its ability to heal implants initially. Higher failure rates are seen after 5-10 years typically.
- People with Autoimmune Disorders – Diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, etc. that attack tissues increase failure risk over time. Special precautions must be taken.
- Those with Osteoporosis – Low bone density and accelerated loss near implants means they cannot anchor as strongly long-term leading to loosening over 5-15 years.
- Heavy Drinkers – Chronic alcohol abuse impacts wound healing and new bone growth while also eroding bone density faster decreasing implant stability sooner.
- Patients Who Had Radiation Treatment – Head/neck radiation damage decreases blood supply and cell turnover that enables osseointegration. Success rates drop faster later on.
- Those with Poor Oral Hygiene Habits – Not properly caring for implants with brushing, flossing, and dental visits allows bacteria and new infections that destroy connections to bone prematurely.
Again, uncontrolled health conditions, unhealthy lifestyle choices, bad dental hygiene, and more can shorten the working lifespan of dental implant tooth replacements.
By managing risk factors within your control, most people can still achieve excellent long-term prognoses.
How to Make Sure Your Dental Implants Last
While today’s dental implants are incredibly durable and can last decades if properly made and cared for, you play a significant role as well. To maximize the years you will get out of your implant investment, be proactive by doing the following:
- Get Regular Dental Cleanings and Checkups – Professional teeth cleanings every 6 months and dental exams/x-rays yearly will help with the monitoring of your implants for signs of issues. Early treatment increases lifespan.
- Brush Twice a Day for 2 Minutes – Thoroughly brushing your implant crowns and surrounding gums prevents harmful plaque accumulation and resulting bone loss from inflammation and infection.
- Floss the Implant Area Daily – While brushing cleans surfaces, dental floss is critical for cleaning tight gaps around implants below the gum line where bacteria gather quickly.
- Use Antibacterial Rinses Daily – Either prescription rinses or over-the-counter products like Listerine help kill lingering bacteria missed by brushing and flossing alone.
- Avoid Smoking or Vaping – Prevent destructive tobacco products from ruining all your hard work and financial investment. The lifespan difference is substantial.
- Minimize Consumption of Sugary Foods/Drinks – A sugary environment feeds bacteria growth leading to acid damage, inflammation, and eventual bone loss if excessive long-term.
- Carefully Monitor Implant Sites Yourself – Pay attention to any implant crowns feeling loose, changes in gum appearance, reactions to hot/cold, or increasing sensitivity that may indicate issues brewing. Report anything unusual to your dentist.
While not a full guarantee, following these best practices for self-care gives you excellent chances of getting 20-30 years or longer from your dental implants. And so be proactive and take responsibility for their upkeep. With modern materials and microengineering, dental implants can serve you very well for life!
In summary, today’s high-quality dental implants can easily last for more than 10 years in most people. Up to 98% meet this standard when done properly and cared for responsibly over decades. And the few that fail early likely have underlying health or surgical placement issues.
