Dental Implant Statistics
Tooth loss compromises the health, strength, and beauty of the smile. Obviously, the more extensive that tooth loss is, the greater the impact it will have on oral health. However, even a single missing tooth can affect the bite and lead to more serious oral health issues.
While there are several restorative dentistry treatments that can address tooth loss, most dentists agree that none offer the benefits of dental implants. Dental implants replace the roots of the tooth and provide a stable anchor for a full range of dental restorations.
Here, our dental team at Montreal Smiles discusses dental implant statistics. To find out if you are a good candidate for treatment, contact our Montreal, QC practice.
How Common Is Tooth Loss?
To understand how beneficial dental implants can be for our patients, we take a look at how common tooth loss is among adults.
In a CDC report with data from the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, it was shown that only 48 percent of adults aged 20 to 64 had their full set of permanent teeth (this figure excludes the wisdom teeth). While some of these patients may have had a permanent tooth pulled for orthodontic reasons, many likely lost a tooth due to oral health problems or injury.
The same report showed that tooth loss becomes a greater risk as a person ages. Within the 40 to 64 age group, only 34 percent had maintained all their natural teeth.
How Many Adults Have Dental Implants?
There is no national data base tracking exactly how many adults have undergone dental implant treatment. However, the Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons published an article in 2014 to discuss dental implant trends, and the report did discuss the prevalence of dental implant treatment.
Citing information from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons regarding tooth loss, the article estimates that around 100,000 to 300,000 dental implants are placed each year. Since this is a rough estimate (and because patients often have more than one dental implant placed at a time), it does not give a very accurate measure of how many people actually have dental implants in place, but it does highlight the popularity of dental implants in the treatment of tooth loss.
Dental Implant Success Rates
Just as there is no database that records how many dental patients receive dental implants, there is also not a system to track the success or failure of each dental implant treatment. However, there have been numerous studies that look at the success rate of dental implants.
A study published by the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants in 2004 looked at the long-term success of various types of dental implants. The study found that dental implant survival rates were similar whether implants were placed to support a single tooth prosthesis or full or partial prostheses.
In the study, the success rate for a single implant-supported prostheses was 95.6 percent (out of 106 patients), the success rate of a fixed partial prostheses was 96.1 percent (out of 137 patients), and the success rate of a fixed complete prostheses was 100 percent (out of five patients).
With dental implant success rates this high, it is easy to see why these restorations continue to be the tooth loss treatment preferred by so many of our Montreal patients.
Contact Us
If you have suffered the loss of one or more of your permanent teeth, you may be an ideal candidate for dental implants. To learn more about the benefits of dental implants, call (514) 733-3933 and schedule an appointment with one of the experienced dentists at Montreal Smiles.
