If you plan to get dental implants, you can generally expect them to succeed. The posts’ success rate after ten years tends to be as high as 98%! Still, things get a bit trickier when you have both dental implants and bruxism. That latter habit will put your treatment at serious risk, making failure much more likely. If you’d like to learn why, just let your Burien dentist explain how bruxism affects dental implants in this primer.
Wait, What’s Bruxism?
Bruxism refers to the habit of frequent teeth grinding or clenching. It’s typically caused by high stress and anxiety, which prompt patients to tense their jaw muscles. The condition can also stem from dental misalignments, missing teeth, and other factors.
As you might expect, bruxism is a threat to most folks’ oral health. Since the habit places excessive pressure on teeth, it usually wears down your tooth enamel over time. Worse, it often occurs while people sleep, making it hard to control without professional help.
How Does It Affect Dental Implants?
Though durable, even the best dental implants have their limits. Bruxism can quickly put them at risk and result in dental implant failure.
Remember, dental implants must fuse with your jawbone to work. That fusion process will be delayed or prevented if you grind or clench your teeth too much. Adding insult to injury, your bruxism could also damage or break the implant with excessive pressure. You’d then need a replacement even if the fusion had been going well.
How Should I Respond?
Thankfully, you can keep bruxism from harming dental implants. Simply remember to do the following:
- Be Mindful of Yourself – Regularly check if you’re clenching your jaw. If you are, actively relax your jaw’s muscles to return them to their proper positions.
- Wear a Mouthguard – Try using a custom-fit mouthguard while you sleep. By wearing this device to bed, you can prevent yourself from grinding your teeth.
- Get Stronger Dental Implants – Instead of titanium, some dental implants use stronger materials like zirconia. Get the latter kind if you think it necessary.
- Ease Your Stress & Anxiety – To avoid unconscious bruxism, practice relevant anti-anxiety tips and tricks. One example would be to reduce stress by avoiding caffeine after dinner.
For other ways to manage dental implants and bruxism, please talk to your dental provider. They’ll know your situation enough to suggest the best options!
About the Practice
Seahurst Smiles of Burien is based in Burien, WA, just a bit north of Lake Burien. Led by Dr. Vincent Lam, our practice takes a patient-focused approach to dental care. We always consider your unique smile needs when planning our preventive, cosmetic, or restorative treatments. That way, anyone who sees us for help will get the strong and gorgeous grin they deserve! For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (206)-589-8556.