How old is too old for a dental implant? Seventy, eighty, ninety, a hundred and five. It’s actually a trick question. The more important question is how old do you need to be for an implant.
The Younger End: Waiting for Growth to Finish
On the younger end, we definitely want to wait until growth and development is finished because there are a lot of problems and difficulty in placing an implant in somebody’s jaw who’s still growing. It’s one of those situations where if you try and put an implant in for girls before age 18 to 20, and for boys before age 23 to 25, a lot of times what might look great today in 10 years is not going to be in an ideal situation with bone growth and bone change.
So while there’s definitely an age limit on this younger end of the spectrum, when it comes to the older end of the spectrum, there really is no set age limit on when you can get an implant. The most important thing is patient health and the quality of bone.
The Older End: Health and Bone Quality Matter More Than Age
So I would much rather have a 95-year-old patient with plenty of bone and good health. They’re going to have a much more successful outcome than somebody who’s in their forties with uncontrolled diabetes or is a two-pack-a-day smoker, or has a bleeding disorder, has all these other things that might impact the healing. So again, age is not really a factor. It’s more important the quality of bone, the health of the patient, and the ability to recover from the implant placement.
The Oldest Successful Implant Patient
In my 20-plus years of restoring implants, the oldest patient we’ve had restore an implant is 97 years old and it was actually two implants. Everything went great. The patient was very happy. In fact, they were just frustrated. They waited that long to go through the process of restoring those missing teeth.
Takeaway: Age Isn’t the Barrier
So what’s the take-home message? Don’t wait until you’re 97, but if you do, it’s always an option. We love restoring implants. That’s one of our favorite things to do. The ability to give someone a tooth to chew and function on where they didn’t have one before is one of the most fulfilling things we do in this office.
Final Thoughts: Considering Implants?
So if you’re missing a tooth and are interested in getting implants, come see us. I’m Dr. Brett Langston, owner of Dental Implant Aesthetic Specialist here in Brookhaven, Georgia, and I’m here to help you. Watch your mouth.
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