Can You Get Dental Implants After Gum Disease?

Gum disease is one of the most common reasons adults lose teeth, which means many of the people who ask us about implants have had it. Many expect to hear that implants are off the table. Often they are not: a history of gum disease changes how treatment is planned and how the implant is looked after, but it does not automatically rule implants out.

How Gum Disease Affects Implants

Periodontitis is an infection that damages the gums and the bone that hold the teeth. An implant relies on that same bone and gum tissue. If gum disease is still active, the bacteria that caused it can attack the tissues around the new implant too. That is why gum disease needs to be treated and under control before an implant is placed.

Step 1: Treat the Gums First

Depending on how advanced the disease is, gum disease treatment ranges from a deep cleaning below the gumline to surgical care for deeper pockets. The goal is healthy, stable gums before any implant work starts. Teeth that cannot be saved are removed, and the sites are evaluated for implants.

Step 2: Check and Rebuild the Bone

Gum disease often leaves bone loss behind. X-rays or a 3D scan show how much bone remains. If there is not enough to hold an implant firmly, a bone graft can rebuild it first.

Step 3: Place the Implant and Let It Heal

Once the gums are healthy and there is enough bone, the implant is placed with local anesthesia and given time to bond with the bone before the final crown, bridge, or denture is attached. Your plan includes a timeline for your case.

Are the Risks Higher?

People with a history of periodontitis have a higher risk of problems around implants, especially an infection called peri-implantitis, which can cause bone loss around the implant. The risk is lower when gum disease is under control before treatment and when regular maintenance continues afterwards. Smoking and poorly controlled diabetes raise the risk further.

Protecting Your Implant Long Term

• Clean around the implant every day, including between the teeth, with the tools your dental team recommends.
• Keep regular periodontal maintenance visits and check-ups.
• Call if you notice bleeding, swelling, a bad taste, or a loose feeling around an implant.
• If you smoke, quitting improves both gum and implant health.

Where a Periodontist Comes In

This is exactly the situation periodontists train for: getting gum disease under control, then placing implants into the bone it left behind. Dr. Bijan Afar has done both since 1986, so a patient who lost teeth to gum disease does not have to move between offices for each step. More on our periodontal care and implant treatment.

The first visit is an exam: we measure the gums, look at the bone on X-rays, and tell you honestly whether implants make sense now, later, or not at all. Call (310) 731-6119 or request an appointment online.