There is a minimum age to place a dental implant, but this is determined by the completion of bone growth. Normally, and according to studies carried out, the average age is usually 16 years in women and from 18 years in men. The safe age for the placement of a dental implant satisfactorily would be 21 – 22 years, since that age bone growth has definitively stopped.
If we place the dental implant before the patient’s facial growth ends, the fixation will behave like an ankylated tooth, that is, the adjacent teeth will continue to erupt, and the implant will not move, this will mean that when placing the crown on the implant it is at a lower level than the neighboring natural teeth, it will be intruded.
How do we know if the growth process is complete?
Normally, the growth process occurs, in girls between 9-15 years old and in boys between 11-17 years old, but the growth process does not follow rules, and varies depending on each person, and can be lengthened or shortened This process. For this reason we must make sure that the growth of the patient has been completed before placing the dental implant, to ensure this, we have different methods:
- Superposition of two cephalometries (lateral head radiographs) that have been obtained sequentially with an interval of 6 to 12 months, without noticeable changes being observed for at least one year. vertical facial height (from nasion to chin), we will know that most of the facial growth has finished.
- Annual observation of stature, waiting for two consecutive years without growth greater than 0.5 cm / year.
- Using study models, it is necessary to observe the absence of changes in the occlusal contacts – such as the occlusion of the second molar.
- Using the wrist radiograph less used by the patient, to observe that the growth epiphyses have closed.
Before any surgical technique that we perform that is indicated for oral rehabilitation using dental implants, we must always take into account whether the patient’s facial growth has ended or not. Since, dental implants, when we place them in patients in the growth phase, can alter the normal development of the jaw bones. For this reason, before all patients in the growth phase, we must wait for the growth to cease to be able to place a dental implant.
When placing a dental implant in the anterior sector in patients under 20 years of age, we must be aware that the anterior teeth will undergo small modifications in their anatomy, these changes will be given by the remodeling process of the dento-gingival junction Consequently, it will be necessary to change the crown of the implant prosthesis on many occasions after 10-15 years placed in the mouth.
Patients with severe teething disorders such as oligodontia or anodontia, in these cases it is possible to place dental implants even before the growth period ceases, this is because the growth of the intermental region is minimal after 5-6 years of age, especially when teeth have not formed.
At Smile Care Plymouth we have staff specialized in dental implants, here our dentists will advise you without any commitment during a first visit and will plan the best treatment for you. If you have any questions about your treatment, you can come to our center or call, where we will be delighted to assist you.
