Most adults missing teeth qualify. Here is what actually determines candidacy — and why a 3D scan often overturns a previous no.
Most adults missing one or more teeth are candidates for dental implants. The real question is usually not whether you qualify at all, but which approach fits your jaw, your health, and your budget — and whether anything needs treating first.
Being turned down for implants elsewhere is common, and it is often based on a flat two-dimensional X-ray taken at a practice that does not perform grafting in-house. A 3D scan frequently tells a different story.
Bone volume and density. An implant needs bone to anchor into. The 3D CT scan measures what you have in three dimensions and shows exactly where the nerve canals and sinuses sit, so implants can be planned around them.
Gum health. Implants depend on healthy surrounding tissue. Active periodontal disease is treated before anything is placed.
Your medical history. Uncontrolled diabetes, some bone medications, head and neck radiation, and heavy smoking all affect healing. Most are manageable — they change the plan rather than cancel it — but they need to be on the table before surgery, so bring a current medication list.
Your bite. Grinding and clenching put heavy load on an implant. If you grind, we plan for it, often with a night guard to protect the finished restoration.
None of the following is automatically a no, but each needs addressing first:
Second opinions after a “you don't have enough bone” make up a meaningful share of the implant cases we take on. That verdict often comes from a 2D X-ray rather than a 3D scan, or from an office that would need to refer the grafting out. Bone grafting, sinus lifts, narrower implants, and angled full-arch placement all exist precisely for jaws that have lost bone. All-on-4 full-arch implants in particular are designed to work with the bone that remains.
Candidacy is not one question but several, because the options differ. A single implant replaces one tooth. An implant bridge spans several. All-on-4 restores a full arch on as few as four implants. Implant-supported dentures snap onto two to four implants at a lower investment than a fixed arch. See all the options for replacing missing teeth compared side by side, or read our West Covina implant cost guide.
Often yes. Bone loss is common after teeth have been missing for a while, and it rarely rules implants out on its own. Depending on how much bone remains, the options include grafting to rebuild the ridge, a sinus lift in the upper jaw, narrower implants, or an angled full-arch approach such as All-on-4 that uses the denser bone toward the front of the jaw. A 3D CT scan is what settles the question, not a flat X-ray.
There is no upper age limit. What matters is your general health and your ability to heal, not the number itself. Many of our implant patients are in their seventies and eighties. Growing patients are the one group we wait on, because implants do not move with a jaw that is still developing, so we typically hold off until growth is complete.
It doesn't disqualify you, but it does raise the risk of the implant failing to integrate and of gum problems later. Smoking restricts blood flow to healing tissue. We'll talk candidly about the risk in your case, and about stopping in the period around surgery, which measurably improves the odds.
Active gum disease needs to be treated before implants are placed. The same bacteria that destroy bone around natural teeth attack bone around an implant, a condition called peri-implantitis. As a board-certified periodontist, Dr. Hanasab treats the gum disease first, then places implants on a stable foundation.
Book a consultation. It includes a clinical exam and a 3D CT scan showing bone volume, bone density, and the position of nerves and sinuses. You leave with a straight answer, a written treatment plan, and an itemized estimate before committing to anything.
Schedule a consultation with our expert dental team today.