A recent study compared how well bones heal in smokers and non-smokers when they had dental implants to replace missing teeth at the back of their lower jaw.
It found heavy smoking causes bone to heal around the implant more slowly, although after three months the healing process catches up with that of non-smokers.
Despite this the study concluded heavy smoking causes greater bone loss around the implants and creates larger soft-tissue pockets.
The negative effects of smoking are well documented, however few studies have looked at the effect on the lower jaw.
Researchers from The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China, concluded that smoking won’t effect the overall success of the implant but suggest surgeons may need to change their standard implant schedule for patients that smoke.
Source: Dentistry
