Are Dental Implants Safe?

Yes. Dental implants are one of the most studied and safest restorations in modern dentistry. Titanium implants have been placed in humans since 1965, with continuous publication of long-term outcome data since the 1980s. Ten-year survival rates are 95–98%; the implant body itself routinely lasts 25+ years.

Like any surgery, there are risks — primarily failed integration, nerve injury, sinus complications, and infection. Modern CT planning and surgical guides have driven these risks down dramatically over the past decade. We CT-scan and digitally plan every case.

Titanium is one of the most biocompatible materials known. Bone cells migrate directly onto its surface and lock the implant in place — a property called osseointegration that no other metal at scale shares. This is the same reason titanium is the material of choice for orthopedic implants, pacemaker housings, and aerospace structural parts.

True allergic reaction to titanium is extremely rare — fewer than 0.6% of patients in published studies. For those few, zirconia implants are an alternative. We test for titanium sensitivity on request at the consult.

Failed integration (2–5%). The implant does not fuse to the bone. Almost always discovered in the first 3 months, before the crown is placed. Replacement is possible after 3–6 months of healing.

Peri-implantitis (10–15% over 10 years). Gum inflammation around the implant that progresses to bone loss. Prevented almost entirely by proper hygiene. Treatable in early stages.

Nerve injury (less than 1%). Numbness or altered sensation in the lower lip or tongue, most often from lower-jaw implants placed too close to the inferior alveolar nerve. Modern CT planning essentially eliminates this — we know within 1 mm where the nerve runs in your jaw before we drill.

Sinus complications (less than 1%). Implants in the upper back jaw can sometimes extend into the sinus. CT planning prevents this; when it occasionally happens, the implant is repositioned or a sinus lift is added.

The CBCT (cone-beam CT) scan we do at your consult shows your jaw in 3D at 0.1 mm resolution. We can see the exact width and height of bone, the location of the inferior alveolar nerve, the sinus floor, and the position of adjacent tooth roots.

The surgical plan happens in software before surgery day. Drill angles, depths, and implant sizes are all locked. A printed surgical guide that fits over your remaining teeth physically constrains the drill to the planned position. Free-hand placement is mostly a thing of the past; we have not done one in years.

The result is that nerve and sinus complications, which were significant concerns 20 years ago, are now vanishingly rare in CT-planned cases.

Uncontrolled diabetes (A1C above 8). Active IV bisphosphonate therapy. Recent head-and-neck radiation to the jaw. Active oral infection. Heavy unmanaged smoking that the patient cannot stop around surgery. Certain immunosuppressive states.

Patients in active chemotherapy or with very recent organ transplant should wait 6–12 months. Pregnant patients should wait until after delivery for elective procedures. We screen all of these at the consult.

The original Brånemark cases from the 1960s are still being followed and reported in the literature. Titanium implants placed 30+ years ago are still functioning in patients today, with no evidence of systemic toxicity, metal accumulation, or late-emerging complications.

What has changed over those 30 years is technique and planning — the implants themselves are still the same titanium alloy. The long-term safety question, as much as anything in medicine, is settled.