What is the success rate of dental implants?
This depends very much on where the implants are placed and what they will be called upon to do. The best case scenario is the placement of implants in the front portion of the lower jaw. Here success can be as high as 98-100%. In other areas of the mouth, success rates can drop significantly. According to figures that we have today, the success of implants in the front part of the upper jaw are anywhere from 90-95%. Success rates of implants in the back part of the upper and lower jaw can be in the 85-95% range. The success rate in my practice for the past five years has been 99+% for all implants placed.
How permanent are these new teeth? No one knows for sure, as large well controlled double blind randomized studies (giving the most accurate and unbiased information) have not been done long term implant survival. Most failures appear to occur early on, if a fixture fails to integrate with the bone, or if it comes loose. An implant’s reliability seems to be influenced by its location. The survival rate after five years is about 95% for implants in the front of the lower jaw but about 85% for implants in the sides and rear of the upper jaw. In a small number of patients patients, implants fail completely. Dentists usually can replace loose fixtures by letting bone refill the socket and drilling again in a few months.