Dental trauma is very common in patients of all ages. Various forms of trauma include car accident, fall off a bicycle, trip on a sidewalk etc.. If the tooth or teeth that are traumatized are beyond repair then they must be extracted. The big concern after the tooth is extracted is bone loss. If there is nothing placed back where the tooth used to be the bone will collapse and reabsorb. The bone needs to be stimulated in order to not collapse. In some instances we can place dental implants immediately at the time the teeth are extracted. Although, there are some instances when we cannot.

You are really never to old to have dental implants placed but you might be too young. Patients who experience dental trauma at a young age are not candidates for dental implants. They are still experiencing growth and development. The jaw will continue to grow into the late teens. If an implant is placed too early the jaw and teeth will move with the child’s growth but the implant will not and the end result will be unaesthetic and non functional implant. The suggested age to place implants in the younger population is 18 for girls and 20 for boys. If the trauma happens prior to these ages bone grafting can be done to maintain the bone volume until they reach the ideal age group.