Dental implants in Rugby · the honest guide
Am I suitable for dental implants? Age, smoking, bone and health, honestly
Written by Dr Savan Zala, implant dentist at Rugby Smiles (BDS, MFGDP RCSEng, MSc Dental Implants) · Reviewed September 2026
The short answer: most healthy adults with a missing tooth are suitable, and the things people assume rule them out, age and bone loss, usually do not. The things that genuinely matter are gum health, smoking, a few medical conditions, and whether there is enough bone or a plan to build it. The 3D scan at a free consultation answers the bone question in minutes.
Every week somebody tells me they assumed they were too old, or had lost too much bone, or had been told years ago that implants were not for them. Some of those people are right. Most are not. Here is how I actually decide, in the order I check things, and what the honest alternatives are when the answer is not yet or not implants.
Not sure which route fits? Take the 60-second implant options quiz first.
Age: not the number you think
There is no upper age limit for implants. What matters is general health, the health of the gums, and whether there is enough bone, not the date on your birth certificate. Plenty of implants are placed for people in their seventies and eighties, and a loose lower denture in your seventies is one of the strongest reasons to consider them, because two implants can anchor it. The only age rule that is fixed is at the other end: we do not place implants until the jaw has finished growing, so not before the late teens.
Bone: the scan decides, not the guess
Bone shrinks after a tooth is lost, fastest in the first year and steadily after that, and it shrinks under a denture. So people who have had gaps or dentures for years often do have less bone. That is not the end of the conversation. A bone graft at the time of placement, £400 here, rebuilds a socket that has shrunk. A sinus lift makes room for an upper back tooth. And angled implants, the design behind All-on-4, use the strong bone at the front of the jaw for people who have lost bone at the back.
None of this can be judged from a look or an ordinary X-ray. The 3D scan at your free consultation shows the width and height of bone in every direction, and that is what the plan and the price are built from. If grafting is needed, it is in writing before you decide. Read more on the All-on-4 route for people with significant bone loss.
Smoking: the honest conversation
Implants can be placed for smokers, but the failure rate is roughly double and healing is slower, and I say so plainly. The realistic ask is to stop completely for a period before placement and for the healing weeks after it, and ideally for good. For a heavy smoker who cannot do that, I would rather say so than place an implant I expect to lose. That is a conversation at the consultation, not a rule on a website, because everyone’s situation differs.
Gums: treat first, then implant
Active gum disease is the one thing that has to be sorted before any implant goes in, because the bacteria that cost you a tooth will attack an implant the same way. That usually means a course of treatment with our hygienists, from £90 a quadrant, and a check that the gums have settled. It adds a few weeks and it is the best investment in the implant you will make. Our gum disease treatment page explains the route.
Health and medicines
Usually fine with planning
Well-controlled diabetes, treated high blood pressure, blood thinners with your doctor’s input, previous heart problems that are stable. We take a full history and, where needed, write to your GP.
Needs a careful look
Some osteoporosis medicines, particularly bisphosphonates by injection, previous radiotherapy to the jaw, immune conditions or medicines that suppress healing. Not automatic refusals; reasons to plan differently and sometimes to say no.
Wait, not never
Pregnancy, an active infection, uncontrolled diabetes, recent major surgery. Implants can follow once things are settled.
The medical history is not a box-ticking exercise. It is where most avoidable failures are prevented, which is why the free consultation is a conversation before it is a scan.
When the answer is no, or not implants
Sometimes the honest recommendation is a bridge, which replaces a single gap using the neighbouring teeth, or a well-made denture, which Brett, our clinical dental technician of over thirty years, makes in-house from £1,000. Sometimes it is an implant-retained denture: two to four implants that a denture clips onto, far steadier than a conventional one and far cheaper than replacing every tooth. The comparison is laid out in dentures versus implants. And sometimes it is implants after all, once the gums are healthy or the bone is built. What you get at the consultation is the answer for your mouth, not the answer that sells the most.
“The people I turn away are the ones I would be setting up to fail. Everyone else gets a written plan and the time to think about it.”
Dr Savan Zala, implant dentist at Rugby Smiles
Questions people ask
Am I too old for dental implants?
No. There is no upper age limit. General health, gum health and bone are what matter, and many implants are placed for people in their seventies and eighties.
Can I have implants if I have bone loss?
Very often, yes. A graft (£400) rebuilds a shrunken socket, a sinus lift makes room in the upper back jaw, and angled implants use the bone you have. The 3D scan at the free consultation tells us which applies.
Can smokers have dental implants?
Yes, with a roughly doubled failure risk and slower healing. We ask you to stop before and after placement and are honest about the odds if you cannot.
Can I have implants with gum disease?
Not until it is treated. Active gum disease is the one firm no, because it will attack an implant as it attacked the tooth. Treatment first, then implants.
Can diabetics have dental implants?
Yes, if the diabetes is well controlled. Poorly controlled diabetes slows healing and raises the failure risk, so we would ask you to get it settled with your GP first.
What if I am not suitable?
Then we say so and explain the alternatives: a bridge, a denture made in-house, or an implant-retained denture. The consultation is free either way.
One scan answers the bone question. One conversation answers the rest.
The free implant consultation is a conversation and a 3D scan, nothing done to you on the day: your options, whether grafting is needed, and a written price before anything is booked. Nervous? Tell us, and we will build sedation into the plan.
Read next: can implants fail? · how long they take · dentures versus implants · dental implants in Rugby · Rugby Smiles Dental Clinic · 3 Newbold Road, Rugby CV21 2LQ · 01788 579 577