Diabetes does not rule out dental implants; uncontrolled diabetes does. The number that decides is your HbA1c from the last three months, not the diagnosis.
Diabetes does not rule out dental implants; uncontrolled diabetes does. The threshold we work to is an HbA1c below roughly 7 percent for routine placement, and between 7 and 8 we will still treat with a modified plan and closer follow-up. Above that, healing delay and infection risk rise enough that we ask you to work with your physician first and come back — a decision that irritates people in the moment and saves the implant later.
High blood glucose slows healing in two ways that matter here. Collagen forms more slowly, so the soft tissue seal around the implant neck takes longer to mature, and white cell function is blunted, so a contamination a healthy patient clears quietly becomes an infection. Bone integration itself still occurs in well-controlled diabetic patients at rates close to non-diabetics, which is the encouraging half of the story — the timeline is simply longer and less forgiving of shortcuts.
We schedule surgery in the morning after a normal meal and normal medication, keep the appointment short, and never leave a patient fasting for hours in a waiting room. Antibiotic cover is used more readily, the healing period before the crown is extended by two to four weeks, and follow-up in the first year is more frequent. Bring your HbA1c result from the last three months; we ask for it before we finalise a plan.
Prices do not change for diabetic patients: the implant fixture is €299 and a full arch on four implants starts at €2,900. What changes is the schedule and the honesty of the warranty conversation. We will not promise a patient with an HbA1c of nine the same outcome as a controlled one, and a clinic that does is selling rather than treating. Our surgery runs inside a hospital with intensive care on site, which matters for medically complex patients.
No. Implants are placed under local anaesthesia and you should eat and take your medication normally. Send us the exact drug list — insulin and GLP-1 agonists change the scheduling, not your eligibility.
The control figure matters far more than the type. A well-controlled type 1 patient is a better implant candidate than a poorly controlled type 2 patient of the same age.