Do dental implants ever have to be replaced?

The post usually does not — Cleveland Clinic and the AAOMS both say implants can last a lifetime with proper care. The crown on top is the part that gets remade, and Cleveland Clinic puts most crowns and bridges at around 15 years.

What is the success rate of dental implants?

The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons publishes an overall success rate of 95%, and says implants are backed by nearly 50 years of clinical research. The American College of Prosthodontists reports success rates above 90 to 95 percent.

Can a dental implant get a cavity?

No. The American College of Prosthodontists says implants are made of titanium and can never get dental decay. The gum and bone around the implant can still get infected, which is why the hygiene visits still matter.

How long until I can eat normally?

A question for the surgeon who placed it: it depends which stage you are at and what is currently attached. The ranges above are for the bone fusing to the post, not for when you get to chew.

How long do dental implants last?

Published August 19, 2026

Dental implants can last a lifetime with good care, and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons reports a 95% success rate.

Both of those come straight from the surgeons' own association: dental implants have an overall success rate of 95%, and if properly cared for they can last a lifetime. The American College of Prosthodontists puts the same idea in a band rather than a single number, calling implants predictably successful with reported success rates above 90 to 95 percent. Cleveland Clinic agrees on the lifespan and names the reason it holds: with brushing, flossing and regular dental visits, implants can often last a lifetime.

Sources: American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, American College of Prosthodontists, Cleveland Clinic

This page is general information, not dental advice. Every mouth is different, and the only person who can tell you what your tooth needs is a dentist who has looked at it and taken an X-ray.

The implant and the tooth on top of it are two different lifespans

This is the part that surprises people. An implant is not one object: there is a post in the jawbone and there is a crown, bridge or denture fixed to it. They wear out on completely different schedules, and only one of them is the titanium.

The part	How long it lasts	What happens at the end of it
The implant post in the jaw	Can often last a lifetime	Nothing routine. It stays where it is.
The crown or bridge on top	Around 15 years for most	Remade and re-fitted onto the same post.
An implant-retained denture	At least seven years for most	Relined or remade, again on the same posts.

Cleveland Clinic's published figures for the two halves. The post is the part that lasts; the visible tooth is the part that gets replaced.

Source: Cleveland Clinic

So when a practice tells you an implant lasts a lifetime and a friend tells you theirs was redone after a decade, they can both be telling the truth. One of them is talking about the post and the other is talking about the crown.

How long should dental implants last next to a bridge or a denture?

Longer, and the surgeons' association is specific about the alternative rather than vague about the implant. Fixed bridges, it says, may need to be replaced as often as every seven years, and it gives a range of every seven to 15 years for both fixed bridges and traditional dentures. That is the comparison the lifespan question is really asking, because nobody replaces a missing tooth with nothing.

Sources: American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

The honest way to compare is over decades, not over one invoice. A cheaper thing replaced three times is not cheaper.

How long before an implant is finished?

Lifespan is one question and the calendar is another. The published ranges differ, so here are all of them rather than the one that sounds best.

Source	Healing time it publishes
Cleveland Clinic	Three to nine months, depending on how quickly you heal
Delta Dental	Two to six months for the implant body and bone
American Dental Association	Up to several months, and some patients wait for full integration
U.S. Food and Drug Administration	Several months or longer, with a temporary abutment in place

How long each source says the jawbone takes to fuse to the implant. They do not agree, and we are not going to pick a winner for you.

Sources: Cleveland Clinic, Delta Dental, American Dental Association (MouthHealthy), U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The ADA describes the whole thing as generally three phases — the post goes in, the bone grows onto it, and only then does the replacement tooth get attached. It also notes that some patients can have the implant and the replacement tooth placed in one visit. Which of those you are is a question for a surgeon who has your X-rays, not for a web page.

Source: American Dental Association (MouthHealthy)

What shortens an implant's life

The FDA names smoking directly: it may affect the healing process and decrease the long-term success of the implant. The ADA adds that chronic illnesses such as diabetes or leukemia may interfere with healing and that using tobacco can also slow it. The surgeons' association splits failures in two — short-term ones are typically a problem with the bone healing, and the long-term cause it names is peri-implantitis, an infection of the tissue around the implant.

Sources: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, American Dental Association (MouthHealthy), American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Smoking, per the FDA, on healing and on long-term success both.
Gum infection around the post. The surgeons' association names peri-implantitis as the common long-term cause of failure.
Chronic illness that interferes with healing, which the ADA names specifically.
Skipping the hygiene visits. Cleveland Clinic ties the lifetime answer to brushing, flossing and regular dental visits, in that order.

If it is the price you are weighing rather than the years, we wrote the drivers out separately: why dental implants cost what they do.

Whoever places it is going to be looking after it for a long time, so the practice matters more here than on almost anything else. These are the dentists AI assistants name when Floridians ask. Nobody can pay to be on these lists.

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Questions people ask next

Do dental implants ever have to be replaced?: The post usually does not — Cleveland Clinic and the AAOMS both say implants can last a lifetime with proper care. The crown on top is the part that gets remade, and Cleveland Clinic puts most crowns and bridges at around 15 years.
What is the success rate of dental implants?: The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons publishes an overall success rate of 95%, and says implants are backed by nearly 50 years of clinical research. The American College of Prosthodontists reports success rates above 90 to 95 percent.
Can a dental implant get a cavity?: No. The American College of Prosthodontists says implants are made of titanium and can never get dental decay. The gum and bone around the implant can still get infected, which is why the hygiene visits still matter.
How long until I can eat normally?: A question for the surgeon who placed it: it depends which stage you are at and what is currently attached. The ranges above are for the bone fusing to the post, not for when you get to chew.

Written for patients by Most Recommended Dentists, which measures which dentists AI assistants actually recommend in 20 U.S. metros. Nobody can pay to be on those lists. How we measure.