Airports are often loud, busy, and hectic places to wade through. If you’ve had a dental implant treatment, the thought of adding a further complication to an already difficult excursion can be disheartening at best.
If you’re considering putting your trip on pause until you’ve got the situation figured out, there’s no need to worry. Continue reading to learn about how your dental implants will interact with airport security measures.
What is a Dental Implant Made Of?
X-ray scanners and metal sweepers are used to detect potentially dangerous materials people may be harboring in the airport. But aren’t dental implants made of metal?
Yes. The posts for your dental implants are made from titanium, a very dense and biocompatible metal that fuses with your jawbone after insertion. This is the same material that is used for hip and knee replacements.
While those treatments can and will set off an alarm, your dental implants are a much lower risk due to their size.
How Do Metal Detectors Work?
Metal detectors are able to send out an electromagnetic field from its internal coil into the ground. Any magnetic metal objects caught in this field are energized by it and that feedback is sent to the detector, causing it to beep.
The greater the mass of an object, the more of this field it will absorb, giving a stronger reaction. Titanium is harder to detect because it’s non-magnetic and has a low electrical conductivity rating.
This is why your dental implants are at such a low risk of being detected in the first place. But just in case…
What Happens if My Implants Set Off the Alarm?
While it is highly unlikely that your implants will trigger the metal detectors at all, if the detector makes an audible beep, you may be asked to step aside and undergo additional screening.
In this worst-case scenario, you may be questioned by a TSA agent, but once you tell them about your implants, you’ll likely be released without further delay.
Travel is stressful enough without having to try to account for unforeseen circumstances like a tripped metal detector from a dental implant. Fortunately, the odds of that happening are low. If you’ve given yourself plenty of time to get through normal security, you should be fine.
About the Practice
Dr. Andrew M. Nawrocki and Dr. Kimberly Dennis are the dedicated professionals behind Brown & Nawrocki Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry. With their unwavering commitment to oral health and patient well-being, they provide a warm and welcoming environment for top-tier dental care. Dr. Nawrocki is a Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, a prestigious honor few dentists have achieved. To schedule a dental implant consultation, call (386) 677-1046 or visit the website for more information.