The awkward moment when you walk through a metal detector and you hear a beep...

If you travel abroad at least one time year, you will have noticed the heightened security at the airport.

So it begs the question, and it really does as our patients are asking us again and again…

Will my Dental Implants set off a metal detector at the airport?

Metal detectors have different settings and in some countries they are set to a level so specific they will pick up just about anything. 

Many small things that we would never consider can set off a metal detector  such as a little foil wrapper. Yes your tiny chewing gum or foil in your cigarette packet can and will on occasion make you beep! Hairbands are also another regular culprit. Many brands are now making the transition from foil wrappers to paper for this very reason. 

Titanium is as strong as steel, but only 45 percent the weight and it is for this reason that a large percentage of the worlds population now has something titanium in their body including; Hip and joint replacement, Pins, Posts, Wires and Rods… Hell, our bodies internally are starting to look like some kind of hardware store! 

Dental implants are made of titanium metal and therefore are not magnetic. This means that most security metaş detectors will not detect Dental Implants. That said, there is a chance that if the scanners settings are such that they want to detect low levels of Titanium, you will be in a long line of passengers listening to a repeating beeping sound. 

If you find yourself in this situation, simply explain that you have Dental Implants and they can scan your cheek area with the smaller device. 

You cannot avoid security pat downs no matter what you do. It doesn't matter how old you are or how non shifty-looking you try to appear, at some point you know it will happen. Possibly, it has already happened, and if it has, you know it will happen again. 

Airport scanners can detect Dental Implants but in reality it is likely they wont. Implants are tiny, and the titanium used in Implants is not as dense as other metals, 

The scanners will pick it up but even the dimmest sparked employee will be able to tell the difference between a rod holding body parts together and a weapon. If you do have a pat down in the middle of the airport, at least you can smile with beautiful teeth while they are doing it!