Can Dental Implants, Braces & Fillings Set Off Airport Security?

If you have had to have a recent dental implant put in or you wear braces, you might be wondering if this metal in your mouth could cause you an issue at airport security. 

Luckily, no, these are just some myths. The dentures, implants and braces which are put in orthodontic patients are very small types of metal material and is extremely unlikely to cause an issue when making your passage through security at the airport.

However, there could be a small chance according to the sensitivity set on airport security systems, so don’t rule it out from happening entirely. 

If you are feeling confused about whether or not your standard metal braces and dentures will set off the metal detector alarm, we have put together a short article below to bust some popular braces myth ideas and tell you whether or not these dentures will need security checks. 

Do Braces Set Off Metal Detectors

Before we can get into busting some common myths about your dental treatment giving you issues at security, we will explore the three main popular denture procedures. 

Myths about braces and airport security have been around for a long time, but in reality, having a straighter smile will not interfere with the metal detector security procedures at the airport. 

Due to the light metal and small amount being in braces, most of the time these traditional types of dentures will pass through the sensitivity of an airport metal detector, unless they have their sensitivity set very high.

Do Fillings Set Off Metal Detectors? 

From gold fillings to titanium and silver fillings, the chances that these orthopaedic implants could set off the alarm during the airport security process is very small. Unless you have custom dentures put in on every single tooth, the small amount of metal will cause no harm during security. 

Do Dental Implants Set Off Metal Detectors?

Dental implants in general will have a low chance of setting off the security alarm due to the advanced technology of these detectors being able to pass over small amounts of metal. 

Most of the time, dental implants are made from stainless steel or medical-grade titanium which is not very conductive either, so this in combination with its size will reduce the chance of your dental treatment setting off the alarm.

Common Myths About Airport Security & Dental Products

As we know, there are plenty of myths about airport security detectors and dental metal causing issues at the airport, but some of these can be partially true. 

We have listed three popular myths about dental products and metal braces below so as you can see whether or not your teeth will make you wait with TSA. 

Dental Implants Are Too Small To Set Off Security 

One of the first myths that have a little truth is that dental implants are too small to be detected, while this is a factor as to why most people can pass through with implants in their teeth, this is not entirely true as these implants will still be detected, just not enough to raise an alarm. 

Even gum wrappers that contain foil can be detected, so this means the implants in dental patients definitely can.

Titanium Implants Cannot Be Detected 

Another myth that is not true is that titanium used in implants will not be detected, this has stemmed from the old detectors that sued to struggle detecting titanium due to its low conductivity, nowadays however advanced technology means that titanium will be detected.

Dental Braces & Implants Are Insulated From Detectors 

As dental braces, fillings and implants are inside of your mouth, there is the common assumption that this means they are insulated from detectors, but this is not true, as even hip implants and titanium screws in the body can set detectors off. 

Final Words 

To conclude, the reason why dental patients can pass through airport scanners without raising the alarm is that the metal used is too small, insulated, and the metal types are often of light conductivity, also airport security does not set their technology to be this sensitive to avoid having to pull every person aside for a search. 

So keep that dream smile and travel as you wish!