Mini Implants vs Standard Implants: Diameter, Bone Requirements and Where Each Makes Sense

The lower denture has been sliding for years. A little adhesive at breakfast, a hand raised to the mouth while laughing, a quiet decision to skip the corn on the cob. Then a dentist mentions two words that sound almost identical and turn out to be quite different: mini implants and regular implants. One brochure shows a slim post that looks like a small screw; the other shows something closer to a bolt with a separate cap.

Anyone weighing mini implants vs regular implants tends to arrive with the same tangle of questions. Is smaller gentler, or just weaker? Why does one option need a scan and a conversation about bone grafting while the other seems to skip that step? And why do two clinicians, both experienced, sometimes recommend different things for the same mouth?

The honest answer sits in millimeters of bone, in the physics of chewing, and in how mature the research is for each design. That is what this explainer walks through, without selling anything.

What is the difference between mini implants and regular implants?

A dental implant is a small titanium or titanium-alloy post placed into the jawbone to act as an artificial tooth root. Once bone grows onto its surface, a process called osseointegration, the post can hold a crown, a bridge or a denture. Both mini and standard implants work on that same principle. The difference is in width, in how many pieces they come in, and in what the evidence supports each one doing.

A standard implant is typically a two-piece system. The post, often called the fixture, sits inside the bone. A connector called an abutment screws into it and rises above the gum, and the visible tooth attaches to that. This design lets the clinician bury the fixture under the gum while bone heals, then choose the angle and height of the connector later.

A mini implant is usually a single piece. The post and the part that pokes above the gum are machined as one unit, often with a small ball or locator-style head designed to click into a denture. Because there is no separate connector, there is no internal screw joint to loosen, but there is also less room to adjust the final angle after placement. The narrow body also means the post is often placed without lifting a large flap of gum, using a smaller pilot hole.

Neither design is inherently better. Mayo Clinic describes implant treatment as a staged process that can take many months from planning to final tooth, and that framework applies to both. What changes is how much bone each needs, how forces travel through the post, and how well the long-term research supports the choice for a given job in the mouth.

How much narrower is a mini implant, really?

Numbers help here, with a caveat: the cutoff between “mini” and “standard” is a convention used across the dental literature and by manufacturers, not a rule set by a single guideline, and different reviews draw the line slightly differently. Most sources describe mini implants as narrower than about 3 mm, while standard fixtures commonly fall between roughly 3.5 and 5 mm, with wider bodies used for molar sites. Between the two sits a group often called narrow-diameter implants, which are two-piece designs slimmer than a conventional post but still wider than a mini.

Why does a millimeter or two matter so much? Surface area. Bone grips an implant along its entire threaded surface, and a wider post presents more of that surface for the same length. Think of pushing a pencil into damp sand versus pushing a broom handle: the broom handle resists tipping far better because the load is shared over more sand.

Feature	Mini implant	Standard implant
Approximate diameter	Commonly under about 3 mm	Roughly 3.5 to 5 mm or wider
Construction	Usually one piece, head built in	Two pieces: fixture plus separate abutment
Bone width needed	Less; may fit ridges too thin for a standard post	More; a margin of bone around the full width
Typical role	Stabilizing a removable denture; some narrow front-tooth gaps	Single crowns, bridges, fixed full-arch work, overdentures
Angle adjustment after placement	Limited	Adjustable through abutment choice
Long-term research base	Shorter follow-up, fewer large studies	Decades of follow-up data

The table oversimplifies on purpose. In the mouth, the decision is about how a particular post fits a particular ridge of bone and a particular bite, and that is where the next section begins.

Why bone width and height matter more than preference

Jawbone behaves like muscle in one respect: it shrinks when it is not used. After a tooth is lost, the ridge that once held it narrows and loses height over the following years, because the bone no longer receives the stimulation of chewing forces through a root. MedlinePlus notes that tooth loss is common in adults and that the bone changes that follow are part of why replacement options become more limited over time.

An implant needs bone on every side. Clinicians look for a rim of healthy bone around the full circumference of the post, plus enough depth so the tip does not approach the nerve canal in the lower jaw or the sinus floor in the upper jaw. A standard-width post therefore needs a ridge wide enough to hold it with margin to spare. A ridge that has thinned to a knife edge cannot do that without first being rebuilt.

This is the strongest practical argument for mini implants. Their slim profile can sit inside a ridge that is too narrow for a standard fixture, which is why they are so often discussed for the front of the lower jaw in long-term denture wearers, where the bone commonly ends up thin but fairly dense.

Bone density is the second variable. The lower front jaw tends to be dense and cortical; the back of the upper jaw tends to be softer and more spongy. A narrow post gets its stability from the quality of the bone it touches. Where bone is soft, a wider post with more thread surface has a clear mechanical advantage, and many clinicians avoid minis there altogether.

Height matters too. Mayo Clinic explains that when the jaw is too thin or too soft to hold an implant, a bone graft may be needed first, and that grafted bone can take several months to mature. Whether to graft and go standard, or skip grafting and go narrow, is one of the central conversations in this whole comparison.

What actually happens during placement: one-piece vs two-piece

Planning comes first, and it looks the same for both. A clinical exam, a review of medical history and medicines, and imaging, often a three-dimensional cone-beam CT scan that maps bone width and the position of nerves and sinuses. Cleveland Clinic describes this planning phase as the point where the team decides whether the bone can support an implant at all and, if so, which kind.

A standard implant is usually placed under local anesthetic, sometimes with sedation. The gum is opened, the bone is prepared with a series of drills of increasing width, and the fixture is threaded into place. The gum may be closed over it, or a small healing cap left visible. Mayo Clinic describes a waiting period of several months while bone bonds to the surface, then a second, smaller procedure to attach the abutment, followed by impressions and the final crown or denture attachment.

A mini implant follows a shorter surgical script. Because the post is narrow, the clinician often makes a single small pilot hole through the gum without lifting a flap, then drives the one-piece implant in with a hand or motorized driver. The ball or locator head is immediately above the gum. In some denture cases the existing denture is modified the same day so it clips onto the new heads; in others the team waits for bone to settle before loading it.

That immediate loading is not a free pass. Whether a post can carry force from day one depends on how firmly it seats in the bone, a value the clinician measures during placement, and on how the bite distributes load. Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic both emphasize that undisturbed healing is what allows bone to bond to titanium, and a post that is wiggled too early, of any width, may form scar tissue instead of bone. The treating team decides the loading timeline case by case.

Mini dental implants for dentures: where they make the most sense

The clearest role for mini implants is the one they were largely developed for: steadying a loose lower denture. A full lower denture rests on a horseshoe of gum with the tongue pushing from the inside and the cheeks from the outside. It has far less to hold onto than an upper denture, which gets suction from the palate. MedlinePlus lists poor fit and slipping among the most common complaints with conventional dentures, and lower dentures account for a large share of that frustration.

An implant-retained overdenture is a removable denture that snaps onto attachments fixed to implants. The denture still rests on the gum and still comes out at night for cleaning, but it no longer floats. Standard-width implants have been used this way for decades, typically with two posts in the front of the lower jaw. Mini implants offer an alternative route to the same result, usually with a larger number of narrow posts spaced across the front of the ridge, so the load is shared even though each post is slim.

Several features make this scenario a good match. The lower front jaw is usually dense, which suits a narrow post. The forces on a removable overdenture are lower and more forgiving than on a fixed tooth, because the gum still carries part of the load. And many long-term denture wearers have exactly the thin ridge that would otherwise need grafting before standard implants could be placed.

Short- and medium-term clinical studies of mini implants supporting lower overdentures generally report outcomes in the same neighborhood as standard-width implants used the same way, though follow-up periods are shorter and study sizes smaller than for conventional implants. That is a genuinely encouraging picture for this specific use. It does not automatically transfer to the upper jaw, where softer bone changes the mechanics, or to fixed teeth, which is where the next question lives.

Can mini implants replace a single tooth or hold a bridge?

Sometimes, in a narrow space, at the front. That is the cautious answer most clinicians give, and it is worth understanding why the enthusiasm cools as you move toward the back of the mouth.

A single front tooth, such as a lower incisor, sits in a very narrow gap between neighboring roots. A standard implant may not physically fit without risking damage to the adjacent teeth. In that setting, a mini or narrow-diameter implant can be the only way to avoid a bridge that grinds down healthy neighbors. The bite forces on a lower incisor are relatively modest and mostly vertical, which suits a slim post.

Molars are a different world. Chewing forces at the back of the mouth are several times higher than at the front, and they arrive at angles that try to bend the post as much as push on it. A narrow one-piece implant has a thin neck at the gum line, and that neck is where bending stress concentrates. Fracture of the post, or gradual loss of the surrounding bone under repeated overload, are the recognized concerns. Most mainstream guidance steers molar replacement toward standard or wide fixtures, with grafting first if the bone requires it.

Bridges add another wrinkle. A bridge connects two or more implants rigidly, and if those implants are narrow and one-piece, the clinician has little ability to correct small differences in angle after placement, because the connector is built in. Two-piece standard systems allow angled abutments that bring slightly divergent posts into line. That flexibility matters more than it sounds when several implants must share a single rigid restoration.

The pattern that emerges is consistent: minis have a defensible place where space is tight and forces are low, and a much weaker case where forces are high and the restoration is fixed. The treating team’s judgment about your specific bite decides where your gap falls on that spectrum.

Who is usually a candidate for mini implants vs regular implants, and who is asked to wait

Candidacy is less about age than about healing capacity and bone. Mayo Clinic frames the ideal implant candidate as someone with a fully grown jaw, adequate bone or the ability to receive a graft, healthy gum tissue, and no health conditions that would impair bone healing. Those criteria apply to both designs, but the balance shifts depending on the situation.

People most often steered toward a standard implant include those replacing a molar, those wanting a fixed bridge or a full arch of fixed teeth, and those whose bone is adequate in width or who are willing to undergo grafting to make it so. The longer track record and the mechanical margin of a wider post are the reasons.

People for whom a mini implant is more often discussed include long-term lower denture wearers with a thin but dense ridge, those who want to avoid or cannot undergo grafting surgery, those with a very narrow front-tooth gap, and those for whom a shorter, less invasive procedure is a priority because of frailty or other health considerations. None of those is a guarantee that a mini will be recommended; each is a reason for the conversation.

Who is usually asked to wait? Anyone whose jaw is still growing, which is why implants of any width are generally deferred in adolescents. Anyone with active gum disease or untreated decay in neighboring teeth, because infection undermines healing. Anyone with uncontrolled diabetes, since high blood sugar slows tissue repair. People who smoke heavily are counseled about the higher risk of implant complications that Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic both describe, and may be asked to reduce or stop before surgery.

Medicines matter as well. Antiresorptive medicines such as bisphosphonates, which slow bone turnover and are used for osteoporosis and some cancers, can affect how jawbone heals after surgery. Anyone taking them, or taking blood thinners, should tell the dental team, who will coordinate with the prescribing clinician. No one should stop or change a prescribed medicine on their own before dental treatment.

Mini implants disadvantages: what the evidence actually shows

Marketing tends to present the narrow post as the gentle option and stop there. The clinical literature is more even-handed, and the disadvantages deserve the same plain language as the advantages.

The first is mechanical. Less diameter means less surface for bone to grip and a thinner cross-section to resist bending. Under heavy or off-axis loads, a narrow one-piece post is more vulnerable to fracture at its neck, and fracture of a one-piece implant usually means the whole post must come out. A standard two-piece system that suffers a problem at the connector can often be repaired by replacing the abutment or screw while the fixture stays in the bone.

The second is adjustability. Because the head of a mini is fixed to the body, the angle you place is the angle you get. In a denture case with several posts, small divergences are tolerated by the flexible attachments inside the denture. In a fixed crown or bridge, that same divergence can leave the clinician with an awkward compromise.

The third is the evidence base. Standard implants have follow-up data spanning decades and very large numbers of patients. Mini implants have a shorter research history, with most studies following patients for a handful of years and focusing on lower overdentures. That does not mean minis fail more often; it means the confidence interval around any claim is wider, and honest clinicians say so.

The fourth is wear. The small ball heads that clip into dentures, and the nylon or rubber inserts in the denture that grip them, wear with repeated snapping on and off. Periodic replacement of those inserts is a normal part of maintenance and should be expected, not treated as a failure.

Set against those points, the smaller incision, the ability to avoid grafting in some cases, and the shorter surgical time are real. Weighing them is not a marketing exercise; it is the substance of the consultation with the treating team.

How long do mini implants last compared with standard implants?

This is the question people most want a number for, and it is the one where an honest writer has to hold back. No mainstream guideline publishes a single lifespan figure for either design, because longevity depends on bone quality, bite forces, gum health, smoking, systemic disease and how well the implant is cleaned, far more than on the post itself.

What can be said fairly: standard implants have been followed in research for decades, and Cleveland Clinic describes them as a long-lasting option that, with good care, can serve for many years and often for the rest of a person’s life. Mini implants have simply not been studied for as long. Most published follow-up for minis covers the first several years, mainly in lower overdenture cases, where outcomes have generally looked comparable to standard implants over those periods. Beyond that horizon, the data thin out, and no one should promise a decades-long track record that the research has not yet had time to produce.

It helps to separate the implant from the things attached to it. The titanium post, once bonded to bone, is the durable part in either system. Crowns wear and chip, denture teeth wear down, attachment inserts lose their grip, and gums recede. Much of what people experience as an implant “not lasting” is actually the restoration on top reaching the end of its service life, which is repairable without touching the post.

The threat that genuinely shortens the life of any implant is peri-implantitis, an inflammatory condition of the gum and bone around an implant, driven by the same bacterial plaque that causes gum disease around natural teeth. Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic both list good oral hygiene and regular professional checks as the main defense. In that respect, a mini and a standard implant are identical: both are only as durable as the tissue around them is healthy.

What the days and weeks after placement usually look like

The first evening after any implant surgery tends to be quieter than people fear. Mayo Clinic lists the usual short-term effects: swelling of the gum and face, some bruising of the skin and gum, discomfort at the site, and minor bleeding. Cold compresses in the first day, soft food, and gentle rinsing as instructed are standard advice. Any pain medicine is prescribed and dosed by the treating clinician, and this article deliberately gives no guidance on that.

A mini implant placed through a small pilot hole without a gum flap often produces less swelling and a shorter period of soreness than a flap procedure, simply because less tissue was disturbed. That is a reasonable expectation, not a promise; a person with a difficult site or several posts may still have a few uncomfortable days.

The following weeks are about leaving the site alone. If a denture has been fitted to the new posts, the team will explain how to seat and remove it without levering on the attachments, and will likely relieve or soften its underside so it does not press on healing gum. If the posts are not yet loaded, the old denture may be adjusted or left out for a period. Soft foods and avoiding chewing directly over a fresh site are common instructions for both designs.

For a standard two-piece implant, Mayo Clinic describes a healing interval of several months before the abutment is placed, followed by a further stretch for impressions and fabrication of the final tooth. Cleveland Clinic gives a similar picture. Where a bone graft was done first, the graft itself may need several months to mature before an implant can even be placed, so the full journey can approach a year or more.

Follow-up visits check that the gum is healing, that the denture or crown is not overloading a post, and that cleaning is going well. Missing those visits is one of the most common ways small problems become large ones.

Bone grafting, sinus lifts and the third option people forget

When someone is told their ridge is too narrow for a standard implant, the conversation usually collapses into two choices: rebuild the bone, or use a narrower post. There is often a third path, and a good consultation lays all three out.

Bone grafting adds volume to a deficient ridge. Mayo Clinic describes graft material coming from another part of the person’s own body, from a donor or animal source, or from synthetic substitutes, and notes that the grafted area may take several months to develop enough new bone to hold an implant. In the upper back jaw, where the sinus cavity sits above the tooth roots, a sinus lift raises the sinus floor and packs graft beneath it to gain height. These procedures are well established, but they add surgery, healing time and a second recovery.

Mini or narrow implants are the second path, accepting a slimmer post in exchange for skipping the graft. The trade-offs described earlier apply.

The third path is a well-made conventional denture, or a modified one, with no implants at all. MedlinePlus describes dentures as a standard, effective option for replacing missing teeth, and relining or remaking an ill-fitting denture can transform its stability for some people. For someone whose main complaint is a loose upper denture, better palate coverage may resolve the problem without any surgery. For a person whose health makes surgery unwise, this is not a lesser choice; it is the appropriate one.

Other alternatives exist in specific situations, such as a tooth-supported bridge for a single gap or, in some full-arch cases, angled standard implants that use available bone in the front of the jaw to avoid grafting at the back. Each has its own evidence, risks and maintenance profile. The point of listing them is not to rank them but to make sure the choice between a mini and a standard implant is made with the full menu in view.

What people often get wrong about mini implants vs regular implants

“Mini means temporary.” Narrow implants were once used mainly as short-term anchors during healing, and that history lingers. Today’s mini implants are designed and placed as definitive treatment, particularly for overdentures. The lingering truth inside the myth is that their long-term evidence is shorter, not that they are meant to be removed.

“Smaller is always gentler.” A smaller incision is real. But placing a narrow post into dense bone is still surgery, and a poorly planned mini in soft bone can lead to a worse outcome than a well-planned standard implant with a graft. Gentleness comes from planning and suitability, not from diameter alone.

“Standard implants always need a bone graft.” Many people have plenty of bone for a standard implant without any grafting. The graft conversation arises when imaging shows a deficiency, not as a routine step.

“If a mini fails, you just put in another one.” A failed implant of any width leaves a defect in the bone that may need to heal or be grafted before another attempt. Failure is not trivial in either design.

“Implants cannot get gum disease.” Peri-implantitis is the most common reason implants are lost late, and it is driven by the same plaque bacteria that damage natural teeth. Titanium does not decay, but the bone holding it can be lost to inflammation.

“Mini implants are only for people who cannot afford standard ones.” The appropriate reason to choose a mini is anatomical and clinical: a narrow ridge, a tight gap, a removable denture that needs steadying, or a person for whom a smaller procedure is medically wiser. When the choice is framed purely as a compromise, the clinical logic has been lost.

“Once it is in, you are done.” Both designs require the same lifelong routine: daily cleaning around the posts, replacement of worn attachment inserts, and regular professional checks. An implant is a beginning of maintenance, not an escape from it.

Questions to ask your care team

A good consultation should leave you able to explain, in your own words, why one design was recommended over the other for your mouth. These questions tend to draw out that reasoning. Bring them written down; the chair is a poor place to remember things.

• What does my scan show about bone width and height at each site, and how close are the nerve canal or sinus floor?
• Are you recommending a mini implant because it is the best fit for my bone and bite, or mainly to avoid a graft? What would the graft-and-standard route involve for me?
• Is the tooth or denture I need fixed or removable, and how does that change which implant you would choose?
• How many posts do you plan to place, and how will the load be shared across them?
• Will the implants carry a denture or crown immediately, or after a healing period, and what determines that decision on the day?
• Which of my medicines and health conditions could affect healing, and will you coordinate with my physician about them?
• What is your experience with this specific design, and what problems have you seen with it?
• What maintenance will the attachments or crown need, and how often should I come back?
• If a post fails or fractures, what are the options, and does the answer differ between a one-piece and two-piece system?
• What would you do if this were your mouth, and why?

Notice that none of these ask for a guarantee. Guarantees are not something evidence-based medicine offers. What you are looking for is a clinician who can walk through the anatomy on your scan, name the trade-offs without flinching, and describe what happens if things do not go to plan. The decision itself remains a shared one between you and the treating team, and it is entirely reasonable to ask for time to think, or for a second clinical opinion, before committing.

When to call your doctor

Most recovery after implant placement is uneventful, and mild swelling, bruising and soreness in the first few days are expected. Some signs, however, warrant a same-day call to the dental team or, if they are unreachable, urgent medical care.

Bleeding that does not slow with firm pressure over the site, or that restarts heavily after the first day, needs attention. So does pain that worsens rather than eases after the first two or three days, especially if it is throbbing and accompanied by a bad taste or discharge, which can signal infection. Mayo Clinic lists infection at the implant site among the recognized complications, along with injury to neighboring teeth, blood vessels or nerves.

Numbness, tingling or altered sensation in the lip, chin, tongue or gum that persists beyond the wearing-off of local anesthetic should be reported promptly, because it can indicate nerve involvement, and early assessment matters. For upper-jaw implants, new nasal congestion, a feeling of fluid in the nose when drinking, or sinus pain can suggest the sinus has been affected.

Swelling that keeps growing after the second day, spreads toward the eye or neck, or makes it hard to swallow or breathe is an emergency. Fever, feeling generally unwell, or an implant that feels loose or mobile at any stage also deserve a call.

Later on, watch for gum around an implant that bleeds when brushed, looks red or puffy, or has receded to expose the metal, and for a denture that no longer clicks on securely. These are the early signals of peri-implantitis or attachment wear, and Cleveland Clinic notes that catching inflammation early gives the team the best chance to manage it.

Chest pain, sudden breathlessness or signs of a severe allergic reaction after any procedure are reasons to call emergency services, not the dental office. Whatever the concern, the team that placed the implant is the right first call, and no symptom is too small to mention if it worries you.

Frequently asked questions

Are mini dental implants for dentures as stable as standard implants?

For a removable lower overdenture, short- and medium-term studies generally report stability and patient outcomes comparable to standard implants used the same way. Minis achieve this by using several narrow posts to share the load in dense front-jaw bone. The evidence is thinner for upper dentures, where bone is softer, and the follow-up periods studied are shorter than for conventional implants.

What are the main mini implants disadvantages?

The key drawbacks are less bone-contact surface, a thinner neck that is more vulnerable to fracture under heavy or angled loads, a fixed head that cannot be re-angled after placement, and a shorter research track record. If a one-piece mini fractures, the whole post usually has to be removed, whereas a two-piece standard implant can often have its connector replaced while the fixture stays in the bone.

How long do mini implants last?

No guideline gives a single lifespan figure for either design. Mini implants have been followed in research mainly for the first several years, with outcomes in overdenture cases broadly similar to standard implants over that period. Beyond that, data are limited. Longevity for any implant depends far more on gum health, bite forces, smoking and cleaning than on diameter, and attachment inserts will need periodic replacement regardless.

Can mini implants replace a single tooth?

Sometimes, in a narrow front-tooth gap where a standard post would not fit between neighboring roots without risk. Lower incisors are the typical example, because their gaps are tight and the bite forces are modest and mostly vertical. Most clinicians avoid minis for molars, where forces are several times higher and more likely to bend a slim post.

Do mini implants hurt less than regular implants?

Placement often involves a smaller incision or no gum flap at all, so swelling and soreness are frequently milder and shorter, but this is an expectation rather than a promise. Both procedures are done under local anesthetic, sometimes with sedation, and Mayo Clinic lists swelling, bruising and discomfort as normal for a few days after any implant surgery. Any pain relief is decided and prescribed by the treating clinician.

Why would a dentist recommend a mini implant instead of bone grafting?

Usually because the ridge is too narrow for a standard post but dense enough to hold a slim one, and a graft would add a separate surgery plus several months of healing before an implant could be placed. For a removable lower denture in a person who wants to avoid extra procedures, or whose health makes longer surgery unwise, that trade can make clinical sense. The alternative graft-and-standard route should still be explained.

Can mini implants support a fixed bridge or full-arch teeth?

Mainstream practice is cautious here. Fixed restorations transmit full chewing force directly to the posts, and a rigid bridge on one-piece implants leaves little room to correct angle differences after placement. Standard two-piece implants, sometimes placed at angles to use available bone, are the more established option for fixed full-arch work. Minis remain best supported by evidence for removable overdentures.

Does a mini implant need a healing period before the denture is attached?

Not always. Because minis are often placed into dense bone with good initial grip, some are loaded with a modified denture on the same day, while others are left unloaded for a period. The decision depends on how firmly each post seats during placement, the quality of the bone, and the bite. Loading too early can prevent bone from bonding to the post, so the treating team judges this case by case.

Who should not have mini implants or regular implants?

Implants of any width are generally deferred until jaw growth is complete, and postponed while active gum disease, untreated decay or uncontrolled diabetes is present. Heavy smokers are counseled about higher complication risk. People taking antiresorptive medicines such as bisphosphonates, or blood thinners, need coordination between the dental team and the prescribing clinician; no one should stop a medicine on their own before treatment.

What is the difference between a mini implant and a narrow-diameter implant?

The terms overlap, and manufacturers draw the lines differently. In general use, mini implants are one-piece posts under about 3 mm with the head built in, while narrow-diameter implants are two-piece designs slimmer than conventional fixtures but wider than minis, keeping the separate, adjustable abutment. Narrow-diameter implants are often chosen for tight single-tooth gaps where a standard post will not fit but a fixed crown is planned.

References

• Cleveland Clinic – Dental Implants
• MedlinePlus – Dentures

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.