Can they be used next to natural teeth?

As a routine. dental implants placed beside natural teeth and this is generally a very safe practice. The one exception to this would be if a natural root was very curved or tilted unfavourably in the proposed path of the implant. This could cause the root to be damaged by the implant, however this can usually be avoided by careful planning in the pre-operative stage.

If a tooth is damaged inadvertantly by the placement of a nearby implant, any resulting problems can generally be resolved by root canal treatment in which the nerve in the natural tooth is removed.