Dental Implant Time

Treatment time can vary greatly depending on your needs.

If you were to break your arm, the bone would take a few weeks to heal. Bone in the mouth is similar. It usually but not always needs the same amount of time. The upper jaw usually takes a little longer due to softer bone. The lower jaw is usually very dense which speeds up the time frame.

Techniques such as "immediate implants" allow me to complete full mouth implants in one hour, sometime less. Each situation needs a separate evaluation. Some implants can be completed from start to finish in a single hour, while certain situations will require a few months of healing. Be assured that at no point in your treatment will you have no teeth. Temporary teeth are used to make sure you can smile with confidence until the final teeth are completed. At your first visit I will be able to give you an approximate timetable.

Traditionally, the procedure has been performed in two steps. The dentist began by placing the implant, which was left for from three to six months to heal and integrate with the jawbone. During the healing period, the patient was given a temporary denture until the permanent crown could be put in place.

I provide an alternative to the two-step method that allows you to have the implant placed in one single session. This new method has simplified the procedure for patients. The procedure chosen depends on several factors, such as your health, the number of teeth involved and which teeth are replaced. These factors will also determine the total number of visits.

Surgical Advances

My technique saves many months of healing that are typically associated with dental implants. Temporary teeth can be placed on the implants on the same day of the surgery. There are even many situations where the implants can be placed at the same time as a tooth extraction further minimizing the number of surgical procedures! In fact, I am one of few dentists that can extract a molar tooth and replace it on the same day! Advances in dental implant technology have made it possible in select cases, to extract teeth, and place implants with crowns at one visit. This process, called “immediate loading” greatly simplifies the surgical process. Most patients experience minimal disruption in their daily life. In some cases where significant bone deterioration has occurred, we may have to delay placing the final teeth for 3-6 months.

A patient of mine is featured below. She broke her front tooth and it was not savable. The next picture shows the SAME DAY extraction, implant and temporary crown. Hence to say she was very happy. With this procedure there is literally no pain when done correctly. No incisions were made. The next picture is her final porcelain crown on the implant, four years after placement! I think it looks great and she is thrilled. The final x-ray shows how the implant is encased by bone.