The Dental Implant Procedure

The procedure for dental implant surgery, from start to finish.

What is it?

Dental implants require a surgical procedure which replaces damaged or missing teeth with artificial ones that look and act like the real thing. The procedure also replaces the tooth root with small metal “screws” which hold in the artificial teeth.

Dental implants are often an alternative for dentures or bridges. Implants are a good replacement because they do not require the natural tooth roots that dentures and bridges often need.

The procedure can vary depending on the condition of the jaw/ jaw bone and the amount of missing teeth to be replaced.

Unlike with dentures or a bridge, the healing process involves the metal screws/posts fusing with the bone of the jaw, and can take months.

Implants can be used when:

One or more teeth is missing.
The jaw bone is fully-grown.
The patient has several months to recover, and up to a year for the full procedure.
Dentures are not an option.
The jaw bone is adequate to secure the implants.
The patient does not have issues or lifestyle choices (such as smoking tobacco) that interfere with bone regrowth.

This Mayo Clinic article provides a full breakdown of what dental implants entail.

Step 1: Consult with your dentist

The first thing you will need to do is to talk to your dentist. Your dentist will be able to give you an assessment of whether dental implants are even viable for you. If they are, you can decide together what kind of implants you would like. Options include endosteel and periosteel implants. Additionally, the dentist will decide if your jaw has enough bone to accept the implants. If not, you may need a bone graft or dentures/ a bridge.

Step 2: Remove the damaged tooth and/or root

Once it has been decided that dental implants are viable for you, you need to get the old tooth out. This can be a surgery or a simpler tooth-pulling, depending on the state of your teeth. After which, you will need to give the area around the removed tooth some time to heal before the implant can be put in.

Step 3: Bone Grafting

This step is not always necessary. Make sure not to skip step one, so you know if this is for you or not. If you have enough jaw bone, then you won’t require a bone graft to ensure that the dental implants can safely be installed.

If a bone graft is necessary, then the dentist will remove a small piece of bone from somewhere else in your body and add it to your jaw so there is enough material for the implants to attach to. The bone may also be grown synthetically. Either way, bone repair takes time, so after the bone graft procedure, you will need to wait at least 3-6 months for the bone to heal and be ready to accept dental implants.

Step 4: Installing the implants

Once the jaw bone is ready, the titanium rods are installed. These rods (or screws) function as the root of the new artificial tooth. They are installed by cutting into the gums and drilling a hole in the jaw bone, then setting the rod beneath the gum line. As you can imagine, it is an intense procedure, and takes 4-7 months for the implant to fuse with the jaw.

Step 5: Healing cap installation

After the implant has fused with the jaw, these caps are installed to guide the gum to grow flush with where the artificial tooth will be. This takes about 2 weeks to heal.

Step 6: Abutment and temporary crown installation

Once the tissue has healed, the healing cap is removed. It is replaced by an abutment (a connecting element in dentistry) and a crown is placed on top of it. This process requires 4-6 weeks to heal.

Step 7: Placing the permanent crown

Once the gums have healed properly around the temporary crown, a permanent crown is put in. This crown can be one of two types: cemented, or screwed in. Cemented ones are more visually appealing, because screwed-in crowns have a visible screw hole. However, screwed-in crowns are much more easy to take out and work on in the case there are complications or for future surgeries/cleanings by your dentist.

After the whole procedure is complete, you can expect your jaw to heal fully in 6-9 months.

Total time needed for a dental implant

By now you’ve surely noticed that almost every stage of the dental implant procedure requires some time to heal.

Recovery after old tooth removal: several weeks- 1 month
Bone graft recovery: 3-6 months
Implant install recovery: 4-7 months
Healing cap install recovery: 2 weeks
Abutment and temporary crown recovery: 4-6 weeks
Full recovery after procedure: 6-9 months.

So the total time it will take from the first procedure to the next varies from about 16 months to 25 months, depending on your recovery time. 25 Months is over 2 years, so most likely your dentist will do the procedure piecemeal, giving you time to recover between surgeries.

Looking for dental implants in Carrollton Texas?

One of our specialties at Josey Lane Dentistry is oral surgery. We are an experienced dental firm with plenty of surgical experience. If you are curious about getting implants, or would like to consult with us and find out if they are right for you, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are happy to guide you through every step of the process and ensure you have a happy, healthy, and confident smile.