Doctor Referrals

Overview of Dental Implant Placement

The Surgical Procedure

The procedure to place an implant takes 30-to-60 minutes for one dental implant and only 2-to-3 hours for multiple dental implants. The number of appointments and time required, vary from patient to patient. The surgeon will bring great precisiona nd attention to the details of your case.

Prior to surgery, you may recieve antibiotics and for greater comfort, intravenous sedation or nitrous oxide (laughing gas). These options are discussed with you at your consultation appointment. A local anesthetic will be administered to numb the area where the dental implant will be placed.

When you are comfortable, the surgeon makes a small incision in the gum tissue to revel the bone, then creates space using special instruments, and gently inserts the titanium implant. The top of this implant is often visible through the gum. Sometimes it is better int he early stages if healing to have the dental implant covered by the gum tissue.

Healing Phase

The Healing Phase After Dental Implant Placement

Now the healing begins. The length of time varies from person to person, depending upon the quality and quantity of bone. In some cases, implants may be restored immediately after they are placed. The surgeon will advices you on follow-up care and timing. After the initial phase of healing, the surgeon places an abutment (support post) or a healing cap into the implant during a brief follow-up visit. This allows gum tissue to mature and provides access to the dental implant.

Occasionally, impressions are made at the time the impant is placed. This enables the crown to be reayd when the dental implants have healed. How long your mouth needs to heal is determined by a variety of factors. Follow-up care (one to four appointmnts) is usually needed to ensure that your mouth is healing well and to determine when you are ready for the restorative phase of your treatment.
It may be beneficial to perform a soft tissue graft to obtain stronger, more easily cleaned and natural appearing gum tissue in the area around the implant. This process involves moving a small amount of gum tissue from one part of your mouth to the area around the dental implant. Most often, it is a brief and relatively comfortable procedure. Whether it’s one tooth or all of your teeth that are being replaced, your dentist will complete the restoration by fitting the replacement tooth (crown) to the dental implant.

When are Dental Implants Placed?

Dental implants are often placed several months after extraction. At times, an implant may be placed immediately after extraction of a tooth. This may involve a little more risk, but it simplifies the process – you won’t have to wait for another appointment to place the dental implant. When infection or other problems with the bone are present, immediate implant placement is not the best treatment.

If your tooth has been missing for some time, the adjacent support bone is likely to grow thinner and shrink. This occurs because the root of the natural tooth has to be present to stimulate the bone. As much as one third of your jaws thickness can be lost in th year following tooth extraction. If you are missing enough bone, you may benefit from having additional bone gradted into the are this ensures the dental implant will be adequately supported when it is placed in the jaw

How Many Dental Implants Do I Need?

Most frequently, one dental implant per missing tooth is placed. Because many of the largerr teeth in the back of your jaws have two or three roots, the most commin approach is to replace missing back teeht with larger dental implants

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