Dental implant surgery is a multistage process that can take between 3 to 12 months to complete. Depending on how much preparatory work needs to be done and how the dental implants integrate after placement, the entire process can be completed in five or six stages.
The six stages of dental implants are typically simple outpatient surgeries, each lasting between 20 minutes and a few hours, depending on the number of teeth that need to be replaced. The entire process will begin with a thorough examination by your dentist, including digital imaging to help plan the stages of your treatment.
Learn more about the stages that each patient will need to go through before the dental implant procedure is complete.
Beginning the Stages of Dental Implants
Before embedding the dental implants, any damaged teeth or root material must be removed. During this stage, your dentist will surgically extract the tooth and check the area for any other issues that might interfere with your future dental implants.
The difficulty of this step of the dental implant procedure depends on how many teeth you need to have extracted and the condition of the teeth. Generally speaking, tooth extraction is a straightforward procedure that can be done in a few minutes to a few hours, and the recovery time is usually a matter of days.
Preparing the Jaw and Gums
One of the optional stages of dental implants is any bone or gum grafts.
If necessary, your doctor will graft a piece of bone or gum tissue from another part of your jaw and place it where the future implant will be installed.
After placement, your bone or gum tissue will need time to fuse and heal before you can undergo dental implant surgery.
For some patients, this is a crucial part of the dental implant procedure and will need to be done before the dental implants can be placed. The most important part of a jawbone graft or gum tissue graft is the recovery time. This varies significantly between patients and could be as short as a few months or up to a year.
Implant Placement
After the place for your new tooth has been properly prepared, the dental implant itself can be installed. Your dentist makes a small incision in the gum tissue to expose the bone. After drilling a small hole, they screw the implant into the jawbone. The incision is closed over the implant, and the gum tissue is sutured.
This dental implant procedure takes between 1 and 2 hours and can be done under local or general anaesthetic.
Healing Period
After your dental implants have been placed, you need to wait 3-6 months for the implant to fuse with the jawbone. Some patients could have the bone and implant fuse in as little as two months; others will take longer; it depends on several factors, including age and general health condition.
This is a crucial time of the dental implant procedure, and your dentist monitors your progress. You must follow all the care steps and dietary recommendations your dentist provides to maximise the chance of success and reduce any chance of infection or complication.
Further Adjustment and Placement of Abutment
The abutment is the portion of the implant that connects the implant post with the prosthetic tooth. This is one of the stages of dental implants that will vary between patients. Some patients have their abutments attached during the initial implantation surgery; others will have it done later.
Your dentist might also make minor adjustments to either the abutment or the implant post. These relatively minor procedures can be done under local anaesthetic and usually require minimal healing time.
Attaching the Prosthetic
The final step in the dental implant procedure is the attachment of the prosthetic tooth. Your new tooth is custom-made and shaded to match the colour of your other teeth. At Dental Spot, we fabricate your crowns, bridges, and dentures on-site. This reduces the wait time to have your prosthesis fitted.
This is usually one of the easier steps and can take under an hour. This is the final step of the dental implant procedure, and you will leave the dental practice with your new smile.
Steps to a New Smile
The six stages of dental implants are all that is standing between you and your new smile. While it might seem like a lot of things to do, the steps are not difficult, and your dentist can walk you through what will be involved and how long the process is estimated to take. Contact your Dental Spot dentist today to get started.
Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
References:
Dental Implants
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470448/
The outcome of Early Dental Implant Placement Versus Other Dental Implant Placement Protocols: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6500770/
Effect of Different Timings of Implant Insertion on the Bone Remodeling Volume around Patients’ Maxillary Single Implants: A 2–3 Years Follow-Up
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7557473/
