Understanding The Dental Implant Procedure
Each patient presents with different circumstances and each person’s treatment plan may differ slightly. Once your dental practitioner has assessed you, taken digital photographs and x rayed your mouth, he or she will create a treatment plan detailing the steps to be followed for your dental implant surgery. Your plan may consist of any combination of the following steps
Tooth Extraction
If the tooth is still in your mouth but needs to be extracted, this would be the first step in your treatment plan. In some patients, it may be possible to place the dental implant after extracting a damaged or diseased tooth. Visit a dentist that offers consultation to assess your teeth.
Bone Grafting Procedure
If your tooth has been missing for some time already, it is possible that you have experienced some bone loss in the jaw below it. You need to have strong and healthy jaw bones to support a dental implant so your dentist may recommend a bone graft before dental implants.
How long does it take? It is possible to do a minor bone graft just before dental implants are placed. However, if you need more bone tissue, a major graft will be done as a separate procedure. You will need to wait a few months before your dental practitioner can place the dental implants.
Placing The Dental Implant
Placing the implant is a surgical procedure that requires your dental practitioner to cut into the gum, and to drill holes into your jaw bone. The dental implants will be placed into the holes and the site stitched up to begin the healing process.
Placing the dental implants may only take an hour or two but you may need to wait for a few months before the site has healed well enough for the abutment to be placed. This process is called osseointegration and your jaw bone actually grows around the implant. If you are having multiple implants or a full mouth restoration, your dental implant procedure will take longer.
Placing The Abutment
Once the implant has integrated well, you will return for the placement of the abutment, which will connect the implant to your crown.
How long does it take? This may also only take an hour or two, but again, you will need to undergo a period of healing before the crown can be affixed.
Placing The Crown
Your dentist will create a crown to match the other teeth in your mouth. This can be done once your jaw bone has healed satisfactorily.
For a more personalised answer to ‘how long do teeth implants take’, you need to book a consultation at your local dental clinic. Call us for an appointment: (03) 5749 1208.
