The dental implant procedure takes a few months up to 2 years. It all depends on the type of restoration you choose and the quality of your jawbone.
Initial visit
Dental implant steps begin with the first consultation. The dentist will assess what needs to be done in your mouth to prepare you for the dental implant surgery. You can discuss different types of dental implants you are interested in, including overdentures, the All-on-4 solutions, as well as mini implants.
Mouth preparation
Getting dental implants may be preceded by extractions, teeth cleanings, scaling and root planing, or bone grafting. Sometimes it is possible to have teeth pulled on the same day your implants are put in. Those are called immediate load dental implants.
Oral surgery
The next step is the dental implant surgery itself. You will receive an anesthetic to manage pain. There are many options, depending on your pain tolerance and how many rods are going to be inserted. Some patients prefer to be totally unconscious.
Minus the anesthesia, the dental implant surgery is a minor one and takes no more than 2 hours. The dentist will cut open the gums (unless there was an extraction immediately beforehand) and drill a hole into the bone. An implant screw is inserted. A healing collar may be placed to prevent gums from growing over the hole.
The healing period after dental implant surgery may take 3-6 months. This is when osseointegration happens. This is skipped in the case of same-day implants, when the fusing happens once the new teeth are already in place.
Putting in the abutment
Unless you are having one-day implants done, abutment placement happens when osseointegration is complete. This is also a minor procedure and there is little down time. You will need about 2 weeks of recovery before a crown can be put in.
Crown or bridge placement
The dental implant process timeline ends with crown or bridge insertion. A crown is like a cap, an artificial tooth that sticks out above the gumline. A bridge may have teeth as well as acrylic gum-imitating material. That is why it may be referred to as a hybrid denture.