How Long Do Dental Implants Take?

Thanks to advances in dental technology, there is a wide variety of tooth replacement options to choose from you if you are in the market for replacing a missing tooth. Dental implants in dumfries virginia are one of the most popular replacement alternatives. Implants offer stability and security that many other tooth replacement alternatives don’t offer. However, the implant treatment process is a bit longer than the other options. Below is more information about the dental implant treatment process and the estimated timeline of the treatment process.

The Dental Implant Treatment Process

Choosing to get a dental implant involves the investment of your money and your time. There are multiple steps to the treatment process that will occur over several dental visits. Prior to signing up for an implant, it is important you are prepared for the time commitment involved in the process. The entire process takes about 3-9 months from start to finish. While this may seem like a long time, the payoff is a permanent tooth that will last for years, if not forever. Here are the steps involved in the treatment process:

Step 1: Pre-surgery Dental Exam

Prior to creating an implant treatment plan, your dentist will want to complete a comprehensive oral health exam. It is important that they confirm that the jawbone is healthy and strong enough to support the implant. The exam is also important to developing a customized implant treatment plan and taking measurements for your implant and artificial crown.

Step 2: Implant Surgery

The implant surgery is relatively quick. The goal of the surgery is installing a metal post into the jawbone just below the gum line. The surgery takes about 1-2 hours for each implant. After your metal post is securely in place in the jawbone the next step of the process will not occur for several weeks. These weeks of waiting are a mandatory healing period. Allowing enough time for the bone and tissue to heal between your implant surgery and the fitting of the artificial crown is critical to the success of the implant. During this time the jawbone tissue heals around the implant and secures it in place. The length of this healing period depends on the patient and how quickly their gums and bones heal. The dentist will make the decision on how long to wait until scheduling the next visit, usually between 4-12 weeks.

Step 3: Abutment & Crown Fitting

After the implant is secure and the gums and bone are healed the final step of the process can be completed. The last step is fitting the abutment and crown to the implant post. This step is the least invasive part of the entire procedure. An abutment is a small cushion like shock absorber that sits between the implant and the permanent crown. The new artificial crown is securely fitted on top of the implant and abutment. In advance, the crown is usually custom ordered to match the shading and look of the natural teeth.

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