Depending on which dentist or oral surgeon you talk to, you will get different, even conflicting answers about how long the process of dental implants wilmington north carolina actually takes from beginning to end. That is partially due to each patient requiring different lengths of time to heal from one phase to the next and also due to the preferred approach of the dentist for your individual needs. The answer will always be a best case scenario estimate that takes into consideration the dentist’s past experience and your past medical and dental history. Not all implant procedures are good for everyone, so you may not be the best candidate for the newer procedures use immediate implants or implants with replacement tooth attached to the titanium rod. In most cases, all things considered, you will have your permanent dental implant and porcelain crown in three to nine months.
Examination
After you have your first consultation appointment to discuss all the treatment plan options for your tooth replacement, the dentist will need to examine your mouth and teeth thoroughly. The dentist will need to take x-rays or even a 3D scan of your teeth to have a good reference point for the overall condition of your mouth and what the replacement tooth should look like. The dentist needs to be sure that your gums, surrounding teeth and jawbone are ready for one or more surgeries. After the examination and review of the images, the dentist will offer you an informed treatment plan with a better estimation of how many weeks the procedures will take.
Surgical procedure
As long as your jawbone is otherwise healthy and you do not need a bone graft to strengthen the area where the implant will be placed, the dentist will schedule you for surgery to place the implant below your gumline. Some people even need a bone graft on Assuming that you don’t roof of their mouth between their jaws and their sinus cavities. Bone healing takes longer than soft tissue healing so this will delay the implant being set in place. The actual procedure to place the titanium rod below the gumline will take about one to two hours and if there is more than one implant, each implant will need additional time to be carefully placed and secured for healing. The rod is set all the way down into the jawbone where the titanium will graft to the jawbone securing the implant from sliding or slipping over time. Many dentists will fit a temporary crown to the new implant to help your smile start to feel more complete.
Recovery time
While you will need time to allow any swelling to decrease or any bruising to fade, the true recovery is happening much deeper under the skin. The jawbone needs to heal from the implant being inserted and the most important part of the recovery process is when the titanium implant fuses to the jawbone. This very important healing is known as osseointegration and once it has taken place, the implant is super strong and secure. Your bones will heal at a different rate than your neighbors, so the healing time may be as short as four weeks or take up to 12 weeks.
Abutment fitting
Once the dentist is satisfied with the bone fusion that has taken place, the dentist will book you back into surgery. The dentist will place a socket shaped component, or abutment, to connect the implant to the replacement tooth. The abutment not only connects the implanted rod and the crown, but it is a shock absorber. The surgery will uncover your gum and expose your implant again. The final porcelain crown can be cemented at the same time as the abutment, but some patients need a separate fitting.
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