Dental implants are a permanent and appealing solution to replace missing or extracted teeth. If the adjacent teeth to the missing tooth are healthy, an implant is a better choice than a bridge because no additional teeth need to be altered to place the new tooth.

The entire implant process is performed over the course of a few months. The first part of the process is to establish if anatomically there is enough bone to allow an implant to be situated in bone. If there is not enough bone, there are procedures that can be done to make sure the bone is adequate to receive the implant, It usually takes 4-6 months for bone augmentation to fully heal. Once the bone is deemed ready to take on the implant, the implant (which is a titanium screw) is placed into the jaw bone. An incision imay need to be made in the gum so that the implant can be inserted. Multiple implants can be placed at once if necessary. After the implants are placed the gums are sutured.

The implant must be allowed about 3-6 months to heal, and during this time the jaw bone will form around the implant in a process called osseointegration. During this healing time there are ways to temporarily replace the missing tooth so that you can eat and speak normally and maintain a proper aesthetic appearance for your smile.

After the implant has healed it is time to place an abutment on the implant. The abutment serves as the base for your new tooth. One this is placed an impression of the abutment is taken and is used to create your permanent restoration. Some offices have an onsite lab to create the crown, but others will have to send it to an outside lab. Once the restoration is completed you can return to the office to attach the restoration permanently. Immediately, or after a short period of getting used to the implant, it will feel just like one of your own teeth.