Although you can have prosthetic teeth that are fitted onto the implants during the same procedure that the titanium implants is placed (known as immediate implants), there may be underlying reasons why they’re not the best option for you. So, in order to answer the question, let’s take standard implants as a point in case.
Examination/Consultation: Prior to getting started with any work, your dentist is going to want to schedule a comprehensive exam to thoroughly check the health of your mouth. This may include X-rays and possibly 3D scans. Even if your dentist is very familiar with your mouth, this step is necessary to confirm that the health of your gums and jawbone is sufficient to support an implant, and to develop a treatment plan that is best for you.
Implant Surgery: After you are finished with the comprehensive exam, your dentist will schedule you for surgery. The surgery is the real first step of the implant process. Your dentist will place the titanium implant in your jawbone, right below the gums. This surgery usually takes about 1 hour for each implant being placed. After this step is complete, most clinicians will wait about 3 months before the final restoration of the tooth replacement. This may seem frustrating, but the healing period is very important to making sure the dental implant procedure is a success. You need to allow time for the implant to integrate into the bone, so that it has the strength to support your final restoration.
Post-Surgery Recovery: Initially after surgery, some people will experience swelling, bruising, or pain. This can depend on how much work your dentist needed to do to install the implant, especially if a tooth needed to be removed in the process. The time window between your implant surgery and the fitting of your crown is important, the length of that time depends on the healing of your gums and bone but is generally around 3 months.
Crown Fitting: The last step, after your implant is healed, is the less invasive procedure of fitting the abutment and crown to the implant. To start this final stage the implant is exposed in a minor surgical procedure and a small healing cap is screwed into place allowing the gums to form a tight seal around where the crown will sit. A couple of weeks later the healing cap is removed and a digital scan of the mouth taken with a special scan body screwed into the implant. The scan body is removed and the healing cap placed back. Your new crown can be screwed into place a couple of weeks later, once a specialist dental laboratory has fabricated it. The dental implant process is then complete.
In summary, to complete and schedule the multiple steps involved in the dental implant procedure, you should consider the process taking several months, from start to finish. The payoff is a permanent replacement tooth. The best way to get an idea of how long the process will take for you is to have a conversation with your dentist.
