Your smile doesn’t have to be incomplete when you’re missing one or more of your teeth. Whether they’ve fallen out due to poor hygiene, gum disease, an unfortunate accident, there is a way to restore it without anyone noticing the difference: dental implants!

But just how long do you have to wait for—post-extraction—for a new set of pearly whites? We’ll tackle that in today’s article!

There Are Different Kinds of Implants

The wait for your dental implants depends on the bone and tissue structures surrounding the area in question. Your dentist needs to take a 3D scan of the gap to determine which of these three waiting periods apply to you:

• Immediate Placement: Sufficient bone and tissue around the gap mean a dental implant can be fit at the soonest possible time. Sometimes, the implant can be placed right after tooth extraction. Once in place, the implant needs three to six months to fuse with the bone before the prosthetic crown is placed over it. Following this period ensures the tooth’s form and function are fully restored.

• Early Placement: The dental implant is placed two to three months after extraction to ensure the area has fully healed from the procedure. Perhaps the extraction went beyond the gums and into the bone, thereby requiring a longer time to regrow the bone structure.

Like immediate placements, the implant needs three to six months to bond with the

bone before the prosthetic tooth is installed.

• Delayed Placement: If there is insufficient bone in the area due to a prolonged gap or gum disease, your dentist will need to perform bone graft surgery since bones are essential in securing natural teeth and implants. 

You’ll need three to six months to heal from the bone graft, have the implant installed, then wait for another three to six months for the prosthetic tooth to be placed.

How Long Is the Wait?

The right timing for your dental implant depends on the kind of implant you receive from your dentist. Based on the three mentioned above, here are the estimated waiting periods:

• Immediate Placement: Depending on how fast your post-implant installation’s recovery period is, the wait takes around three to six months.

• Early Placement: The area in question needs an additional two to three months of recovery before the implant is installed. Another three to six months is required for it to bond before crown installation. The wait ranges from five to nine months.

• Delayed Placement: This is the longest as the bone graft takes three to six months of recovery. Once the implant is installed, another three to six months is needed to bond to the bone before installing the crown. The average waiting period is six months to one year.

Are They Worth the Hassle?

Perhaps you’ve read up to this point and are thinking, “It takes quite a while for implants to be beneficial. Maybe I should just skip that treatment or opt for others to replace my missing tooth.” First, no other procedure mimics the form and function of natural teeth like dental implants. Second, academic experts have touted them as the best option for replacing missing teeth since they offer these benefits:

• Eating is again convenient since implants don’t slide, move, or break.

• They look like natural crowns, meaning your smile will be complete.

• They protect your jawbone from shrinking and—as a result—your mouth from losing more teeth.

• They stimulate jawbone and jawbone growth since they mimic a natural tooth’s root.

• They have a 95 percent success rate; those who have had dental implants experienced successful bone bonding.

• They are designed to be irreplaceable. As such, they last much longer than bridges and dentures.

In Conclusion

We hope this article helps you make an informed decision regarding your oral health. The benefits of dental implants far outweigh the disadvantages since they mimic real teeth’ form and function. Whether it takes three months or one year for you to finally have dental implants, the positive impacts outlined above make the wait completely worth it!

For long-lasting, affordable dental implants or dental implants in Denver, book an appointment with G-Dental32 today! We’re a group of dentists committed to providing safe, ongoing dental care in the community for an open, trustworthy, and quality experience. Call us for your appointment today!