Dental implants are high-quality restorative treatments for patients missing one or more permanent teeth. If you are considering implants to secure a crown, bridge, or denture, you may wonder how long the whole implant process will take. Here, we clarify each part of dental implant treatment in our Tampa, FL office and how long preparation, surgery, and healing can take based on your specific needs.
How Long Is The Dental Implant Process?
Every patient has different needs, and requiring more preparation or implants can lengthen the time it takes to receive dental implants.
Preparation
We may recommend extraction, root canal, and/or bone grafting, depending on your needs. We must ensure you are as healthy as possible before implant treatment. Bone grafting also ensures you have enough bone tissue to support your implants. Healing after bone grafting can take three or more months. Dental extractions or root canal treatment can take up to a week to heal fully. Once you are fully healed, we can begin implant surgery.
Implant Surgery
Placing a single implant can take one to two hours. Surgery can take multiple hours depending on your type of restoration and the area of your mouth where we are placing the implants. We access the bone beneath the gums during this surgery and place the titanium implant posts. Then, we will cover each implant with a healing cap.
Healing
Once we place the implants, initial healing will take seven days. You want to stick to a soft diet immediately after you receive your implants. Eating hard or crunchy foods directly after treatment can irritate the implant site. Instead, eat foods like pasta, mashed potatoes, and soup. Avoid chips, steak, and other hard, crunchy, or chewy foods.
Then, your implants will take three to six months to heal fully. During osseointegration, the implant anchors integrate with the jawbone. The bone provides a stable foundation for the implant anchor, and the implants will ultimately secure the restoration. Once the implants are fully healed, we will attach your final restoration. We create custom restorations and can design and mill dental crowns in our office so patients can receive restorations quickly. This also means we will provide a temporary crown or cap before you receive your permanent crown, bridge, or denture.
We will monitor your implant treatment sites in our office to determine when you can receive your final restorations. Keeping the extraction sites clean and avoiding tobacco products can help speed up healing.
Do you have questions about dental implants? Call Historic Hyde Park Dentistry today at 813-733-6981. You may also request a dental consultation with Dr. Rebecca Benedict on our website.