If you are dealing with missing teeth, one of the most effective replacement options you have is dental implants.
The procedure can effectively restore your oral health and can give you a complete and beautiful smile. However, if you’ve been researching the procedure, you might have a lot of questions about the healing process.
After getting the surgery, you will need to wait for around 4-6 months or longer to complete the process and receive your dental crown. Here’s why that’s the case, and what you can expect with the dental implant healing process.
Dental implants are designed from 3 elements:
The metal post gets inserted into the jaw and serves as the foundation for the rest of the artificial tooth. Once it is planted, the body begins a process called osseointegration, which essentially means the jaw bone and surrounding tissues heal around the post and fuse to it. This allows the implant to remain firmly in place.
Osseointegration is a slow process, but it’s not advised to receive the abutment and crown before it's complete to ensure a high success rate.
It can be nerve-wracking to hear about that 6-month or longer healing period, but the good news is that there are 2 main stages to it, and only 1 will cause you mild discomfort:
Stage 1: Implant Site Healing
The dentist will make an incision into the gums and insert the implant. Right after that, the body will already begin to heal the surgical site.
Usually, it takes around 2 weeks for the site to heal, and you can speed things up by:
Stage 2: Osseointegration
Once the surgical site heals, you may even think the process is done. But underneath, the implant and bone are silently fusing.
The great news is that once the surgical site is healed, you won’t notice any more discomfort. All you need to do is maintain great oral hygiene to ensure you don’t disrupt the process.
Once the body heals, you will be ready to get the abutment attached to the post, and then receive your dental crown around 1-2 weeks later. And after that, you can confidently smile for the rest of your life!
If you’re dealing with missing teeth, Dr. Daiana Atari can help you find out if dental implants are right for you.
We encourage you to schedule a visit at Smileplicity Dentistry online and stop by to discover your best options to replace missing teeth.
For more information, feel free to call us at (919) 298-2308 for a chat.
