On the first visit, your dentist will extract the damaged tooth that is due to be replaced. If your tooth has already been extracted after a previous dental emergency then you’ll be straight onto the next step.
Step two is a bone graft and that usually happens in the same visit. However, this step may not be necessary for all patients. Your dentist will carry out an inspection of the implnt area in your initial consultation to determined if this is required or not. Usually, a bone graft is only required if the jaw bone is not thick or strong enough to support a successful dental implant. Bone grafting may sound like a complex step, but in actual fact this is a fairly quick and simple procedure. Essentially, your dentist is attaching artificial pieces of bone material to your jaw bone, which then encourages new bone to grow around it, thus thickening and strengthening your jawbone.
At this point, your jaw will need a couple of weeks to rest and to let the bone graft take successfully. Once that’s completed, you’ll return to the dental clinic again where your dentist will insert the implant (essentially a small metal screw) into your new improved jawbone. The bodies natural response and healing process will be to grow the bone all around the implant, securing it in place and fusing the bone and the dental implant base together as strongly as possible.
Again, modern dental technology has come a long way in recent years, and you may be surprised at how quick and simple this procedure is. Once the base of the tooth implant has been fixed in place, all that remains is to mould a standard dental crown and attach it to the dental implant. Your dentist will want to wait for some time before attaching the crown in order to give the base of the tooth implant the maximum possible opportunity to heal and to fuse successfully with the bone. Sometimes this can take several months, but your dentist will monitor this and let you know once they feel you are ready to successfully support your new dental crown.