Your Dentist’s number one goal is to help you keep your natural teeth for life. But sometimes a tooth is just too far gone to be saved and it must be removed. What then? Well, fortunately, there’s a way to replace an extracted tooth that looks and feels so natural, you’ll forget the tooth was ever lost. It’s called a Dental Implant. And sometimes you can get one immediately after a tooth is removed. A Dental Implant is a small titanium post that serves as an artificial tooth root. It attaches to a natural looking Dental Crown. Together, these precision parts form a great looking replacement tooth that’s designed to last for life.
What’s more? A Dental Implant can often be placed the same day a tooth is extracted, meaning you’ll only need one surgery instead of two. In order to determine whether an immediate implant procedure is an option for you. Your dentist will consider the condition of the bone that surrounds your teeth, as well as what your gums are likely to do as they heal before going ahead with your treatment.
As your immediate implant procedure begins, you’ll be made completely comfortable with a local anesthetic and very often a form of conscious sedation. The dentist performing your surgery will then carefully remove your failing tooth. If the surrounding bone that held your extracted tooth is in good shape, your new implant may be placed immediately. Laboratory process bone grafting material may be used to help fill in the remainder of the space. After an implant is immediately placed, what about the visible part of the tooth, the Crown?
Like, the implant itself, there are different ways this part of the tooth replacement process can go. The options include placing an immediate temporary crown or a healing abutment, which is a small metal cylinder that covers the implant as it heals. The abutment can then be covered by one of several types of removable prosthetic devices. So, you’re not without a tooth during the healing period. The final crown is usually attached after the implant joins to the bone 6 to 12 weeks from the day your implant was placed. Your dentist can tell you which scenario is most likely the best for your implant treatment based on a complete examination and review of x-rays. But whether you get a replacement tooth immediately or after a few months, it will lead to many years of happy smiles.