Overview of Implant Placement | Montgomery AL

The Dental Implant Surgical Procedure

The procedure to place a dental implant takes 30 to 60 minutes for one implant and only 2 to 3 hours for multiple implants. The number of appointments and time required, vary from patient to patient. At Alabama Surgical Arts Dr. Nizam and Goerhing bring great precision and attention to the details of your case.

Prior to surgery, you may receive antibiotics and for greater comfort, intravenous sedation.  A local anesthetic will be administered to numb the area where the dental implant will be placed while you are asleep so you wake up without pain. Extended pain relief for 3 days is now possible through the use of Exparel, which makes the procedure truly painless. These options are discussed with you at your consultation appointment.

To start the surgeon makes a small incision in the gum tissue to reveal the bone (or removes the tooth being replaced immediately), creates space using special instruments, and gently inserts the titanium implant. The top of this implant is often visible through the gum.

Traditional Approach:

Modern approach utilizing immediate dental implants.

The traditional staged approach in the diagram above could take up to 8 months for a final tooth to be placed, and require 2 separate surgeries. The first surgery to remove the tooth and bone graft (3-4 months of healing) and the second surgery to place the implant (3-4 months of healing).  Luckily, with advances in technique and implant technology, this time can be shortened to 3 months by placing the implant immediately at the time of extraction of the tooth. Greater than 75% percent of patients are candidates for immediate implant placement. There is no difference in success, healing, or pain if you are a candidate and most patients choose this route.

With even further advances, it is now possible to remove the tooth, place the implant, and place a temporary screwed in tooth all within a 24 hour period. These cases are reserved for the anterior teeth in the aesthetic zone that show and avoid having to have a temporary “flipper” in the healing period.

How many implants do I need?

For single teeth 1 implant is required for replacement. For multiple missing teeth an implant bridge can be fabricated where 2 implants are placed to support 3 missing teeth. If you are missing all your teeth multiple options are available for replacement ranging from 2-8 implants depending on your available bone and preferred final replacement teeth. Dr. Nizam and Dr. Ivory will work with your referring dentist to customize a plan for you that minimizes cost, downtime, and discomfort, but also maximizes aesthetics, function, and longevity.

Healing after Dental Implant Surgery

The length of time varies from person to person, depending upon the quality and quantity of bone. Osseointegration, the process of the bone permanently fusing to the implants takes 3-4 months. However, in most cases, you are aloud to return to a normal diet and activity the following day.  The surgeon will advise you on follow-up care and timing. After the initial 3-4 months of healing and osseointegration confirmation, the final abutment (support post) and crown are placed by your general dentist.