Dental implants in Winnipeg are common and increasingly popular options for replacing missing teeth — even teeth that aren’t missing yet. While that may seem counter-intuitive, the practical reality is that teeth sometimes need to be extracted to accommodate the placement of an implant in your jaw. Some common examples of that situation include:
- Implants planned ahead of a tooth extraction due to serious infection or injury
- A decision to remove remaining natural teeth to make room for complete sets of implant-supported dentures
- Deciding to remove a single natural tooth in the midst of a gap to be filled with a bridge supported by dental implants
If you’re in the situation of needing to have a tooth or teeth extracted before an implant can be placed, your implant procedure will include three main steps: extraction of the tooth or teeth; placement of the implants; and attachment of your final restoration (crown, denture or bridge). The entire implant process can take several months from beginning to end. On the subject of time, we are often asked how long you have to wait after a tooth extraction before receiving a dental implant.
Just how quickly your extracted tooth can be replaced with a dental implant will depend on the health, size, stability and density of the jaw bone and tissues at the extraction site(s). Your dentist in Winnipeg will examine your jaw carefully and take thorough images of all tissues and bone to understand the health and condition of your jaw in advance so that you’ll know the expected duration of your treatment plan in advance. While your particular treatment plan will depend on your personal circumstances, there are three typical time frames when you might receive an implant after an extraction.
Immediate placement
When the size, stability and density of your jaw bone are optimal without requiring any supplementation, a dentist near you may be able to place your insert(s) in your jaw immediately after your tooth or teeth have been extracted. Once the titanium insert is in place, that post will bond to your jaw through osseointegration over a several month period. Once that process is completely, your dentist will attach a crown, bridge or denture to your implants using abutments.
Early placement
When immediate placement is not appropriate because of the condition of your jaw immediately after extraction or because your procedure will be more successful if you heal prior to implementation, your dentist will place your implants roughly two to three months after extraction. Leaving gaps in your jaw for too long can cause problems because you will gradually suffer bone resorption — the loss of bone tissue in your jaw — over the months following extraction due to the absence of teeth roots. Once in place, the implants stop that process and actually stimulate new bone growth.
Delayed placement
If your jaw bone is too small or insufficiently dense to support implants immediately after extraction, you may need to undergo additional procedures before implants can be replaced. One example of such a procedure is bone grafting to increase the volume of bone in your jaw. Before any implant is placed, you’ll need to recover completely from that bone grafting procedure. That healing process usually requires three to six months, following which your implants will be placed and, after you’ve healed over a further few months, a dentist near you will provide you final restoration.
Yes, the procedure for receiving implants can be lengthy, particularly if additional procedures are necessary to ensure a successful outcome. The time taken, though, pays off with a solution for tooth loss that can last a lifetime. If you have questions about the length of your treatment plan, don’t hesitate to contact a dentist near you.