While dental implants are the gold standard of tooth replacement, “instant treatment” isn’t one of their perks. The surgery that places these special posts has many steps; its timeline can get rather lengthy. Given these facts, you may wonder how long your own dental implant surgery will take. Your Greensboro dentist has the answer to this pressing question, so please don’t worry. Just keep reading to learn how implant surgery works and how long you can expect it to take.
Context: How Dental Implant Surgery Works
To grasp how long it takes, you’ll first need to know how dental implant surgery works. The treatment’s overall timeline will then make more sense to you.
A surgeon does various things to perform dental implant surgery. To start, they numb your mouth with an anesthetic to keep the placement work from hurting. They then make a small incision in your gums that creates room for your final implant post. Once that’s done, the surgeon will place your implant, suture the previously made incision, and place a protective cap over the post.
What’s the Timeline for Dental Implant Surgery?
Needless to say, dental implant surgery can take a while. A surgeon needs a decent amount of time to perform the surgical steps listed above.
Implant surgery usually needs 1-2 hours to place a single post. When placement involves two or more implants, the process takes even longer. There’s still an upside to this timeline, though; it’s shorter than it would be without today’s advanced dental technology. (For example, CT scanners help dentists by mapping an implant’s placement site beforehand.)
Don’t forget implant surgery is part of a larger treatment, either. Most patients must heal for several weeks before they’re ready for the next phases. The actual implant posts will also need 3-6 months to completely fuse with your jaw.
Are There Ways to Speed Up Recovery?
You can’t speed up implant surgery, but it’s possible to make your recovery go (relatively) quickly and smoothly. Just remember to do the following:
- Take it Easy – In the days after surgery, remember to rest and keep your head elevated. Intense physical exertion could delay or undo your healing.
- Don’t Touch Your Implant(s) – Touching (or chewing with) your implant right after it’s placed can cause implant failure. So, please try not to disturb it.
- Follow a Soft Food Diet – You should only eat soft foods in the few weeks after surgery. By doing so, you’ll prevent irritation to the implant site(s).
Please consult your dental provider for a timeline estimate of your own dental implant surgery. After all, they can take your background into account.
About the Practice
Lake Oconee Dentistry is based in Greensboro, GA. Led by an amazing team of dentists, our practice takes the health, beauty, and longevity of each patient’s grin seriously. We thus offer a wide range of tailored dental services, with treatments ranging from checkups and cleanings to dental implant surgery. While you can’t always prevent smile problems, our team makes sure you can always fix them! For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (706)-453-1333.