Dental implants surely help you improve the quality of your life by restoring your confidence and smile. If you have decided to get a dental implant procedure done, you should understand that there are several stages of tooth implant. Knowing these stages in advance helps you stay mentally prepared for what is coming. Moreover, all these stages of dental implants in Parkland, FL are explained to you in detail by your dentist and you can get your queries resolved beforehand.
Stages of the dental implant procedure
- Consultation: Before the procedure, the dentist will advise you to go for an initial consultation where your oral health will be examined using an X-ray. All sorts of medical questions are asked and after that, your fitness for the surgery is decided. In the consultation process, the strength of your jawbone is also determined and in case you have any gum disease, the dentist will prefer to treat that first and then go for the surgery.
- Planning for the treatment: In this step, the dentist prepares a comprehensive treatment plan where the bone density is assessed using a CT scan which helps the dentist to locate the best position for the placement. During this stage, the type of implant, its size and shape are also determined.
- Tooth extraction: The infected or decaying tooth is extracted and surgery is performed to remove it first.
- Dental implant surgery: Once your tooth is extracted and the site has completely healed, the dentist schedules your implant surgery. Local anesthesia is given and an incision is made into the gum. With the help of the incision, an opening is made that leads to the jawbone. Here, a small hole is made and the dental implant is placed right into the bone. After that, the area is sutured and covered.
- Osseointegration: After the implant, you may need a few months to allow the bone to grow at the implanted site. This process is called osseointegration and it takes around 3 to 6 months.
- Abutment placement: After the implant has stabilized, minor surgery is needed to attach an abutment which is a small hook.
- Designing the artificial tooth: Once you have recovered well, the dentist will call you to design your tooth.
- Fitting your artificial tooth: This is the last stage where the dentist fits the artificial tooth in its place by hooking it with the abutment.