When Can You Have An Implant After Tooth Extraction?

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Medically Reviewed By
Jonathan G. Campbell, DDS, FAGD
One of the top rated Dentist in Salt Lake City, UT
A young bright lady with tooth pain

When you get a tooth extracted, it will of course leave an empty space in your mouth that feels somewhat unnatural. It also causes some changes to occur in your mouth that you might not immediately notice. Because there is a missing tooth and it is no longer stimulated, the jaw bone area starts to deteriorate. Since there is an open area, that allows the surrounding teeth to shift toward that open space.

Eventually this gap will impact your chewing ability, and if the space is left unattended, it can lead to jaw problems. That makes it important that you fill in the empty space after a tooth has been extracted. But how long do you have to wait before having some kind of tooth replacement? At Legacy Dental in Salt Lake City, we can provide you with a number of options for tooth replacement after you've undergone a tooth extraction. Our specialists can explain the advantages and disadvantages of each tooth replacement strategy to you, so you can make an informed decision.

Why should I get a dental implant?

Obviously, implants provide just one option for tooth replacement. There are situations where an extracted tooth might not have to be replaced, for instance the back molars. Other situations might call for a partial denture or bridge to be installed. However, neither of these are permanent solutions, and both would require some kind of additional treatment eventually. If you do go with partial dentures, they might actually contribute to the deterioration of your jaw bone. This is especially true when they become loose and begin rubbing against the bone ridge below the gum line. Opting for a dental implant to replace a missing tooth can be highly beneficial in a number of situations. This is particularly true for patients who are in the following situations:

How soon after extraction can an implant be installed?

The amount of time that should elapse following an extraction will depend on several different factors. The first one is your general health and your ability to withstand implant surgery. If there's any infection around the extracted tooth, that will have to be dealt with prior to installation of an implant. It's also necessary for the tissue and bone surrounding the extraction site to be in good health. There are three separate possibilities for implant placement surgery, those being immediate placement, early placement, and delayed placement.

Immediate placement

You can immediately have an implant installed after tooth extraction, provided that all tissue is healthy and you have adequate jaw bone. This generally occurs when the lost tooth occurred as a result of injury or trauma. After the tooth is extracted, your dental practitioner will insert a titanium rod into the jaw bone, and for a period between three and six months, the process of osseointegration will occur. This is a kind of a fusion which occurs when the implant actually becomes part of the jaw bone. When this has been fully accomplished, you'll be ready to have a permanent crown attached to the implant. This is the most desirable scenario, because it allows no time to go by, so there is no loss of jaw bone mass.

Early implant placement

Early implant placement is also sometimes called immediate-delayed implant placement, because it will occur within three months of tooth extraction. The reason for the delay is generally because gums have been damaged, or an infection must heal before an implant is attempted. During the first three months after a tooth extraction, more than 50% of bone resorption will occur. With this rapid loss of jaw bone mass, it becomes necessary to perform the implant placement before three months have gone by. Once you're ready, the dental surgeon will insert a titanium rod, and you'll then have to wait three to six months for fusion to occur.

Delayed implant placement

There are some situations where decay has been present for quite a while, and some deterioration has occurred. Generally, gums and tissue could be in a deteriorated condition, and there may already have been bone loss which has occurred. In a situation like this, bone grafting may be required to deliver the necessary support for the implant. When bone grafting is necessary, it will take an additional three to six months of healing before it's possible to install an implant. Once that healing has completed, the implant procedure will be the same. Your dentist will insert the titanium rod into the jaw bone, and then it will take three to six months longer for the site to heal, and for the titanium rod to fuse with your jaw bone. Once this has been completely accomplished, your doctor will be able to attach the permanent dental appliance in place.

Dental implants at Legacy Dental

Dental implants are usually the absolute best strategy for tooth replacement. This is because they provide a permanent solution, and do not allow for the deterioration of your jawbone. There is also no more solid or stable way to replace a tooth than via a dental implant and crown. With all this being true, dental implants might still not be the best option for every single patient. Everyone is a unique individual, and will have their own set of circumstances which apply.

For instance, the cost of a dental implant is significantly more than a partial denture would be, and that might be outside the boundaries of your budget. At Legacy Dental in Salt Lake City, we try to work with all patients to provide the very best dental care. Our specialists have performed thousands of dental implants for patients, and we have all the experience and knowledge necessary to make your dental implant a complete success.

Contact us today was any questions you might have about dental implants or about tooth replacement strategies. We'll be glad to set you up with an an initial consultation where all your questions can be answered, and you can find out what's involved with dental implant surgery.

Legacy Dental blog is proudly run by our Salt Lake City dentists team; We share knowledge about general dental care and practices. Apart from running this blog, we offer various dental services such as general dentistry, emergency dentistry, and dental implants for the community in Salt Lake City, Utah

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