Getting a dental implant

Is an implant a good option for you?

Implants work best when your general health is good, your gums are healthy, and there is enough bone to hold the implant. Gum disease elsewhere in the mouth is usually treated first, because it can also affect the tissue around an implant.

Uncontrolled diabetes and smoking slow healing and raise the risk of problems. Tell Dr. Smith about your health and every medicine you take, including medicines for osteoporosis or cancer that affect bone, and any radiation treatment to the head or neck.

The missing-teeth guide compares implants with bridges, partial dentures, and leaving the space.

What happens at the planning visit?

Dr. Smith examines the space, the neighboring teeth, and your gums, and reviews your health history. X-rays show the bone. Planning may also include a 3D X-ray, called a cone beam CT scan, to measure the bone and locate structures such as nerves and the sinus.

The plan covers the implant and the replacement tooth together. Dr. Smith places the implant; he does not make the replacement tooth. The dentist who referred you makes it, or, if you came without a referral, the general dentist at the practice where you see Dr. Smith.

What are the steps?

Removing the tooth, if needed. If a tooth is being replaced, it is removed first. Bone graft material may be placed in the socket to help preserve the bone for a later implant. This is called socket preservation.

Building bone, if needed. If there is not enough bone, a bone graft may be placed before the implant or at the same visit.

Placing the implant. The area is numbed, the gum is opened, and the implant is placed in the bone. The gum may be closed over it, or a small healing cap may show through the gum.

Healing. Bone grows against the implant surface over several months. A temporary tooth can sometimes be worn during this time.

The replacement tooth. Once the implant is stable, your restoring dentist attaches a connector, called an abutment, and makes the crown, bridge, or denture.

How long does it take?

The bone usually needs two to six months to bond to an implant before the final tooth is attached. If a bone graft or sinus lift comes first, the graft often heals for four to twelve months before the implant is placed. In some cases the graft and the implant can be placed at the same visit.

Ask for a timeline for your plan, including when you would have a temporary tooth and when the final tooth would be made.

Will I need a bone graft or sinus lift?

Bone can shrink after a tooth is lost, and gum disease or an old infection can also reduce it. Ridge augmentation adds bone graft material where the jaw is too thin or too short, often covered with a membrane that protects it while it heals. This is called guided bone regeneration.

In the upper back jaw, the sinus sits just above the bone that would hold an implant. A sinus lift raises the floor of the sinus and places bone graft material beneath it to make room for the implant.

Graft material can come from a donor, an animal, or a synthetic source, and sometimes from your own body. Some procedures also use platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), prepared from a small sample of your own blood, to support healing. Ask which material is proposed and why.

Can the implant go in the day the tooth comes out?

Sometimes. An implant can be placed right after a tooth is removed when enough healthy bone surrounds the socket and the implant is firmly stable when placed. Otherwise the socket heals first, often with socket preservation.

Whether a temporary tooth can be attached the same day is a separate decision. It depends on how stable the implant is and on your bite.

What about replacing all the teeth in an arch?

Several implants can support a full set of teeth for the upper or lower jaw. The teeth may be fixed in place or removable for cleaning, depending on the design chosen with your restoring dentist.

Temporary teeth may be possible while the implants heal. Ask how you would eat and how your teeth would look during each stage.

What is recovery like?

The area is numbed for surgery. Afterward, swelling, bruising, and soreness are common for a few days, and more so when bone grafting or several implants are involved. Softer foods help while the area heals.

Follow the instructions for your procedure, including how to clean the area and which medicines to take. Contact the treating office for pain that is getting worse rather than better, or bleeding that does not stop.

If swelling makes it hard to breathe or swallow, seek emergency medical care now.

Terms you may hear

Osseointegration
Bone growing against the implant surface so that the implant is held firmly.

Abutment
The connector that joins the implant to the replacement tooth.

Socket preservation
Placing graft material where a tooth was removed, to limit bone shrinkage.

Guided bone regeneration
Adding bone graft material, usually under a protective membrane, to rebuild the jaw.

What treatment can and cannot do

An implant can restore chewing and appearance and helps preserve the bone where it is placed. It cannot get a cavity, but the gum and bone around it can become inflamed and diseased. An implant can also fail to bond to the bone, or loosen later.

Implants need daily cleaning and regular checks, and crowns and screws may need repair over time. The guide to implant problems explains what to watch for.

What happens if you wait?

After a tooth is lost, the bone in the space can shrink, which may mean a graft is needed later. Nearby teeth can shift. Waiting can be reasonable after an examination; ask whether it would change your options.

What does it cost?

Each office sets its own consultation fee, so ask when you book. Your treatment estimate depends on what the examination finds.

Ask for an estimate that covers each stage: any extraction, bone graft, or sinus lift; the implant itself; and the abutment and replacement tooth. Your restoring dentist charges for the replacement tooth, so ask that office for its part too.

Questions to bring to a consultation

• Am I a good candidate, and is there enough bone?
• Will I need a bone graft or sinus lift first?
• Can the implant be placed when the tooth is removed?
• How long will each stage take, and will I have a temporary tooth?
• Which dentist will make the replacement tooth, and what will each office charge?
• Which implant brand and model will be used, and can I have a record of it?

Sources for this guide

• FDA: dental implants, benefits, and risks
• American Academy of Periodontology: dental implant procedures
• American Academy of Periodontology: sinus augmentation
• American Academy of Periodontology: ridge modification
• American Dental Association: implants
• American Dental Association: osteoporosis medicines and the jaw

Authorship and clinical review

Written and reviewed by John L. Smith, DDS, MS, periodontist. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.