How Long Does a Single Tooth Implant Take in Bountiful, UT?

If you're missing one tooth, or you've just learned a tooth can't be saved, one of the first questions is how long the whole process takes. For most people, a single tooth implant takes about six months from start to finish. This guide walks through each step the way Dr. Anthony Baird explains it at Millcreek Family Dental in Bountiful, UT, so you know what the months in between look like.

How long does a single tooth implant take?

A single tooth implant usually takes about six months from start to finish. Most of that time is healing, which happens between a handful of appointments.

Dr. Baird is upfront that the timeline varies from person to person: "Sometimes a bit longer. Depending on how your body heals." You wear a temporary during healing, so there's no gap in your smile while you wait.

What are the steps of getting one dental implant?

There are four main steps, and each one sets up the next.

1. If the tooth is still there, we remove it and place a bone graft in the socket at the same visit. The graft preserves the bone, so there's a solid base for the implant later.
2. You wear a temporary while the area heals.
3. After a few months, Dr. Baird places the implant using a custom surgical guide made from a 3D scan of your jaw.
4. After a few more months, the implant has fused with the bone. Dr. Baird scans it, and the lab makes a custom abutment (the metal connector between the implant and the crown) along with your crown.

Your crown is made to match your surrounding teeth in color. Once it's in place, in Dr. Baird's words, "It looks and works like a tooth."

The Mayo Clinic guide to dental implant surgery explains why this happens in stages: the jawbone needs time to grow around the implant before a crown goes on top.

Do I need a bone graft before a dental implant?

If a tooth has to come out first, a bone graft placed at the same visit helps keep an implant possible later. After an extraction, the bone that held the tooth starts to shrink. "A bone graft fills that socket and preserves the height," Dr. Baird says.

Doing both at once saves you an extra step. "I do the graft at the same time as the extraction," he explains, so the healing happens at the same time too. Mayo Clinic also notes that bone grafting may be needed before implant surgery when the jawbone isn't thick enough to hold an implant.

How painful is getting one dental implant?

Implant surgery is done with anesthesia, so the area is numb while Dr. Baird works. For numbing, we use a vibration tool and buffered anesthetic so the injection doesn't sting going in, and most patients say they hardly feel it. Laughing gas is available if you'd like help relaxing.

Careful planning keeps surgery day simple, because every step is mapped out ahead of time. As Dr. Baird puts it, "The surgery itself is usually faster than people expect."

Afterward, Mayo Clinic lists some swelling, bruising and soreness at the implant site as typical. If you're nervous, tell us, and we'll walk you through what the process will look like for you before anything starts.

Why do Bountiful patients choose Dr. Baird at Millcreek Family Dental for a single tooth implant?

Dr. Baird plans each implant on a 3D scan of your jaw before surgery. He maps the angle, the depth and the distance from the nerve, and from that plan we make a custom surgical guide that fits over your teeth. On surgery day, "the guide tells the drill exactly where to go."

Replacing one tooth is most of his implant work. About 90 percent of the implants Dr. Baird places are single-tooth replacements, often for people who have cared for their teeth their whole lives and lost one to a root canal that didn't hold, a crack or an accident.

Dr. Baird is Kois Center trained, has practiced in Bountiful since 2003, and keeps single-tooth implant cases in-house, planned on a 3D scan. You can read more about single tooth dental implants at our Bountiful dental office.

How do I pay for a single tooth implant?

You can pay over time with financing through Sunbit or CareCredit. If you don't have insurance, our in-office membership plan is another option, and we're in-network with most major plans in the area.

Cost is part of the conversation at your consultation, so it isn't left for you to figure out afterward. Dr. Baird lays out your options and what each one involves before you decide. Our finances and insurance page shows whether we work with your provider, and the American Dental Association's patient guide to dental implants is a helpful read before your visit.

Missing a tooth, or facing an extraction, and wondering how the timeline would work for you? Call our Bountiful dental office at 801-292-4009 or send us a message, and we'll look at your situation and walk you through each step.

Published by Millcreek Family Dental (Dr. Anthony Baird).