Dental implants are one of the most predictable and successful ways to replace a missing tooth. Dental Implants San Antonio last for many years, providing superior function to any other tooth replacement option. Implants cannot get cavities, so even our patients with a high risk for decay can have a successful long-term prognosis with them.
Some patients may be put off by the timeline associated with traditional dental implants as some cases can take up to a year from start to finish. Our emergency dentist in San Antonio are happy to explain that we can cut that timeline drastically by performing immediate implants, as we will describe in this week’s blog.
What is an Immediate Dental Implant?
An immediate implant is not a different type of dental implant. The term merely describes a dental implant that follows a different timeline for placement than the traditional method. Your dentist places a traditional dental implant into healthy jawbone. Typically, the bone has already healed for at least three to six months following a tooth extraction.
With an immediate implant, we can eliminate those months of healing from the extraction. Rather than extracting a tooth and waiting for the bone to heal, your dentist in San Antonio places an immediate implant immediately into the site during the same visit as the tooth extraction. This means that as the jawbone is healing into the extraction socket, it is also healing around the dental implant.
What are the Advantages of an Immediate Dental Implant?
The biggest and most obvious advantage of an immediate implant is the shortened timeline. It cuts the waiting period between tooth extraction and functioning on a healthy dental implant in half! The sooner your implant heals, the sooner we restore it to full appearance and function.
Another advantage is that it offers us the opportunity to use an immediate provisional crown over the implant. In general, dental implants heal under the gums without anything filling in the visible missing tooth space. With an immediate implant, in some selected circumstances, we can immediately cover it with a provisional crown. If this type of provisional crown is not an option in your specific case, we will provide you with a way to fill in the visible missing tooth that is safe and predictable for your long-term implant health.
How Can I Get Started with an Immediate Dental Implant?
Call Pearl Dentistry today to schedule an implant consultation with our dental implant experts Dr.Srikanth Cherukadu. We will assess your specific situation and help you understand how an immediate implant could work in your case.