The dental implants procedure is very tedious and is sometimes done for cosmetic reasons. The process will begin with a full consultation with your dentist or oral surgeon. A general dentist may not have the prerequisites needed to perform the oral surgery himself, so he may refer you to an implant expert. In some rare cases a dentist may be able to do it himself, but make sure he can provide proof of his experience with dental treatments.
It may be easier to sign up for the surgery with the initial visit to your dentist, but you should take a few days to look around and get quotes from other oral surgeons and dentists. You have to find one that has had lots of experience performing these surgeries and that does not charge too much. You do not want to leave any room for errors.
As soon as you have picked the best oral surgeon or dentist you should schedule the procedure for a day that you can set aside just for that. You will also want to ensure you have someone that can take you home. You will not be able to drive yourself because you will have had anesthetic for the procedure. When you arrive on the scheduled date, your jaw bone will need to be checked and prepared for the titanium post.
They will have to verify that your bone is healthy enough to hold it. If it is not, they will have to graft a piece from another place on your jaw. Many people are not for that option, so they can resort to using a piece of bovine bone or a piece of a cadaver's jaw. Either way, they will find a way to make it work.
Once the bone is prepared, the oral surgeon will make a little incision into your gum and then surgically screw a titanium post into the jaw. The amount of time it takes to do this part is not too long and it is relatively painless. Keep in mind that they are only using the local anesthetic for the surgery.
The hard part comes after the surgery, during the recovery phase. You have to spend the next few months watching what you eat. You will not be able to chew very well, and it is recommended that you not eat anything that would be harder than a slice of pizza. It is going to take about five months for your jaw bone and gum to fully heal, and by that time the titanium post should be firmly in place.
You want to avoid anything that might disrupt the healing, like smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, and chewing gum. These could cause the healing time to be longer.
After five or six months have passed you will need to go back to the dentist and get your restoration. A restoration will look like a real tooth and it will get screwed onto the titanium post. Once the dentist has finished with that, the dental implants procedure will be finished and you will have a nice, new tooth. This tooth ought to last a while, but that will depend on your age, dental hygiene, and your overall health.
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