Dental Implants Placement 3-Step Process

Whether you are missing one tooth, several teeth, or all of your teeth, dental implant placement surgery can replace them and fill out your smile once more. Regardless of the scope and type of the dental implant placement procedure you are considering, the goal will be to integrate the implant seamlessly into the gum tissue in your mouth, as well as with the underlying bone of your jaw. This integration is what gives your replacement teeth the stability necessary to not just look good, but function as well as genuine teeth would.

The Steps Of The Dental Implant Placement

Of course, integrating a dental implant into the bone and tissue of a patient’s jaw is not something that happens instantly. Instead, it is a process that typically plays out in three main steps.

  • Step 1- Burying the Implant

The first step of the dental implant placement process involves actually burying the implant—usually a metal screw—into the segment of jawbone located beneath where the replacement tooth will go. The implant, once placed, will essentially act as the root for the new tooth. In most cases, the implant needs to be added ahead of the rest of the surgery. Bone and gum will then heal around it and stabilize it.

  • Step 2 – Adding the Abutment

The implant, once integrated into the patient’s jawbone, will actually sit underneath the gum. In order to actually attach a replacement tooth to the implant, a dental surgeon needs to add a metal post that pushes up through the gum and into the mouth. This post is called the abutment. During the second step of the dental implant procedure, a dental surgeon will do two things: first, they will check the original implant to see how it has integrated into the bone and gum tissue; secondly, they will install the abutment.

  • Step 3 – Completing the Restoration

The final stage of the dental implant placement process is where an oral surgeon will actually fabricate a replacement prosthetic crown and connect it to the abutment to complete the dental restoration.

Schedule Your Dental Implant Placement Today

Whether you need to replace one tooth or a whole section of them, Westgate Smiles can help. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to schedule your dental implant placement procedure today!