Full Mouth Dental Implants Recovery Time
If you are missing one tooth, multiple ones, or missing all your teeth in an arch, you can restore a complete and healthy smile with dental implants. According to recent statistics, over 3 million people have received dental implants, with that number increasing by over 500,000 per year. The increase in popularity of dental implants can be attributed to the numerous benefits they offer in comparison to other restoration options.
Dental implants are a permanent solution to replacing teeth. The procedure does involve minor surgery and a prosthetic component and some extended healing time.
The Benefits of Full Mouth Dental Implants
Traditional fixed bridges and dentures have provided effective solutions for missing teeth, but dental implants offer several advantages over those traditional methods:
- Dental implants are the gold standard when it comes to replicating the look, feel, and function of your natural teeth.
- With good oral hygiene and daily routine care, dental implants can last a lifetime.
- Dental implants provide constant stimulating pressures to the jawbone to prevent bone atrophy that occurs when teeth are missing.
- Since implants function like natural teeth, there is no chance of slippage or dislodging like removable dentures when speaking or eating.
- With your dental implants, you can speak normally as well as eat all types of food with virtually no restrictions.
- Dental implants will not decay and will not develop cavities.
- Dental implants do not require any preparation or crowning of teeth next to the gap like traditional bridges.
Recovery and Healing Time Varies
The healing time for dental implants is a process that can vary from person to person. Following are some contributing factors:
Osseointegration-The dental implant is surgically placed in the jawbone to function like the root of the tooth. It will take several months for osseointegration to happen. Osseointegration is the dental term referring to the direct structural and functional connection between living bone and the surface of a load-bearing artificial implant. This simply means that the bone fuses and bonds to the implant to become stable enough to support a tooth. This is a process that cannot be accelerated. Once osseointegration has been successfully finished, your dental implant restoration can be completed.
Medications- A simple surgical procedure, placing an implant has a short recovery time that usually only requires you to take over the counter pain relievers. You will have your sutures removed at around 14 days after surgery and then can go on with normal activity.
Special Cases- If you have a failing tooth that needs to be removed, the implant process is extended because the tooth needs to be extracted and then the gums and bone need to heal before an implant can be placed. Sometimes a bone graft is necessary to improve the jawbone integrity. This will extend the treatment time. In rare situations, an implant can be placed the same day as the tooth is removed. This is great because it can save you time in healing, 4-6months, and get your teeth faster. However, not everyone is a candidate for immediate implants. You should speak with your dentist about looking at the CT scan and seeing if you are a candidate for immediate implants.