Once the initial upheaval of losing a tooth settles, your next question will likely be when you can fill in the gap in your smile. Dental implants are the top-of-the-line tooth replacement option, but they do take time and require you to be in optimal health. Below, Washington Square Dental’s dentist in Tigard, Oregon, explains the best timing for getting dental implants after tooth loss.

Wait Until Your Jaw Is Healed 

Patience is crucial. Dental implants require a strong, healthy jawbone for success. If you get an implant before your jaw has healed, the implant may not have the support it needs, leading to failure. Instead, we let the socket where your tooth once was to fill with a blood clot and new tissues. This newly formed tissue will become a stable base for bone tissue to regrow. In other words, give your body time to do its job. 

But Don’t Wait Too Long 

While it’s important to allow for healing, waiting too long before starting the dental implant process can jeopardize your oral health. Each tooth has roots that extend into the jawbone, stimulating it to continue regenerating new bone cells. Once a tooth is lost, this stimulation ends, and the jawbone in that spot can deteriorate. Our dentist in Tigard, Oregon, will develop a treatment plan that helps prevent this bone loss.

Bone Grafting Offers Hope If You Waited

Even if you have lost bone density, we can add a step to get you ready for implants: bone grafting. As the Mayo Clinic points out, grafting is necessary if your jawbone isn’t thick enough to support an implant. For the procedure, we take bone from another part of your body or use a synthetic material to strengthen your jaw. Once we perform the grafting, you’ll need time for the new material to integrate into your jaw and restart new bone growth. While this requires waiting a little longer to get implants, it’s a critical step to ensure that you have a lasting foundation.

The Tooth Loss to Tooth Replacement Timeline

1. Immediately After Tooth Loss: We may perform a tooth extraction at Washington Square Dental or provide emergency care following an unexpected loss. You’ll receive the information you need for healing. 
2. Grafting Process: If you need a bone graft, we perform it in our Tigard dentist office. Grafting typically adds 3-6 months to the timeline.
3. Initial Implant Placement: After your jaw heals, we surgically place the implant post, which will take 3-6 months to integrate with your jaw.
4. Abutment Placement: Once the implant is stable, we attach an abutment to serve as a connector for your replacement tooth. This typically requires a week or two of healing.
5. Final Tooth Restoration: The final step is the placement of your crown, which will match your natural teeth and fit onto the abutment.

Get a Custom Timeline from a Dentist in Tigard, Oregon

Although getting an implant too soon can cause complications, delaying for too long can also pose risks. The key is balance and a proactive approach. Don’t shy away from asking Washington Square Dental the tough timing questions for dental implants in Tigard. Contact our experts today to set up an implant consultation. From the moment of tooth loss to the bright smile that follows, we’re dedicated to your oral health every step of the way.