Replace Teeth in a Day – Is It Possible?
The idea that you can have a tooth, or all of your teeth, replaced in a day has become very popular recently, largely due to the national advertising campaign of a chain of affiliated dental offices; essentially a franchise implant operation. In these advertisements, many happy, smiling patients are shown, expressing joy at having received "teeth in a day." The details are, of course, not mentioned.
Dental Implant Placement and Loading
Dental implant placement is a surgical procedure, in which a titanium screw is placed into the bone of your jaw, and after which a tooth replacement, commonly a crown, a bridge, or a full denture is attached to it; called "loading." To help clarify the process, we would like to define some terms for you:
Immediate Implant Placement – whether a single tooth, multiple teeth, or all teeth; involves the extraction of a tooth and placement of a dental implant in the same appointment. Once the implant is in place, and assuming it is very stable, immediate placement can be done in conjunction with another procedure called immediate "immediate loading."
Immediate Loading of Dental Implants – whether a single tooth, multiple teeth, or all teeth; immediate loading of the implant involves the placement of a temporary tooth or set of teeth, the same day that the implant is inserted into the jawbone.
As with virtually all surgical procedures, time is required for healing, which is why we emphasize the word temporary in the above definition of dental implant loading. Generally, the implant site will require 3-6 months to heal fully, after which a permanent tooth replacement can be fabricated and inserted.
Dental Implants Require Time to Heal
The two most common uses of immediate placement and immediate loading are:
- In patients that have lost, or will soon lose, a front tooth
- In patients who have lost, or will soon lose, all the teeth in one of their jaws.
In the both cases, the primary reasons for treating a patient in this manner is to maintain aesthetics, and to make sure the patient does not have any type of removable prosthesis. Immediate placement and immediate loading of dental implants may not be possible in all patients, depending on other risks factors or technical challenges.
As a prosthodontist with both surgical and prosthetic training, Dr. Kaushal Dhawan is specifically able to do these types of procedures.
As mentioned above, there are a number of dental offices in the Denver area that offer "immediate tooth replacement" or "teeth in a day," and may be very skilled at this procedure. However, it is important to understand that there is a huge variation in what different offices charge for these types of procedures, and the most expensive option is not necessarily the best. It is also important to understand that these procedures require both a surgical and prosthetic phase, so the fee quoted by offices that offer "teeth in a day" may not include one of these aspects, or may not include placement of the final crown or final prosthesis.
Dr. Kaushal Dhawan and staff at The Colorado Center for Implant and Prosthetic Dentistry are available to help you determine effective solutions to all of your dental problems. If you would like more information from your Littleton area Prosthodontist, please call to make an appointment today.