The Dental Implant Procedure Typically Takes 4 Appointments
The dental implant procedure is spread over four appointments: your consultation, placement and final restoration.
The procedure itself will take one appointment. The entire process, however, will be spread across 3 months to ensure long-term success and stability.
Overview of procedure timelines:
- It takes around 1 hour to place 1 implant
- Implants are surgically implanted chairside under local anaesthetic
- There’s a required healing phase that takes 3 months
- Temporary teeth can be immediately loaded during this time
- Additional pre-procedures can delay the process
The conventional implant process
The conventional dental implant process involves surgically placing the implant and then stitching it up, which takes one appointment.
Typical timeline:
| Timeline | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Consultation | Assessment, scans, and personalised treatment planning |
| Week 1-2 | Tooth extraction if required and implant placement |
| Same Day (Suitable Cases) | Temporary tooth or same-day smile fitted |
| First Few Days | Mild swelling and healing begin |
| Weeks 2-6 | The implant integrates with the jawbone during healing |
| Around 3 Months | The implant fully heals and stabilises in the bone |
| Final Appointment | Permanent crown, bridge, or final teeth fitted |
| Long-Term | Maintenance reviews and hygiene care to protect results |
As the dental implant replaces the root, we must wait 3 months for the implant to bond with the bone (a process called osseointegration) before your final prosthetic can be placed. Temporary teeth can possibly be immediately loaded during this time, but it is very case-dependent. For example, in full-mouth cases, All-on-4 dental implants are placed at a specific angle to maximise bone support, allowing them to be immediately loaded (hence the name Teeth in a Day).
It takes just one appointment to place the implant
After we’ve spent one appointment assessing your oral health and planning for your precise placement, we’re ready to place the implant, which is typically quicker and more comfortable than most patients expect.
It typically takes our dentists around 1 hour per implant, with full mouth reconstruction cases taking a day.
In some cases, suitable patients might also be eligible for same-day temporary teeth that can be anchored immediately after placement. We’ll let you know during your consultation whether this is possible.
Why does the process take 3 months?
Osseointegration is not a stage of the process you want to rush. It’s the most crucial part, affecting the stability, healing, and lifespan of the implant.
Even though the implant has been positioned, the bone in the jaw still needs time to heal naturally around the titanium implant, fusing with it so it’s stable, strong and reliable enough to function as a natural tooth root would.
Osseointegration typically takes around 3 months to complete, but it can take up to 6 months depending on the complexity of treatment.
Can we speed up the process?
In some cases, it’s possible to speed up the process with immediate implants or same-day full-mouth implants like All-on-4, which allow temporary teeth to be fitted the same day as surgery, so you can leave with a restored smile while healing still continues.
However, in the case of conventional or delayed implants, the process cannot be rushed, and healing timelines will vary from patient to patient due to factors that include:
- Current bone quality and density
- Whether a tooth has been recently extracted
- Gum and soft tissue health
- Smoking or medical history
- Whether prior bone grafting was needed
- The stability of the implant at placement
- Whether treatment involves single or full-mouth implants
Simply, some patients heal more quickly than others, which makes them great candidates for immediately loaded teeth. Other patients benefit from a longer period to allow the implant to integrate more predictably. Because even with same-day teeth, the implant itself will always require time to biologically fuse with the bone, with straightforward cases taking around 3 months and more complex cases taking a bit longer.
Learn how long it will really take you with a consultation. We offer them for free at our clinic in Weybridge, Surrey. Book one here.
