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Treatment overview
Dental implants,
explained properly.
An implant is not a tooth. It is a titanium root that gives a designed tooth something to attach to. Everything that makes the result look and feel like a tooth happens above it — which is where a prosthodontist's training sits.
Why patients come here
- Practice limited to prosthodontics and oral implantology
- Every case CBCT-scanned and fully guided
- IV conscious sedation available in-office
- A written, itemized plan before anything is scheduled
The basics
Three parts, one result.
A dental implant has three components. The fixture is a threaded post of grade 5 titanium placed into the jawbone, where bone grows onto its surface and locks it in place — a process called osseointegration. The abutment is the connector that emerges through the gum. The restoration — a crown, a bridge or a full arch — is the part you see and chew with.
Why the order of planning matters
The fixture is the easiest part to place well and the hardest part to correct. An implant positioned a few degrees off can still integrate perfectly and still be impossible to restore attractively, because the screw channel exits through the front of the tooth or the crown has to be built out at an angle the gum will not tolerate.
So the sequence we use is the reverse of the intuitive one: the finished tooth is designed first, in software, and the implant position is derived from it.
Who is a candidate
- Anyone missing a tooth, several teeth, or all the teeth in an arch
- Patients wearing a denture who want something that does not move
- Patients with a failing tooth that has not yet been extracted — often the best moment to plan
- Patients told elsewhere they have insufficient bone, which is usually a grafting question rather than a no
- Patients with an existing implant or implant bridge that has never been comfortable
Uncontrolled gum disease, heavy smoking and some medications and medical conditions affect healing and change the plan — sometimes the timing, occasionally the recommendation. All of it is discussed at the consultation rather than discovered later.
Your options
Six routes, chosen by what is missing.
Each links through to a full page covering the procedure, the recovery and the alternatives.
Single tooth implant
One fixture, one custom crown, no work done to the teeth on either side.
All-on-4 & full-arch
A fixed bridge carried on four to six implants, replacing a full upper or lower arch.
Implant overdenture
A removable denture stabilized by locator attachments on two to four implants.
Immediate placement
Extraction, implant placement and a provisional tooth in a single visit, where stability allows.
Bone grafting
Ridge preservation and augmentation to rebuild width and height lost after extraction.
Implant complications
Assessment and correction of implants placed elsewhere that are loose, angled or unrestorable.
How it compares
Implant, bridge or denture.
An honest comparison. A bridge and a denture are the right answer for some patients, and we place both — the differences below are the ones that matter over a decade.
| Implant | Conventional bridge | Removable denture | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neighboring teeth | Untouched | Two healthy teeth reduced to stumps | Untouched, but clasped |
| Bone underneath | Loaded and maintained | Continues to resorb under the gap | Resorbs, so the fit changes over time |
| Feels like | A tooth | A tooth, joined to its neighbors | An appliance; palate coverage upper |
| Cleaning | Brush and floss normally | Threaded floss under the pontic | Removed and cleaned separately |
| Typical service life | Designed to be permanent | Often 10–15 years before remake | Reline every few years; remake periodically |
| Up-front cost | Highest | Moderate | Lowest |
What actually happens
Five stages, and you will know where you are in all of them.
Timelines are typical rather than promised — healing is biological, and your own dates go in writing in your plan.
Consultation & 3D scan
Examination, CBCT scan, digital scan and photographs. You leave with a diagnosis and a written estimate.
Day one · 60 minDigital plan
The finished teeth are designed, implants positioned to carry them, and a surgical guide printed. You review it before it is approved.
1–2 weeksPlacement
Guided surgery under local anesthetic or IV sedation. Grafting, if needed, is done in the same visit wherever the anatomy allows.
Same-day provisionalIntegration
Bone locks onto the implant surface. Short checks along the way; most people work and eat normally throughout.
3–6 monthsFinal restoration
Positions captured, the restoration milled to the approved design, then fitted, torqued and photographed for your record.
2–3 visitsTime and cost
The two questions everyone asks first.
Most single-implant cases run four to six months from placement to final crown, and the waiting is healing rather than appointments. Full-arch cases often deliver a fixed provisional on the day of surgery, with the definitive prosthesis four to six months later.
Fees depend on implant count, grafting and the material of the final restoration. We publish no single number because it would be wrong for most people who read it — but you get a written, itemized estimate before anything is scheduled.
Start with a scan and a straight answer.
A consultation includes an examination, a 3D scan and a written, itemized plan. If implants are not the right treatment for you, we will say so and tell you what is.