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Single tooth implant
One tooth back,
and no debt owed
by its neighbors.
The strongest argument for an implant over a bridge has nothing to do with the implant. It is that the two healthy teeth beside the gap keep their enamel.
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 case for it
A bridge costs you two teeth to replace one.
A conventional three-unit bridge is made by cutting the teeth on either side of the gap down to stumps and cementing a joined span of three crowns over them. It works, it is quicker, and it is sometimes the right answer. But it converts two intact teeth into restored ones, and restored teeth eventually need re-restoring.
An implant replaces the missing tooth on its own foundation. The neighbors are untouched, the bone under the gap keeps being loaded instead of resorbing, and you floss normally rather than threading under a pontic.
The anatomy
Fixture, abutment, crown.
The threaded fixture sits in bone. The abutment passes through the gum. The crown is the only part you ever see, and the only part that is likely to need replacing in your lifetime.
Getting the fixture in the right place is what makes the crown on top look like a tooth rather than like a compromise, which is why the crown is designed before the fixture goes in.
What is involved
Four appointments, most of them short.
Plan
CBCT scan and digital scan. The crown is designed first; the implant position is derived from it and a guide is printed.
Visit 1 · 60 minPlace
The fixture is placed through the guide under local anesthetic. Most people take the afternoon and return to work the next day.
Visit 2 · 45–60 minIntegrate
Bone grows onto the implant surface. A temporary tooth fills the space if the gap shows when you smile.
3–4 monthsRestore
Position captured digitally, crown milled and shade-matched, then torqued into place and photographed for your record.
Visits 3–4Details that decide the result
Where single-tooth cases are won or lost.
Emergence profile
The way the crown rises out of the gum decides whether it reads as a tooth or as a crown. It is shaped during healing with a provisional, not improvised at delivery.
Shade and translucency
A single front tooth is the hardest restoration in dentistry — it has to match a neighbor you cannot modify. Layered ceramics and a shade appointment in daylight.
Screw-retained where possible
A screw-retained crown is retrievable and leaves no cement below the gum line, which is a common and avoidable cause of late inflammation.
Contact points
Too tight and you cannot floss; too loose and food packs. Adjusted and verified at delivery rather than left to settle.
Bite in function
Checked in lateral and protrusive movement, not just closed. An implant has no ligament, so it does not feel an overloaded contact the way a tooth does.
Timing after extraction
Sometimes the implant goes in the day the tooth comes out; sometimes the socket needs to be preserved and healed first. The scan decides.
Questions
Single-tooth specifics.
Will anyone be able to tell?
That is the entire objective, and it is largely a ceramics and gum-contour question rather than a surgical one. Front teeth are matched at a dedicated shade appointment, and we will tell you honestly if a neighboring tooth is the limiting factor.
Do I need a temporary tooth in the meantime?
If the gap shows when you smile or speak, yes — usually a bonded temporary or a small removable appliance. Back teeth are often left to heal without one.
What if the tooth is still in my mouth but failing?
That is often the best moment to plan, because the bone and gum architecture are still intact. In many cases the tooth can be removed and the implant placed the same day.
How long will the crown last?
The implant is designed to be permanent. The crown is the serviceable part — many last well over a decade, and a screw-retained design can be removed and replaced without cutting.
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.