Same-day dental implants, also called teeth-in-a-day, are a groundbreaking cosmetic dental care procedure. While traditional dental implants require months to complete the procedure, this new concept requires only a day.
You do the teeth removal, implant placement, and restoration on the same day. You go to your doctor for treatment and return home with a perfect smile.
What are same-day dental implants?
If you have researched traditional dental implants, you already know it is a lengthy procedure.
It requires you to do several things step by step. For example, you must have your damaged teeth removed and your jawbone prepared. Then comes the moment of implant placement. Then you wait for your bone to grow and heal.
After that, you get an appointment for abutment placement, and finally, you get your new, artificial teeth.
Including schedule downtime, you may complete the procedure in 6 to 8 months.
You need only one appointment in the same-day dental implant procedure to complete your implant surgery. There is, of course, a consultation appointment before that and a follow-up appointment after the surgery.
The same-day implants procedure
In this cosmetic dentistry system, your doctor places titanium implants into your jawbone and fits them with metal connectors (abutments) in one sitting.
Implants are placed in such a way that they do not move during the healing process. Bridges, or temporary teeth, supported by the new implants, hold the implants tightly in place.
Your permanent teeth will replace the temporary teeth.
The procedure may be summarized as follows:
- Initial consultation with your doctor. Many dental surgeries will offer this without any cost to you. Check out with your dentist.
- Appointment for determining your suitability for same-day implant surgery. Your doctor will suggest a plan for you at this appointment.
- Surgery. This is the day you have been waiting for. The surgery lasts one hour to four hours, based on the type of implants you need. You go home with your implants in place. You have temporary crowns on your implants.
- Post-surgery check-up appointments. These are for your doctor to see if you are healing properly. In many cases, these short appointments and free for you. Again, check out with your doctor. Exactly how many check-up appointments you will need will depend on your case.
- The final appointment is when your temporary crowns will be replaced with your permanent ones. This appointment completes your same-day dental implant procedure, though it is not the same day.
Good to know:
- Titanium implants are made to last a lifetime.
- Titanium foam is used to create new bone. If your jawbone is injured, this titanium bone can help.
- Rust? What Rust? Titanium does not rust when placed inside living tissue.
Types of same-day dental implants
There are two main types of same-day dental implants in the cosmetic dentistry industry. They are:
- Single-tooth dental implant
- Full-arch dental implants
Single-tooth dental implant
This implant is for patients who are missing only one tooth.
You must still sit down with your doctor to devise a full treatment plan. The first appointment will discuss your oral health and the condition of your jawbone at the target site. Then you need an appointment for the surgery, which may last from 30 minutes to an hour.
During the planning appointment, your doctor will take a 3D scan of your mouth. This is to understand your oral condition better. This also helps avoid taking an impression of your teeth.
CBCT is an advanced x-ray scanning equipment. Using this machine, your doctor can create 3-D images of your teeth, jawbones, soft tissues, and nerve canals in one scan.
Some doctors use the Cone Beam CT scanner for imaging jobs. This scanner helps them do the following:
- Find out if there is an infection or a fracture in your jawbone.
- Identify the maturity of the bone that will be used for implants. Without this scanner, your doctor may have to expose the bone only to understand if your bone is suitable for implant. Having your bone intact is not good enough for dental implants.
- It gives your doctor the dimensions of your jawbone. That helps determine what size your implants should be.
- The 3D image helps your doctor find the best implant manufacturer for your case.
Full-arch dental implants
You are a candidate for this type of implant if you:
- Have no teeth left in your jaw.
- Wear complete dentures.
This is called the all-on-4 procedure. That means you will have four implants on each jaw to hold the bridges.
Two of these implants are placed in an angled position.
However, you will know after a 3D scan of your mouth if you are a candidate for the all-on-4 procedure. You need to have good bones in the right places for the implants.
If you do not qualify for all-on-4, you may still undergo the same-day dental implant procedure. You may need more than four implants to hold your bridge.
Some doctors like to call it all-on-6. That means you will have 6 implants to hold your bridge for each jaw.
TeethXpress
TeethXpress is just another name for same-day implants. Under this procedure, you may have one or multiple implants or full arch dental implants for your missing teeth.
Generally, they deal with 4 to 6 implants. The procedure requires about 4 hours to complete. They are still better than traditional dental implants, which require an implant for each missing tooth.
Who is eligible for same-day implants?
Not everyone willing to undergo cosmetic dental restoration treatment will qualify for same-day dental implants. You are a good candidate for this treatment if you:
- Have healthy oral tissue
- Do not have dental complications like gum disease or cavity
- Have good-enough bone density in your jaw bone
- Are missing one or more missing or cracked or broken teeth
- Do not have bad habits like teeth grinding
- Are medically capable of healing your bone
- Do not smoke heavily and are willing to quit smoking before same-day implant treatment.
The good news is that if you do not qualify for this procedure now, you may qualify later.
For example, a lack of bone density is treatable. The procedure is called bone grafting. In traditional implants, your doctor creates a custom plan for you to grow your jawbone. The same can work for the same-day dental implant procedure.
So is with bruxism or teeth grinding. There is no medical treatment for that. However, you may wear a mouth guard to control its impact on your teeth. Muscle relaxation therapy is also available for you to drastically but slowly reduce it.
Dental implants are a major surgical decision. Your doctor will consult your entire medical history before determining if you are a candidate for the same-day implant procedure.
Socket Preservation is a procedure that reduces bone loss after tooth extraction. Your jawbone may become narrow after you lose your teeth. It may lose as much as 60 percent of its volume within the first six months. In that case, you may need Socket Preservation before your same-day implant treatment can start. If you do not agree to undergo Socket Preservation treatment, you may not qualify for implant surgery. Ref: Rationale for Socket Preservation after Extraction of a Single-Rooted Tooth when Planning for Future Implant Placement.
What to expect at your pre-surgery appointment
Dental implant surgery requires extensive planning on the part of your doctor. You, as a patient, are intimately related to your doctor’s plan.
- Your doctor scans your mouth.
- Your denture, if you wear any, is also scanned.
- Images are sent to a case center to create a computer-generated surgical guide.
- You will have a meeting with the case center.
- You sign the consent form and other paperwork.
- Your doctor gives you an information folder stating how to prepare for your bid day. It will also contain any prescription provided to you if you need any special care or treatment before the implant surgery could begin.
Advantages of same-day dental implants
Same-day dental implants have several noticeable advantages over conventional dental implants. After researching a large bulk of literature available on the topic, we can summarize the advantages as the following:
- Cosmetic dental restoration via same-day dental implants is immediate. Typically, you only need three appointments with your doctor. One is for an initial consultation to determine your candidacy and create a treatment plan. One for surgery. The last one is for post-op inspection.
- At the end of your appointment with your doctor, you will go home with temporary teeth attached to your implants. These temporary teeth will last until your permanent crowns are ready.
- You do not have to wait for months to grow jawbones. Same-day uses available jawbone. Doctors target the thick part of your bone for implants.
- It is medically proven that some same-day implants fuse to your jawbone better.
- Bone erosion becomes a thing of the past as the implant presses the bone to signal that the bone is still in use by your mouth.
- The same-day procedure accelerates the healing process of the tooth socket by keeping food particles away. The implant crown protects your tissues from being hurt.
- You do not need to wear dentures while waiting for your bone to grow.
- There is something called all-on-4 in this procedure. It means your new teeth will need only four implants for each jaw. You do not need an implant for each tooth.
- Limiting the number of implants and the number of appointments with the doctor, the same-day dental implant procedure keeps the expenses under control for you.
Temporary Crowns: Facts
- Temporary crowns are generally made of acrylic material.
- They are secured in place with cement, but this cement too is temporary. A better cement is used for your permanent crowns.
- Can crowns come off? They can. Consult your doctor immediately.
- If you do not have to replace a broken or lost crown, your other teeth may move toward the gap. That will complicate your situation when you go to the doctor to have your permanent teeth placed.
- Your temporary crowns require regular care, just as your natural teeth do. But don’t brush them vigorously. You may damage the cement.
Disadvantages of same-day dental implants
- You will have to stay in your dental chair for longer on the day of your surgery. However, that will depend on the number of implants you will need.
- Can same-day implants fail? Yes. As do traditional implants.
- You still need jawbones. There is no avoiding that.
- You must eat soft food for a limited time, about 8 weeks.
- The teeth you receive on the day of your surgery are your temporary teeth. They are not as aesthetic as you would like them to be.
- You still have to wait for your bone to heal around your implants and to receive your permanent teeth.
- Can you start losing bones after the procedure? Absolutely. There is no time between tooth extraction and implants to see how much bone you may lose. There is no way to predict if crowns will be enough to stop bone erosion.
- Some brutally honest doctors say you will need more than three appointments to complete the procedure. That will add to your expenses.
How to pay for your dental implants
Insurance companies consider implants as a cosmetic requirement. That is why they do not cover the cost of your same-day dental implants.
But if you need implants because of an accident or other physical limitations covered by your insurance plan, you may get some assistance from them.
The best thing is to check with them to see your options.
Dental implants are costly procedures, and you should talk to your doctor about the cost in your initial consultation.
The cost of dental implants varies from doctor to doctor and patient to patient. Roughly speaking, you should be ready to spend around $25,000 (25k) for each arch. If you are missing only a couple of teeth, your doctor will be able to give you a custom quotation for that.
Final Word
Do not comprise the quality of your treatment for any reason. You have only one mouth, and implants are not reversible.
You should find a doctor who does a lot of surgeries. Dental implants have a 95% success rate industry-wide. Be careful when you choose your doctor. Ask your doctor if you could speak to another patient who has undergone the same surgery.