When Can You Get Dental Implants After a Tooth Extraction?

Why Do You Need a Tooth Extraction?

A tooth extraction is a quick outpatient procedure. Depending on your situation you’ll be given either local, general, or intravenous anesthesia. 

In a simple extraction, you’ll receive local anesthesia while the surgeon removes the tooth. During a simple extraction, your surgeon uses an instrument called an elevator to loosen the tooth and then pulls it out with forceps. 

A surgical extraction requires both local and intravenous anesthesia. You may also need a general anesthetic that knocks you out completely. This procedure involves cutting into your gum in order to remove the tooth. If the tooth is impacted or hard to get to the surgeon may need to remove bone from around your tooth or cut it before extracting it. 

Tooth extractions are quick, safe procedures. But in order for the extraction to be complete you’ll need to find a way to replace the missing teeth. And that’s where dental implants come in.

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are replacement tooth roots. They’re usually a titanium post that’s drilled into your jaw with a crown (or false tooth) on top. Dental implants are one of the most common ways to replace missing teeth. Unlike dentures and bridges, implants are a permanent way to get your smile back. They look and function like your natural teeth. And they require less maintenance than your other options. 

Getting dental implants after a tooth extraction is essential for your oral health. If you don’t replace your missing teeth several things can happen. First, the gaps left after the extraction is at greater risk of infection. Second, the teeth around the hole will shift. This causes issues with your bite, which can lead to more serious problems like TMJ disorders. Bone loss is another common side effect of tooth extraction. 

Tooth Extraction and Dental Implants Timeline

Getting dental implants after a tooth extraction keeps your mouth healthy. And that’s why it’s important to get dental implants as quickly as possible.  Since bone density is crucial for a successful implant you’ll want to get them within 3 months of your tooth extraction.

There are 3 options for when you can get dental implants after a tooth extraction:

• Immediate dental implant placement
• Early dental implant placement
• Delayed dental implant placement

The right one for you will depend on several factors.

Immediate Dental Implant Placement

As its name suggests, immediate placement happens right after your tooth extraction. Once your tooth is removed the surgeon will place the titanium root into your jaw. The dental implant procedure is quick and simple thanks to dental robotics. Our surgeons use robotic technology to guide them as they place the implant. This ensures the kind of accuracy that makes your implant last a long time. 

After the implant is placed, you’ll have to wait at least 6 months for it to fuse to the bone. But with advancements in dental technology, you don’t have to walk around with a hole in your smile. With same-day dental implants, we can place a temporary crown on top of the implant. Then, once the implant has successfully fused to your jawbone, we’ll place the real crown. 

Early Dental Implant Placement

Sometimes it’s not possible to place the dental implant right after extraction. This is common if you lost your tooth because of an infection. Your gums need to heal before an implant is placed. 

But as we noted earlier, it’s important to place the implant as soon as possible. So, early dental implants are placed no later than 3 months after tooth extraction.

Delayed Dental Implant Placement

The final option is delayed dental implant placement. This is only necessary if you’ve had significant bone loss in your jaw. Bone loss can occur before the tooth is removed if it’s been decayed for a long time. 

In this case, you’ll need to get a bone graft. As we’ve said before, bone density is crucial for the dental implant to be successful. A bone graft takes bone from another part of your body and fuses it with your jawbone. This helps strengthen your jawbone. You will need to wait 6 months after the bone graft for the implants to be placed.