Same-day Dental Implants

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

It is important to note that the success of any same-day dental implant is highly dependant on the skills and expertise of the dental surgeon performing the procedure. This approach to placing dental implants is considered to be a highly technique sensitive requiring an expert dental implant team in order to be properly executed.

During your initial consultation, you’ll need to tell your dentist about your medical history and any existing health conditions or diseases that you may have, after which the dentist will thoroughly inspect your oral health through the use of dental x-rays and 3D imaging.

Through this in-depth analysis of your oral health, the dentist will determine if you are a suitable candidate for immediate dental implant surgery. Only certain patients and cases are suitable for same-day dental implant treatment as careful case selection, proper treatment planning and adherence of surgical and prosthetic protocols are key to the long-term success of immediate dental implants.

Once you’ve been deemed a suitable candidate for same-day dental implants, your dentist will then proceed to craft a customized treatment plan catered to meet your needs and requirements.

“Same-day dental implants” only means that the entire process for you will only take a single day. But for the dental team behind the scenes, it involves a detailed process of planning before the actual day of your surgery.

Once the treatment plan has been completed, you’ll be scheduled in for your actual surgery. Depending on the number of teeth that need to be replaced, you dentist will use one of three type of dental implant prosthesis.

Extraction & Dental Implant Placement

In the case where a tooth extraction is required, then it’s either done weeks before your surgery or on the day of your implant surgery. This decision is generally based on the amount and condition of the bone you have in your jaw, this will be detailed in the treatment plan as well.

Extraction Process
The extraction process is typically done under local anaesthesia and is done carefully by gently manipulating the tooth until it becomes loose enough to remove. All infected tissue and bone is also usually removed during this process. The goal of any tooth extraction is to remove the tooth with as little disruption and damage to the extraction socket, surrounding gum tissue and adjacent teeth.

When done successfully, the tooth extraction process will allow for a smoother implant fixture ( titanium threaded screw shape post ) placement. This is especially important when the implant is going to be loaded immediately after surgery.

Dental Implant Surgery
The dental implant process can take a few hours if multiple implants are being placed. On the day of the surgery, you will be sedated using general anaesthesia or light local anaesthesia based on the number of implants that you’ll be getting that day.

However, this is mainly dependent on your pain tolerance and anxiety levels. Your dentist will recommend the best option based on your case.

Once you’ve been anaesthetized, the surgery can begin. Based on the complexity of your case, the surgical insertion of the dental implants will be done free-hand or with a fully customised digitally designed 3D printed surgical implant guide to help guide the dental implant in the correct position and angle during placement. The surgical guide are typically used for more complex cases as it enables the dentist to precisely place dental implants with a high margin of safety.

The dental implant site is then prepared and the dental implant is placed.

Prosthesis Placement

Once the dental implant has been placed, you’ll then be fitted with the dental prosthesis which will act as your replacement teeth (crown, bridge or denture). Depending on your case, the initial prosthesis fitted may only be temporary, while a permanent prosthesis will need to be fabricated. If this is the case, you’ll need to come back in a couple of weeks time to get the permanent prosthesis fitted.

The fitting of the prosthesis is an important part of the dental implant process as an ill-fitted dental prosthesis may potentially cause failure of the dental implants.

Healing and Checkups

Osseointegration and healing is a fundamental part of any dental implant treatment. This process allows the dental implants to permanently fuse to the jawbone, locking the dental implants in place. The osseointegration process will happen over the course of 4 – 6 month after your dental implant placement surgery. You will have to eat soft foods while this happens, especially during the first 8 weeks after you’ve gotten your immediate dental implants.

Moreover, you’ll still need to come back to the clinic in about a weeks time to get your final prosthesis and get your stitches removed.

After this, you will have another checkup so your dentist can make sure that your dental implants are secure and have properly osseointegrated with your jaw bone. Subsequently, your dentist will ask to see you once every 6 months, just to check and help maintain your dental implants.

Increased Risk of Implant Failure

The failure rate of a traditionally placed dental implant is generally about 95%. While the risk of failure when it comes to a same-day dental implant is significantly higher due to the increased risk of infection and failure to adequately heal and osseointegrate with bone.

Increased risk of infection
The risk of an implant infection is generally more prevalent in patients who have bad oral health or have some form of gum disease, which resulted in the need for dental implants in the first place.

Moreover, when an implant is placed into the socket of a severely decayed or infected tooth immediately after extraction, the risk of peri-implantitis afterwards is increased as there is a possibility that not all of the infected tissue has been thoroughly removed during the dental implant surgery. As such, most dentists would typically recommend a traditionally placed implant for these types of patients instead, as it allows time for the extraction socket to properly heal and rid itself of any infection.

Gum health and oral health is paramount when it comes to the long-term success of any dental implant treatment as such, most dentist would recommend all oral health issues (gingivitis and periodontitis)  to be resolved prior to placement of dental implants.

Additionally, patients should keep with their routine dental care, which should include regular brushing and flossing at least twice a day.

Failure to osseointegrate
The risk of an implant failure due to the disruption of the osseointegration process is increased in immediate dental implants as the implants are immediately loaded with a prosthesis after the dental implant surgery. Freshly placed dental implants can be easily overloaded due to undue pressure on the dental prosthesis and abutment, which disrupts the process of osseointegration.

It is because of this very reason, that dentist typically only recommend patients get immediate dental implants for their front teeth and that patients should only eat soft foods for the first 2 months after their dental implant surgery to reduce the possibility of overloading the dental implants.

Smoking can cause implant failure
Smoking significantly increases the failure of any dental implant, and even more so in immediate dental implants. Patients who are avid smokers will be asked by their dentist to cease smoking during the entire osseointegration process which can take up of 6 months after the initial placement of the dental implants.

Heavily Reliant On Skills & Expertise

Any invasive medical treatments come with a certain level of risk. The success of any immediate dental implant treatment is highly reliant on the skills and expertise of the dentist performing the procedure. As such, it’s vital that you ascertain that the dentist and dental clinic that your considering, has all the necessary and relevant credentials.

Generally, we would advise patients to request before and after photos of the dentist previous immediate dental implant cases. This can be a good gauge and testimony to the skills of the dentist and post-operative care of the dental team.