How soon can I have my crown after the dental implant surgery? How long does it take for the dental implant to heal? Well, I receive these questions all the time from my patients. First, let’s clarify one thing. Dental implants do not heal, but it is the bone that heals around the dental implant. This process of bone healing around implants is called osseointegration. Then, the question becomes how long it takes for the bone to heal around the dental implants after the dental implants are placed in the jaw bone. Remember that bone is live tissue. Placing a dental implant into bone is different from putting a nail in a wall. Adequate amount of time must be allowed for bone to heal around the implant. Different people heal differently, and different areas of bone heal differently.
The Upper Jaw Bone Healing After Implant Surgery.
Different claims are made, by researchers and manufacturers of dental implants, on how soon dental implants can be loaded. It is generally safe to say that implants placed in the upper jaw bone can be loaded (meaning the patient can have a crown placed on top of the implant and start chewing on it). Different designs and different surface treatments used on dental implants allow some variations in the healing time of bone around dental implants. Some implants allow loading much sooner than 6 months. Sometimes implants can be loaded immediately after placing them in the bone.
The Lower Jaw Bone Healing After Implant Surgery.
Since the lower jaw bone is usually denser and stronger than the upper jaw bone, the healing time needed before putting crowns on top of dental implants in the lower jaw is 3 months or less. Again, different designs and different surface treatments on the dental implants allow some variation in the healing time of bone around dental implants.
After Bone Grafting
If bone grafting was used during the placement of dental implants, the healing time required is usually longer in both the upper and lower jaws. Different graft materials and different grafting procedures require different healing time. Each case is different, but 6 to 9 months of healing is required.
The success rate for dental implants is 92 to 98%. Most of implant failure occurs during the first year. It is important to allow enough healing time to ensure success of your dental implant treatment.
