What actually happens, start to finish

1 · Evaluation and planning

The first visit establishes whether the site can take an implant. That means examining the area, reviewing your medical history and medications, and imaging to see bone volume, bone quality, and where the nerve and sinus sit relative to where a post would go.

For complex and full-arch cases, that imaging is three-dimensional, so angle, depth and clearance can be mapped before surgery rather than judged during it. Not every case needs that level of planning — a straightforward single-tooth site often doesn’t.

This is also where you find out whether grafting is needed first, which is the main thing that changes the length of treatment.

2 · Placement

The implant itself is a post placed into the jawbone in the planned position. It is done under anesthesia appropriate to the case and to what you’re comfortable with; the options are discussed beforehand, not on the day. A straightforward single implant is generally a shorter appointment than people anticipate.

Occasionally an extraction, a graft and an implant happen at one visit. Often they don’t. Which applies to you is determined at planning.

3 · Integration — the waiting part

This is the step with no shortcut. After placement, your bone grows against and bonds to the surface of the implant, which is what makes it stable enough to carry a tooth. That process generally takes somewhere between about six weeks and six months depending on the site, the bone quality and how you heal.

Note the direction: the bone bonds to the implant. Nothing is being glued or screwed into place and finished. You are waiting on biology, which is why the timeline can’t be compressed by wanting it more.

A temporary is common during this period. What’s possible depends on the location and how much bone is there.

4 · Restoration

Once the implant is integrated, the tooth goes on. In California, a surgical specialist performs the placement; the definitive crown is made and fitted by your restoring dentist. Dr. Janette completes the surgical work and coordinates that restoration with your dentist, and helps patients who don’t have one find a good fit.

It’s worth understanding this split up front, because it means two offices are involved by design rather than by accident. The coordination is the thing to ask about — not whether it happens.

What happens to the bone afterward

One effect worth knowing about: the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons notes that bone loss may be arrested in the region of implants, because normal stress distribution through the bone is restored. The implant gives that area something to work against again.

It protects the bone where it sits. It doesn’t undo loss elsewhere in the jaw, and it isn’t a prediction for any individual case — your own result depends on the site, your general health, and how the area is looked after afterward.

Afterward

Expect soreness and some swelling for a few days, managed with standard care, and a return to most normal activity quickly. Discomfort should ease steadily — if pain settles and then comes back, contact the office rather than waiting. Follow the specific post-operative instructions you’re given over anything general written here, and see surgical instructions for detail.