A dental implant is a more complex procedure in comparison to traditional bridgework. But a dental implant is recommended by most dental surgeons because of its key advantages over a dental bridge. A dental implant can last a lifetime without any trouble, and perform almost as good as a natural tooth throughout. That makes it worthwhile to undergo a longer and more complicated one-time dental implant procedure.

The duration of the dental implant procedure may vary from one patient to another. It depends on the position of the implant in the mouth, the jawbone anatomy, and the general physical condition of the patient. In a technical sense the dental implant procedure may not take much time in execution. But the time involved in planning, healing and recovery makes the overall procedure a long one.

The planning stage involves a detailed evaluation of the patient's oral condition. Full mouth, as well as specific area x-rays are taken to examine the actual status of the teeth carefully. In some cases, a CT scan may have to be done in order to be sure that there is sufficient bone to receive an implant successfully. If the bone is found lacking in strength or size, a bone graft procedure may have to be performed before the implant can be done.

Nowadays most dentists try to reduce the duration of the procedure by placing a dental implant as soon as the tooth is extracted. This is known as immediate loading, which is becoming an increasingly successful approach. Earlier the dentists would keep a gap of several weeks or months to allow the extracted site to heal before placing the implant. But now the dental community believes that if the bone is healthy, there is no necessity to delay restoring the implant.

Thereafter, it takes time for the implant to integrate with the bone. This time varies widely from one patient to another. In most cases, the dentists may allow between two to six months for healing and integration of the implant before a crown restoration can be placed. If the restoration is placed prematurely, the implant may move, causing implant failure. Therefore, it is safer to give the implant sufficient time to integrate with the bone.