Dental implant procedure

The main benefit of implant surgery is to provide solid support for natural-looking artificial teeth.

from 3 months

Total Procedure Time (Stages)

It takes 1 hour to place 1 implant

How your dental implant surgery is carried out will depend on the type, brand and number of implants placed – not to mention the condition of your bone.

Guide to dental implant surgery

Placing dental implants involves a surgical procedure that aims to replace tooth roots with metal screwlike posts that act as an artificial anchors for crowns, dentures and bridges.

Dental implants offer a promising alternative to loose and uncomfortable dentures or bridgework that not only affects quality of life but your oral health condition too.

However, depending on your case, the surgery might involve several procedures, known as pre-implant procedures, which ensure the viability and success of your implants.

Procedure information - each stage

1. Placing the implant

During the implant surgery, your implant dentist and surgeon will make a cut to your gum to expose the underlying bone.

Now, the next bit sounds worse than it actually is. We’ll drill holes into the bone to fix the dental implant post deep into the bone. Whilst this might sound painful, you should know that any pain experienced will be from work to the soft tissues rather than the bone.

Following this stage of the surgery, patients will still have a gap where their missing tooth is, which can be covered with a partial denture, if needed.

2. Waiting for bone

Once we have placed the metal implant post into the jaw, the critical healing stage of osseointegration begins.

During the healing process, the bone unites with the surface of your implant and fuses around it – keeping it stable and secure. Osseointegration can take a minimum of 3 months to finalise and is a stage that cannot be rushed as it will provide the solid base for your improved artificial teeth to anchor to.

3. Placing the abutment

After the healing stage, an additional surgery might be required to place the abutment (the piece that your crown, bridge or denture will attach to). It will be a minor surgery, performed again under local anaesthesia.

How we place the abutment:

The oral surgeon will reopen the gum to expose the nicely positioned and healed implant.
The abutment is then fixed to the dental implant.
We’ll then partially close the gum tissue – in some cases we can attach the abutment to the implant post when it is implanted – avoiding the additional surgical procedure.
The abutment will just pass your gumline so when you open your mouth it will be slightly visible, which will stay that way until we complete the final tooth prosthesis.
It will take roughly round two weeks for the gums to heal after the abutment placement. Then, the artificial tooth can be attached.

4. Choosing your new artificial teeth

After your gums have healed, we’ll take impressions of your remaining teeth, which are used to make the crown aka your realistic-looking artificial tooth.

This crown cannot be placed until all healing stages have completed as the jawbone must be strong enough to support the new tooth.

Patients can choose between fixed prosthesis (permanently screwed or cemented) or removable (conventional denture that’s mounted to a metal frame).

5. After the procedure

After surgery you’ll be advised to take over the counter pain medications and antibiotics. It’s also highly recommended to eat soft foods whilst your surgical site heals.

Whether your surgery is completed in one or multiple stages, you’ll likely experience typical discomforts like:

Gum and face swelling
Bruising to your gums
Pain at the implant site
Minor bleeding

What's the procedure like?

Firstly, as there are usually several stages involved, the dental implant surgery is performed as an outpatient, which allows adequate healing time between each step of the procedure.

The implant surgery is broken down into multiple steps, which include:

The removal of existing damaged or rotten teeth.
The preparation and build up of low jaw bone density using grafting techniques.
Allowing time for bone growth (if applicable).
The placement of your dental implant.
A break of 3-6 months to allow for osseointegration (essential healing).
Placement of abutment.
Artificial tooth placement

How long does the procedure take?

The entire dental implant process can take several months from start to finish – patients should bear in mind that it’s not an instant fix to missing teeth. Implants need time to fuse with your jawbone to do the job they’re specially designed to do. Patients looking for something more immediate can explore the revolutionary All-on-4 method.

That said, depending on your specific case, we might be able to cross off several steps in one sitting.

Is the procedure painful?

How painful implant surgery will depend on your pain threshold as well as your perception of the dentist. How one person perceives pain will be different to the next. That said, the procedure is relatively painless and completed under local anaesthetic. Learn more.

However, particularly nervous patients can explore IV sedation, which makes for a painless, relaxed experience, where patients won’t remember the treatment. No memories, no pain. Learn more.

Will you need a bone graft first?

You’ll be recommended a bone graft if your jawbone density is low. Implants are at risk to fail when there is not a sufficient amount of bone to secure them in place.

A bone graft will add more time to your treatment plan, as we will have to wait for the area to heal before we can place the implant itself. This can take several months. In some cases, bone grafting can be completed the same time as surgery. More.

How to prepare for surgery

As the implant process is not a short one, when you’ve found the right implant dentist you trust, you’ll both work together to prepare you for the surgery.

You’ll undergo x-rays, impressions and assessments that come together to form a treatment plan that will breakdown each stage of your treatment. You’ll be told what to do before surgery and be provided aftercare instructions post-surgery.

Choosing to delay surgery can cause oral health problems that cause further bone reduction, facial sagging, gum disease, tooth decay and further tooth loss.

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Your Implant Treatment, Appointment by Appointment

The summaries you find online tend to compress this into “place the implant, wait, fit the crown”. Useful as far as it goes, but it does not tell you how many times you are coming in, how long each visit takes, or what you are actually doing on the day. Here is the realistic version.

Visit one: consultation and CT scan, around 45 minutes

An examination, a 3D cone beam scan, and a conversation about what you want. The scan is the part that determines everything else, because it shows bone volume, bone density and exactly where the nerve and sinus sit.You leave with a written plan and a total cost. Nothing is placed on this visit.

Visit two: placement, around one hour per implant

The surgery itself. Local anaesthetic, a small opening in the gum, a precisely sized channel prepared in the bone, and the titanium post placed into it. The gum is then closed with a few stitches.You are awake, you feel pressure and vibration rather than pain, and it is over faster than most people expect. Compared with having a tooth out, most patients report this as the easier of the two.

Visit three: a check at around one to two weeks

Stitch removal if they are not the dissolving kind, and a look at how the gum is healing. Short appointment.

The healing gap: three to six months

Nothing happens in the chair, which is the part people find hardest. Osseointegration is going on underneath, and it cannot be rushed.Lower jaws generally integrate faster, often around three months, because the bone is denser. Upper jaws take longer, commonly five to six months. If you had a bone graft, add its healing time on top.

Visit four: exposure and healing abutment, if needed

Where the implant was buried under the gum, a small procedure uncovers it and fits a healing cap that shapes the gum into the right contour for the crown. Twenty minutes, local anaesthetic, minimal discomfort.Some implants are placed so this stage is not required.

Visit five: impressions or a digital scan

Recording the position of the implant and the shape of your bite so the laboratory can make the crown. Shade matching happens here, and it is worth doing in daylight if you can.

Visit six: fitting your new tooth

The abutment is torqued into the implant and the crown is fitted onto it. Your bite is checked and adjusted until it feels right. An hour at most, and no anaesthetic is usually needed.In total: five or six appointments across three to nine months, of which perhaps three hours are actual treatment. The rest is healing.

Osseointegration: What the Waiting Is For

This is the reason implants work at all, and it is worth understanding because it explains why the timeline cannot be shortened.Titanium has an unusual property. Bone does not treat it as a foreign object to be walled off; it grows directly onto the surface and locks to it. The implant becomes structurally part of your jaw rather than something sitting in a hole.That is what allows an implant to take full chewing force, and it is why nothing else replaces a tooth root as well. It is also why loading an implant too early is a genuine risk rather than an inconvenience. Force applied before the bone has bonded creates micro-movement, and micro-movement produces fibrous tissue instead of bone.Three things slow it down measurably: smoking, which restricts blood supply to healing bone and is the single largest controllable risk factor; uncontrolled diabetes; and grinding your teeth, which loads the site repeatedly. Our page on implant healing stages covers what is happening at each point.

Recovery, Realistically, Day by Day

The first 24 hours. Numbness for two to four hours, so avoid hot drinks and be careful not to bite your lip. Some oozing is normal. Bite gently on gauze if needed. Ice on the outside of the face, twenty minutes on and twenty off, does more for swelling than anything else. Do not rinse, do not spit, and do not use a straw, because the suction can disturb the clot.Days two and three. Swelling peaks around 48 to 72 hours, then improves. This catches people out because they feel worse on day three than on day one, and assume something is wrong. It is the normal curve. Start warm salt water rinses after 24 hours, gently.Days four to seven. Noticeably better. Most people are back to normal routines, and many never took time off in the first place. Bruising, if it appeared, starts to fade.Week two. Stitches out or dissolved, the site closed over. You should be comfortable.What to eat: cool and soft for the first day, soft for the first week, then build up while keeping away from the site. Not hot, not crunchy, not chewy, and nothing with small seeds or grains that can lodge in the site.When to ring us rather than wait: pain that increases after day three instead of easing, swelling that worsens after 72 hours, bleeding that does not stop with pressure, a fever, a bad taste or discharge, or numbness that persists beyond the day. These are uncommon, and all of them are far easier to deal with early.

Pain, Anaesthetic and Sedation

The commonest question, and the honest answer is that placement is less unpleasant than people brace for.Local anaesthetic is enough for the great majority. You are fully awake and feel pressure, not pain.Oral sedation is a tablet taken beforehand that takes the edge off anxiety while leaving you conscious.IV sedation puts you into a deeply relaxed state where you are technically responsive but remember very little. It suits multiple implants, longer surgery, or genuine dental phobia. You need someone to take you home. See IV sedation for how it works.Afterwards, standard over-the-counter pain relief taken as directed on the packet handles it for most people, usually for two or three days. Our page on whether dental implants hurt goes into this properly.

When the Timeline Is Shorter

Not everyone waits months, and it is worth knowing which situations compress.Immediate placement puts the implant in at the same appointment the tooth is extracted, saving three to six months. It needs sound bone around the socket and no active infection.Immediate loading fits a temporary crown straight away. This needs excellent primary stability, meaning the implant is firmly held the moment it is placed, and it is a judgement made during surgery rather than promised beforehand.All-on-4 uses four implants angled to make the most of available bone, supporting a full arch of fixed teeth, often with a temporary bridge fitted the same day. Our All-on-4 page covers the approach.What lengthens it instead: a bone graft, a sinus lift, or an infected site that has to settle first. Our pre-implant procedures page explains when these are needed, and the additional costs guide covers what they add.

How to Prepare for Surgery Day

Eat beforehand unless you are having IV sedation, in which case follow the fasting instructions you are given
Arrange a lift home if you are being sedated
Tell us about all medication, particularly blood thinners and bisphosphonates, which matter for bone healing
Stop smoking beforehand if you possibly can, and stay off it during healing. It is the biggest single thing within your control
Get the ice packs and soft food in before the day, not after
Keep the following day light, even though most people feel fine

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does dental implant surgery take?

About an hour to place a single implant. Multiple implants in one session take longer but not proportionally, since much of the hour is preparation and closing.

How many appointments do dental implants need?

Typically five or six across the treatment, including the consultation and scan, placement, a healing check, exposure if required, impressions, and fitting the crown.

How long is the whole implant process?

Three to nine months from consultation to finished tooth. Lower jaws are usually at the shorter end, upper jaws longer, and grafting adds several months.

Is dental implant surgery painful?

Not during, because it is done under local anaesthetic and you feel pressure rather than pain. Afterwards it is comparable to an extraction, and most people manage with over-the-counter pain relief for two or three days.

How long does it take to recover from an implant?

Most people return to normal activity within a few days. Swelling peaks at 48 to 72 hours then improves, and soft tissue is generally healed by two weeks. Bone integration underneath takes months longer.

Can I go to work after implant surgery?

Many people go back the next day. If you had multiple implants, grafting, or IV sedation, take the day off and plan the following one lightly.

What can I eat after dental implant surgery?

Cool soft food for the first day, then soft food for the first week, chewing away from the site. Avoid anything hot, crunchy, chewy, or containing small seeds.

How long before I can chew normally on an implant?

Once the permanent crown is fitted, which is after osseointegration is complete. Until then, keep off the site even if it feels fine, because it will feel fine long before the bone has finished bonding.

What is osseointegration?

The process where bone grows directly onto the titanium surface and locks the implant into the jaw. It takes three to six months and it is what makes an implant able to take full chewing force.

Can an implant be placed the same day a tooth is removed?

Sometimes. It needs enough sound bone around the socket and no active infection. Where those conditions are met, it saves several months and one surgical visit.

What is the success rate of dental implants?

Commonly reported at around 95 per cent over ten years for well-planned cases in healthy patients. Smoking, uncontrolled diabetes and untreated gum disease are the factors that reduce it most.Timings and recovery patterns described here are typical and vary between individuals. Your own plan is confirmed after a consultation and CT scan. This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Last reviewed August 2026.

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