How Long Will It Take Before Crowns Can Be Placed on My Dental Implants?

Advances in dentistry have improved the standard of care for patients, especially when it comes to the use of a dental implant for placing crowns. While a traditional crown is placed over a damaged tooth, leaving it in the patient’s mouth, an implant allows a dentist to remove the bad tooth and place a prosthetic tooth in its place, one that is stable, strong and unnoticeable to others. Though this advancement in dentistry is revolutionary, it does require outpatient surgery and recovery time. This means patients have to wait for a crown to be placed, and that timeline varies by individual.

Patient requirements

Every patient is unique in their needs and wants. While it is simple to offer a standard timeline for recovery and crown placement based on averages (usually three to six months) that schedule is dependent on specific and extenuating circumstances:

• Patient history
• Bone density
• Bone growth

Pre-existing conditions

For patients who suffer from periodontal disease or have weaker or softer bones, a dentist may recommend a bone graft before placing a dental implant. A graft is a way to strengthen the jaw bone or to aid in the development of new bone growth. Once a patient has healed from the graft, the implant can be placed, and then the three to six-month timeline begins. For some patients, a dentist may place the implant on the same day as the graft.

Jaw bone

Another obstacle for a precise timeline depends on the selection and natural density of the jaw bone. For instance, the upper jaw is naturally softer than the lower jaw, and it has sinus cavities that run through it. Therefore, patients needing an implant in the upper jaw may require a graft. Also, depending on the location of the sinuses, a dentist may suggest other possibly more invasive procedures, like a sinus lift, before placing an implant. This healing time would likely increase the projected timeline for crown placement.

Osseointegration

For those patients who are healthy and present with no significant obstacles, a dentist still needs to wait for osseointegration before a crown can be placed. Osseointegration refers to the integration of the bone and implant, meaning the living bone has connected to the implant, making for a superior and stable connection. If a crown is placed before osseointegration occurs, this increases the risk of implant failure. Unfortunately, bone growth differs in every person, which again makes it difficult to nail down a timeline more precise than three to six months.

Conclusion

Traditional crowns are an option for those patients who do not want to wait the three to six months for a dental implant to integrate into the jaw bone properly. However, an implant in combination with a crown has advantages. An implant by its definition is implanted into the bone, making the crown a stronger and more reliable prosthetic when placed. While it takes longer depending on the individual circumstances, the end result is a more solid and durable replacement.

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