"Doctor, is it possible to have implant surgery in one day?"
As a dentist, I was perplexed the moment I heard this inquiry. Dental implants are not a one-day operation. Dental implants are a significant surgery that takes about 8-10 weeks, 2-3 months, even for patients with solid bones and no abnormalities.
However, the patient raised questions saying that one-day implants are achievable at other dentists these days. Then, I presented the safe and robust implant surgery procedure clearly, and the patient changed his mind and gave up on the one-day implant.
One-day implants might be feasible. It's not at all difficult for the dentist. However, I do not perform it because it has a very high probability of failure and the damage is solely the burden of the patient.
Implants are divided into three main areas. ▲ The 'implantable body (fixture)' that goes into the bone ▲the 'implant tooth head (crown)' that allows you to chew it ▲the 'base post (abutment)' that connects the implanted body and the tooth head. At this time, the implant generally refers to the process of placing 'the body.'
The implant body inside the bone meets with blood vessels and undergoes osseointegration (the process in which the implant and bone become one body). Osseointegration is a fundamental process to support masticatory function.
Often, patients mistakenly consider that the implant body is shaped like a screw and fixed as if it were screwed into the wall.
The fixation obtained as if screwed into the bone is called primary stability. This primary fixation power disappears within one month after surgery. Therefore, it takes 2-3 months to observe the adhesion process at the cellular level. This process is called secondary stability.
In summary, the patient needs a secondary fixation force in an implant. The secondary fixation force is not obtained immediately after surgery but only after 4 to 8 weeks. If the secondary fixation force properly obtained is operated excessively, the success rate of the implant will be meager.
Of course, the success rate of one-day implants, which puts at least eight implants in one jaw and connects all implants at once, is over 80%. This process is called 'cross-stabilization' by crossover. In other words, one-day implants should not be performed unless there are more than eight implants in the lower jaw.
The problem is that if you search for implants recently on the internet, you can find 'one-day implant' at the top. However, one-day implants are not recommended for patient health, and they are merely marketing terms.
In the end, almost all dentists that promote one-day implants as a marketing measure end up saying, "One-day implants are unattainable due to the weak bone, but what do you think about regular implants at affordable cost." Or they voice, "It is a case where the one-day procedure is not possible, but now you are here, please get medical treatment at this visit."
Of course, I understand the patient's situations. It would be cumbersome to visit the clinic every time. However, it takes enough time to place a healthy implant. I hope that you will enjoy life with chewing with solid implants.
