Summer is the perfect time to relax. Even if you still have work to do, there’s something about a warm breeze and sunshine that slows our pace. You’re probably not thinking about starting an involved dental treatment, in other words.
Don’t let the chill beach vibes deceive you! Now’s actually a great time to start many dental treatments, including dental implant placement. Keep reading to find out why.
Dental Implant Treatment Times
Before diving into the details, let’s go over a quick timeline review:
- Oral evaluation and consultation: one week
- Implant placement: one week
- Placement recovery and osteointegration: between 13 and 26 weeks
- Abutment placement: one week
- Dental crown placement: one week
On average, you can expect the dental implant process to take between 17 and 30 weeks (roughly four to seven months). There’s no getting around the fact that that’s a rather lengthy process, so it’s important to time things just right!
Osteointegration and Chill
As you can see, the longest part of dental implant treatment is gum recovery and waiting for osteointegration. “Osteointegration”is when your jawbone fuses with your titanium implant post. Don’t worry, your jawbone is able to do this naturally as part of your biology. It’s supposed to integrate with your implant. That’s how they stay in place so reliably.
If you start treatment in the fall or winter, you could very well be stuck without teeth during the year’s most hectic and inclement months. Orrr you could take the leisurely summertime option and recover by the beach. Yeah, we’d rather osteointegrate in the sunshine too.
Lounge With Signature Summer Treats
This brings up another good point: you’ll be without a full set of teeth for at least three months. Start osteointegration in the fall or winter and you could miss out on tough holiday favorites like turkey and gingerbread.
But what do people treat themselves with in the summer? Ice cream, slushies, watermelon – basically a bunch of soft, recovery-friendly foods! You could enjoy these signatures and complete osteointegration just in time to bite into late-year holidays.
Mercy for Your Wallet
On a more practical note, your finances could also soak up summer treatment benefits. If you have dental insurance, you might be trying to ride the line between your annual maximum and yearly deductible. Dental implant treatment will likely run you over your deductible, triggering your coverage rates.
At the same time, the multi-step process means you’ll wrap-up treatments right around the end of the year. Your follow-up appointments could very well land in January, just in time to be covered by renewed benefit amounts. Simply put, you’ll likely trigger benefits locked behind your deductible, hover close to your annual maximum, and still receive coverage for your checkups in the new year. Now that’s some smart scheduling!
The sooner you consult with your dentist about dental implants, the sooner you can start and finish your treatment process. So go ahead and give them a call!
About the Author
Dr. Deepti Namineni has advanced training in dental implant placement. Patients can go through every step of the process at The Grand Prairie Dentist. That means no commuting back and forth between offices! Dr. Namineni will save you time with her expertise, and her personalized touch will help you feel comfortable and confident in your treatment. To get started with your dental implant journey, call 972-573-4932. The Grand Prairie Dentist team will be happy to help!