What To Expect When You Have Crowns Put On Your Dental Implants

The most involved part of getting dental implants is the initial surgery during which the metal screw-like part of the implants is inserted into your jaw bone. After this is done, your gums will be stitched closed, and the implant will be given time to osseointegrate. The bone will fuse with the implant, and when this process is mostly complete — which happens a few months later — you will return to the dentist to have crowns attached to the implants. The crowns are the visible portion of the teeth that you actually use to chew. So, what can you expect when you go in to the dentist to have crowns put on your teeth?

You'll be x-rayed to make sure you are healed enough.

Before your dentist puts the crowns in place, they will want to take another x-ray of your mouth. They'll be able to tell from the x-rays if you are healed enough to have the crowns put in place. The implant needs to be healed and secure enough that you're able to put pressure on and chew with the crowns without dislodging it. If you're not healed enough yet, you'll be sent home again for another couple of weeks before your crowns are placed.

The procedure will be performed under a local anesthetic.

Your dentist will give you a local anesthetic before this procedure. While it is a lot less invasive than the previous procedure you had when your implants were inserted, it does still involve some incisions. The anesthesia will keep you from feeling anything other than some pressure. Once it has kicked in, your dentist will use a scalpel to open up the gum tissue where the implant was placed. Then, a little piece called an abutment will be attached to the screw. Once the abutment is in place, then the ceramic crown will be attached to the abutment.

You can go back to eating immediately.

The anesthetic will wear off within an hour or two after your procedure. You will have some pain, but it should be manageable with an over-the-counter pain reliever. You can go back to eating whatever you feel comfortable eating. You may want to stick to soft foods for a few days, but as soon as you feel comfortable eating chewier things, you can. At first, you probably won't chew very much on the implant tooth itself, but over time, as the pain subsides, you will start to use it more. This is natural and to be expected.

Having the crown placed is the easier stage of implant placement. Talk to your dental surgeon if you have any lingering questions about this appointment, or about dental implants in general.