Dental Implants Right After a Tooth Extraction
For many patients facing the extraction of a damaged tooth, the biggest question isn’t about the removal—it’s about the replacement. A missing tooth can feel strange and uncomfortable, affecting your speech, confidence, and ability to enjoy certain foods.
While the timeline for dental implants after extraction varies, an implant can often be placed immediately after extraction, even during the same procedure. If there are complications around the extraction such as infection or bone loss, a healing period may be necessary to help an implant securely take hold.
As the leading dental implant provider in Bergen County, the expert team at Bergen Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery can help you determine the safest, most effective path to restoring your smile. Our highly trained oral surgeons use advanced planning tools and decades of experience to guide our patients through every step of the process.
In this article, you’ll learn about the timing of dental implants after extraction, when immediate placement is possible, and what factors affect the decision.
Can You Get a Dental Implant Right After a Tooth Extraction?
In many cases, yes—a dental implant can be placed in the jaw at the same appointment as the extraction. This option, immediate tooth implant after extraction, puts patients on the track to a replacement tooth right away, rather than waiting weeks or months.
There are several benefits to placing an implant right after extraction, including:
- Fewer surgical appointments: both the extraction and implant are completed at the same time, during the same visit.
- Faster overall treatment timeline: there’s no waiting period between the extraction and implant procedures.
- Preserved bone and gum structure: bone and tissue loss is common with a missing tooth; an implant works like a tooth root to stimulate both and prevent loss.
- Quicker return to normal function and appearance.
Need to get a tooth extraction? Learn more about Complicated Tooth Extractions.
When Do You Need to Wait Before Getting a Dental Implant After a Tooth Extraction?
While a same-day implant has its advantages, it’s not recommended for all patients.
Often, the same issues that prompted the tooth extraction—such as infection, gum disease, or bone loss—also impact the success of an implant.
Additional time for healing or preparation may be needed when:
- The area needs time to recover from infection or inflammation.
- Bone grafting is needed to rebuild missing jaw bone before implant placement.
- The gums and jawbone need to stabilize to support a future implant securely.
Naturally, most patients want to know: “Just how long after extraction can I get an implant?”
The expert team at Bergen Oral Surgery evaluates each case individually to determine the safest and most effective timeline to get you smiling as soon as possible.
What Factors Determine If You’re a Candidate for Immediate Implants After Extraction?
The decision of when to place dental implants after extraction depends on several factors, including your oral health, overall health, and jaw bone structure.
Your oral surgeon will evaluate these factors when determining when to place dental implants:
- Health of the extraction site: The area must be free of infection or severe damage.
- Bone availability: There must be enough bone density and volume to support the implant.
- Stability: The surgeon must be confident the implant will be stable from day one.
- Overall health: Conditions like diabetes, smoking, or immune issues may affect or delay healing.
While bone loss and conditions like diabetes do affect the timeline, they don’t necessarily exclude patients from receiving implants. This is where the expertise of Bergen Oral Surgery’s dual-degree surgeons comes in. With advanced training in both medicine and dentistry to connect oral and overall health, our team provides a customized treatment plan for even the most complex cases.
Learn more about Dental Implants with Bone Loss and Dental Implants for Diabetics.
What’s the Process for Dental Implants After Extraction?
There are two pathways to implant placement after an extraction: immediate and delayed. The steps and timing differ slightly for each.
Immediate Dental Implant Placement After Extraction
When a patient’s oral and overall health allows for an immediate tooth implant after extraction, healing can begin right away:
- The damaged tooth is surgically extracted by an oral surgeon.
- The dental implant, a titanium rod with a threaded base, is placed in the jaw bone during the same appointment.
- A temporary crown may be placed on the implant.
- Healing from the extraction and the implant happen simultaneously, and begins right away.
- A permanent crown is placed 3-6 months after implant placement.
Delayed Dental Implant Placement After Extraction
If complications at the extraction site require extra care before a dental implant can be placed, the timeline and the steps to replace the tooth become extended:
- The damaged tooth is surgically extracted by an oral surgeon.
- If the jaw bone has deteriorated due to injury or illness, bone grafting may be completed during the extraction procedure to support the implant.
- Healing from the extraction (and bone grafting) occurs for several weeks or months.
- The dental implant, a titanium rod with a threaded base, is placed in the jaw bone during a second surgical procedure.
- A temporary crown may be placed on the implant.
- Healing and integration of the implant begins, often spanning 3-6 months before a permanent crown is placed on the implant.
Regardless of timing, the waiting period between implant placement and full restoration with a crown is crucial. During this phase, a process called osseointegration occurs to fuse the implant to the jawbone. Osseointegration typically requires 3-6 months, and it is essential to secure the implant in place.
Benefits of Choosing Bergen Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery for Implants
Tooth loss, whether through extraction, injury, or decay, can be a frustrating and challenging experience. For most patients, the faster the tooth can be replaced, the better.
If you’re wondering, “how long after extraction can I get an implant?” our team can help. At Bergen Oral Surgery, we can’t promise an immediate implant in every case, but we can promise compassionate care and exceptional surgical expertise. Our qualified staff includes several dual degree surgeons who specialize in complex cases, ensuring that your path from extraction to implant is perfectly timed for long-term success.
For more than 70 years, our practice has been serving Bergen County with patient-centered expert oral care. Our four convenient locations in Franklin Lakes, Hackensack, Paramus, and Westwood have received a combined 2,000+ Google reviews—and an average rating of 4.9 stars.
To learn more about dental implants after extraction and how our expert team can help restore your smile, call or text us at (201) 477-2667 or request an appointment online.
Personalized, gentle, comprehensive patient care is our number one priority.
