What are the steps of a dental implant?
A dental implant usually passes through nine stages: consultation, a CBCT 3D scan, a written plan, any extraction or bone grafting, implant surgery under local anaesthetic, healing while the bone bonds to the implant, the abutment and impression scan, the final crown, and a review. At Creative Arts in Dubai the crown is made in the laboratory in our building. Without grafting, most single implants take about three to six months from surgery to crown.
The dental implant timeline at a glance
Typical stages for one implant. Not every case needs every stage.
| Stage | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Consultation | Gap, gums, neighbouring teeth and bite examined; medical history and medicines reviewed | First visit |
| 2. CBCT 3D scan | Bone height and width measured; nerve or sinus located; teeth scanned digitally | Same visit or soon after |
| 3. Written plan | Implant planned from the final tooth backwards; stages, costs and alternatives itemised | Within days |
| 4. Extraction or grafting | Only if needed: failing tooth removed, socket grafted, thin or low bone rebuilt | Adds weeks to several months |
| 5. Implant surgery | Implant placed under local anaesthetic, with sedation if agreed | Often under an hour for one implant |
| 6. Healing | Bone bonds to the implant (osseointegration); gum checked after surgery | Usually about 3–6 months |
| 7. Abutment and scan | Healing cap removed, implant position scanned, shade taken | One short visit |
| 8. Final crown | Crown made in the laboratory, fitted and the bite adjusted | Typically 3–5 working days in the lab, then a fitting |
| 9. Review | Fit, gum and bite checked; baseline X-ray often taken | A few weeks after fitting |
Grafting, full-arch treatment and medical factors change the timeline; your written plan sets out yours.
Stages 1–3: consultation, CBCT scan and a written plan
The first appointment decides whether an implant is the right answer at all. The dentist examines the gap or failing tooth, your gums, the teeth either side and your bite. Your medical history matters as much as your mouth: diabetes, smoking, bone medicines and blood thinners can all change the plan, as our guide to who can get dental implants explains.
A CBCT 3D scan shows what an ordinary X-ray cannot: the height, width and density of the bone, and exactly where the nerve in the lower jaw or the sinus floor in the upper jaw sits. With a digital scan of your teeth, it lets the implant be planned from the finished tooth backwards, so the crown emerges from the gum in the right place rather than wherever drilling was easiest.
Where the case calls for it, the plan becomes a 3D-printed surgical guide; see guided implant surgery. You then receive a written, itemised plan with the timeline and the alternatives, such as a bridge, before you commit.
Stage 4: when extraction or bone grafting adds time
If the tooth is still in place, it comes out first. Sometimes the implant can be placed at the same appointment; our guide to immediate implants explains when that is possible and why it is never promised. More often the socket heals first, and a graft placed at extraction, called socket preservation, helps limit bone shrinkage meanwhile.
If the scan shows too little bone, it is rebuilt before or during implant surgery:
- Small defects are often grafted with the implant, adding little or no time.
- Larger defects are usually grafted first and left to mature for several months, often around four to six, before the implant is placed.
- Low bone under the sinus in the upper back jaw may need a sinus lift, with the implant or as a separate stage.
Grafting is the main reason one implant takes a few months and another closer to a year. The bone grafting and sinus lift guide describes the techniques.
What happens on the day of implant surgery?
A single implant in healed bone is usually a short appointment. Several implants or a full arch follow the same pattern over a longer session.
Checks and numbing
Your medical history and consent are confirmed, then the area is numbed with local anaesthetic. If sedation has been agreed, it starts first.
StartAccess to the bone
A small opening is made in the gum. In some planned cases the implant goes in through the gum without lifting a flap.
MinutesPreparing the site
The bone is shaped in stages to the planned depth and width, following the surgical guide where one is used. You feel pressure and vibration.
SurgeryPlacing the implant
The implant is inserted and its stability measured. That reading helps decide how it heals and whether a temporary tooth can be attached.
SurgeryClosing and aftercare
A healing cap or cover screw is fitted, stitches are placed if needed, and you go home with written aftercare instructions.
Finish
One-stage or two-stage healing?
In one-stage healing a small healing cap sits through the gum from the day of surgery, so no second procedure is needed. In two-stage healing the implant is buried under the gum while it integrates and is uncovered with a minor procedure months later. The choice depends on stability, grafting and the position in the mouth, and is made by the surgeon.
Stage 6: what happens during the healing months?
This is the longest stage and the one with the least to see. Over roughly three to six months, living bone grows onto the implant surface, a process called osseointegration. The lower jaw, where bone is usually denser, often heals faster than the upper; grafted sites, softer bone and smokers generally need longer.
The first week or two are about the gum. Soreness and swelling are common for a few days; our guide on whether implant surgery hurts describes recovery day by day. A review around one to two weeks after surgery checks healing and removes any stitches that do not dissolve.
For a back tooth, most people simply leave the gap while the implant heals. For a front tooth, a temporary fills the space: a removable tooth, one bonded to the neighbouring teeth or, if the implant is stable enough, a provisional crown kept out of the bite. The dental implant aftercare guide covers this period.
Considering an implant? See how treatment is assessed, planned with CBCT and carried out at Creative Arts, from a single tooth to a full arch.
Dental implants in DubaiStages 7–8: the abutment and the final crown
Once the implant has integrated, the restoration stage is relatively quick. The healing cap is removed and a scan body is attached so a digital scan records the implant's exact position and angle. For a visible tooth, the shade is taken at the same visit.
The abutment connects the implant to the crown; depending on the design it is fitted separately or made as one unit with the crown. Creative Art Dental Lab, a separate business in the same building as the clinic, designs and mills the crown, typically within three to five working days depending on complexity. For a front tooth, the ceramist can see your teeth in person under the same light as your dentist.
At the fitting, contacts, gum fit and colour are checked, then the crown is screwed or cemented in place, as your dentist decides for your case, and the bite is adjusted so the implant is not overloaded. Read more about how implant crowns and bridges are made.
How the process differs for several teeth or a full arch
The stages are the same, but the details change. For two to four missing teeth in a row, two or more implants often support a bridge. For a whole arch, such as All-on-4, several implants are placed in one longer session, which is when sedation for implant surgery is most often discussed. Full-arch cases pass through a provisional bridge first, fixed soon after surgery only if every implant is stable enough on the day, and the final bridge is made once healing is complete.
What can make the implant process take longer?
The usual reasons a timeline stretches. Most are known before surgery, so they appear in your plan.
Infection to clear first
An abscess or active gum disease is treated before an implant goes in, because infection threatens integration.
Bone that needs rebuilding
A staged graft or sinus lift adds several months of healing.
Softer bone or lower stability
If the implant is less firm on the day, a longer, buried healing period may be chosen.
Health and habits
Smoking and poorly controlled diabetes slow healing; controlling them first lowers the risk of problems.
Your own calendar
Travel and work often set the pace. Ask for the stages to be scheduled around them before surgery is booked.
Stage 9: review and looking after the implant for the long term
A review after the crown is fitted checks the bite, the gum around the implant and how easily you can clean it. An X-ray taken around this time gives a baseline: later X-rays are compared with it to confirm that the bone level around the implant stays stable.
Implants cannot decay, but the gum and bone around them can become inflamed, a condition called peri-implantitis. Daily cleaning, regular professional implant cleaning and a night guard if you grind your teeth are what keep the result going. Our guide to how long implants last explains what shortens their life.
Who carries out each stage at Creative Arts?
Implants are planned and placed by Dr. Firas Osman, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon & Implantologist, together with Dr. Khalid Saeed and Dr. Kinan Bonni. The CBCT scan, the surgery in the clinic's operating rooms and the reviews take place at 614 Jumeira St, Jumeirah 3, and the crown is made by the laboratory in the same building.
Worth asking any clinic before you start: how many visits will I need, which temporary tooth will I have, and what happens if a graft turns out to be needed on the day?