A missing tooth, replaced at the root.

It is a small titanium post that sits in the jawbone where the root of the missing tooth used to be. Over the following months the bone grows tight around the post, which is what makes an implant feel solid rather than temporary. On top goes a custom-shaded porcelain crown, matched to the teeth on either side of it. Titanium and porcelain, and neither material can ever get a cavity. The gum around them still needs the same brushing, flossing, and regular cleanings as the rest of your mouth.

Most adults missing a single tooth, or several, are worth assessing. What matters is healthy gums, enough bone in the right place to hold the post, and the patience for a process measured in months rather than weeks. Implants are an adult treatment, since the jaw needs to have finished growing first. We see patients from age seven and up, and Dr. Snyder will tell you honestly at the consultation if something else would serve you better.

They solve the same problem in different ways. An implant stands on its own and leaves the teeth around it untouched. A bridge is a row of joined porcelain teeth carried by the teeth on either side, so those neighbors get prepared to support it. A bridge takes about two hours across two visits and lasts 10–15 years. An implant takes 2–3 visits over months and lasts 20+ years, often a lifetime. A bridge is the better answer when an implant is not the right fit, or when several teeth are being replaced at once. Both sit side by side on our restorative dentistry page.

There is a middle option. An implant-retained denture snaps onto 2–4 implants, so it will not slip or click while you are eating or speaking. It is built in stages, usually 3–5 visits over several months, in acrylic and titanium, and it lasts 15+ years. If you are weighing that against another kind of denture, call us and we will talk it through with you rather than guess on a web page.

You are numb before anything starts, and it gets checked twice before treatment begins. The numbness wears off two to four hours after most appointments. If the tooth still has to come out first, an extraction runs 30–60 minutes in a single visit and the site heals over 3–7 days.

20+ years, and for a lot of people the post lasts the rest of their life. The porcelain crown on top is the part more likely to need attention one day, the same as any crown. What protects the whole thing is the health of the gum and bone holding it, which is the argument for keeping your regular visits.