How Long Should I Wait to Get Dental Implants After Extraction?

Walter, thank you for your question. We usually recommend 8 weeks wait before placing implants. You certainly can wait longer, but I would not recommend longer then 6 month. The biggest challenge from aesthetic point of view in anterior region is preservation of soft tissue between teeth. Depending on location of the missing teeth, it may be beneficial to place them one at a time for that reason.

The condition of the tooth and its surrounding bone has a significant impact on the timing of placing an implant following an extraction.  If the surrounding bone is abundant and free from infection, often an implant can be placed at the time of extraction and bone grafting.  This immediate implant placement saves much time but comes with a slightly higher failure rate.  The safest way to place an implant is first to extract the tooth.  If the bone is infection free, do an immediate bone graft.  If the bone is infected, then close the area following the extraction and take antibiotics for two weeks.  Then have the area grafted.  The bone graft will take at least three months to mature into your own bone and recent studies suggest that the healing time is even longer.  However there is an ideal window of opportunity.  You want to give the bone graft time to become real bone, usually 3-6 months, but you don't want to wait longer than that because the bone, both the graft and your own bone, will begin to break down, and waiting too long may result in not having enough bone to support an implant.

We usually wait at least 3 months for the bone to heal and the body to get ready for implant placement.  The use of an ND/YAG laser promotes faster healing with a better post operative outcome for the patient.  Of course, you would need a quality set of digital x rays to confirm the bone topography and timing for placement.

Of course it can be done, you can place the implant right after an extraction, however it is not recommended. remember that the most important part after placing a dental implant is the osseointegration process that takes place within your body. basically that first step is the must important. You must be patient with this process, first the extractions and getting rid of your infection with antibiotics, your dentist can make for you temporary teeth is aesthetics is a concern, and then if necessary a bone grafting and then after 2 months the placement of the implant and then after another 6 months, the placement of the abutment and crown. That would be the step by step process, however you can try doing it all at once and wait to see the results because you mus remember there is nothing definitive in dentistry.

There is a lot of different routes implants can take.  You can have them placed immediately after an extraction if its a front tooth but if you have severe infection or bone loss a graft may be totally  needed.  Then it depends on the size of the graft and type.  It could take 2-6months of healing of the graft prior to implant placement.  

Sometimes they can be done all at once, but if not then there is a waiting/healing period.  A general rule of thumb is 6 months, but in some cases you can start in 3-4 months.  It really depends on the area of the mouth and type of bone graft used.

The ideal time to place an implant is immediately after the extraction.  The extraction site needs to be able to support this implant and help achieve good primary stability.  This means that there needs to be ample bone and soft tissue to accomplish this, or bone and soft tissue can be augmented during the surgery to allow for correct bioengineering.  If implants are going to be delayed it is common to wait anywhere from 3-4 months.  The longer you wait the more the bone melts away.

If the infection can be minimized first with antibiotic, it's possible to have teeth extracted, remaining infection cleaned out, bone graft and implants placed all at once, provided there is enough bone beyond the roots of the teeth to engage the implants.  Advantage of doing this way is everything will heal together so you save time and the end result which are crowns on top of the implants will look much nicer.