Dental Implants

Replacing a single missing tooth or a whole arch with a titanium post fused to the jaw.

Written by the Shield Dental Care team, Burke VA

A dental implant replaces the root of a missing tooth, not just the part you can see. That distinction is the whole reason implants behave differently from a bridge or a denture, and it explains most of what follows on this page — the cost, the timeline, and why the jaw matters as much as the tooth.

What a dental implant actually is

An implant is a small screw-shaped post, almost always titanium, placed surgically into the jawbone where the tooth root used to sit. Over the following weeks the bone grows onto and around it in a process called osseointegration. Once that has happened the post is not merely sitting in the jaw; it is locked into it, which is why a healed implant does not move at all.

Three separate parts make up the finished tooth. The post is the part in the bone. The abutment is a connector that sits at gum level. The crown is the visible tooth, made to match the ones on either side. When people talk about an implant "failing" they almost always mean the post; a crown or an abutment can be replaced without disturbing the part that is fused to bone.

Who is a candidate — and what changes the odds

The usual requirements are enough healthy jawbone to hold the post, gums free of active infection, and general health good enough for a minor surgical procedure. None of those is as absolute as it sounds. Bone can be rebuilt with a graft before placement, gum disease can be treated first, and most managed medical conditions are not a barrier.

Two things genuinely move the numbers, and both are worth knowing before you decide:

  • Smoking. A systematic review and meta-analysis found implants placed in smokers carry a 140% higher risk of failure than implants in non-smokers, with the risk rising the heavier the tobacco use. Stopping around the surgery and healing window narrows that gap.
  • Grinding and clenching. In a multicentre cohort study of implants placed in private practice, bruxism was one of only two factors significantly associated with failure — the other being an implant that was not stable at the moment it was placed. If you grind your teeth, that is worth raising at the consultation rather than after.

The stages, and how long each takes

An implant is not a single appointment. The sequence at Shield Dental Care runs in four stages:

  • Consultation and planning. 3D imaging shows the bone available and the position of the nerve and sinus, so the post can be placed where the bone actually is rather than where it is assumed to be.
  • Placement. The post goes into the jaw under local anaesthetic, with sedation available if you would rather not be aware of it.
  • Healing. The osseointegration period. This is the long part, and it is biology rather than dentistry — nothing speeds it up meaningfully.
  • The crown. Impressions are taken once the post is solid, and the finished tooth is fitted.

The total is usually measured in months rather than weeks. Where a tooth still has to be removed first, or a graft is needed, that adds a healing period of its own before the post can go in.

What it costs

Costs at Shield Dental Care in Burke, VA depend on how many teeth are being replaced and whether any preparatory work is needed:

  • A single implant — typically $3,000 to $5,500, covering the post, the abutment and the crown.
  • An implant bridge, replacing three or more teeth in a row on two implants — typically $6,000 to $12,000.
  • All-on-4, a full arch on four angled posts — typically $20,000 to $30,000.

These are ranges, not quotes. Bone grafting, extractions and sedation are separate, and dental insurance treats implants inconsistently — some plans contribute, many cap what they will pay in a year. The consultation is where the number becomes specific to you.

Compared with a bridge or a denture

A conventional bridge is faster and cheaper up front, but it works by grinding down the healthy teeth on either side of the gap to carry the load. A denture is cheaper still and needs no surgery, but it rests on the gums rather than in the jaw. Neither replaces the root, which is why neither stops the bone beneath a missing tooth from shrinking over time.

That bone change is the argument for an implant, and it is also the argument against waiting: the ridge is easier to build on before it has resorbed than after.

How long they last, and what failure looks like

Implant survival is high. The cohort study cited above reported 97.4% survival at two years, and survival rates above 95% are consistently reported in the literature. That is a strong number, but it is not 100%, and knowing what a problem looks like matters more than the statistic.

Get in touch promptly if you notice pain that persists beyond the first week, swelling or redness around the implant, any movement at all in a healed implant, or bleeding around it months or years after placement. The last of those usually points to peri-implantitis, a bacterial infection of the gum and bone around the post — treatable when it is caught early, and much harder once bone has been lost.

Looking after one

An implant does not decay, which occasionally leads people to relax about it. The tissue around it can still become infected, and that is what determines how long the implant lasts. Brush twice daily, clean around the implant with floss designed for the purpose or a water flosser, and keep to regular hygiene appointments so the gum around it is checked rather than assumed to be fine.

Treatments at Shield Dental Care

What we do for this, and what each appointment involves.

Articles

70 articles from the Shield Dental Care team, all reviewed by Dr. Pejman Ghorbani, DDS.

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