dental implants
Implant placement: what actually happens.
Placement is the step patients worry about most and remember least. A small titanium post goes into the jawbone where your tooth's root used to be — under local anesthetic, in a single appointment that is usually shorter than the consult that preceded it.
What makes placement succeed isn't speed; it's planning. Position, angle, and depth are decided before the appointment, not during it, and you will have seen the plan yourself.
The appointment
You are numb before anything begins, and we stop the moment you raise your hand — that is house policy for every procedure, not a slogan. The post is placed, the site is closed, and most patients drive themselves home.
That evening you eat soft food on the other side and take ibuprofen if you need it. Most people are back to work the next day. You get our number for the days after; if anything feels wrong, we would rather see you the same day than have you wait it out.
The healing months
Over the following three to six months the bone grows onto the post — the process that makes an implant permanent instead of merely attached. There is nothing to do during this stretch except live normally and keep the site clean; we check it at normal intervals.
When the post is solid, your doctor takes a final scan on the iTero Lumina and the crown is made to match its neighbors. Placement is the foundation; the crown is the tooth you actually see — that step has its own page under implant restorations.
Questions we hear in the chair
- How long does the placement appointment take?
- For a single implant, typically under an hour in the chair. Complex or multiple placements take longer, and you will know the schedule before you book it.
- What can I eat afterward?
- Soft food the first few days, chewing away from the site — then a normal diet as comfort returns. The final crown, months later, handles anything your natural teeth do.
- What if I don't have enough bone?
- Some sites need bone support added before a post can hold. That is determined at the consult, not discovered mid-procedure — if your case needs grafting or a specialist, you will know up front, along with what it changes about timeline and cost.
- Will I be awake?
- Placement is routinely done with local anesthetic — numb, awake, and comfortable. If dental visits are hard for you, say so when you book; plenty of our patients arrive with that history, and we plan the visit around it.
Clinical content reviewed by Dr. Marissa DeAngelis, Senior Dentist.
Serving Crozet for 50+ years. At least two full-time doctors in the building, Monday through Friday.