One tooth gone. Onetooth back.
The most predictable procedure in dentistry: replace one missing tooth without touching its neighbors, and keep the bone that a gap would slowly lose.
- Neighbors untouched
- Preserves bone
- Cleans like a real tooth
How it works.
Scan and measure
3D imaging confirms there's bone to work with.
Place the post
One short visit; the site closes and begins healing.
Integrate
Three to four months while bone locks onto the post.
Crown it
A milled ceramic crown, matched to the tooth beside it.
We plan the implant in 3D before we pick up an instrument
Most single-tooth implants in this market are placed freehand. The dentist reviews a scan, measures carefully, and drills based on training and judgment. It works. It also typically takes somewhere around fifty minutes of surgical time for one implant.
We use Image Guided Implantology instead. Before your surgery date we take a CBCT 3D scan of your jaw, which shows the exact height and width of bone at the site, where the sinus floor sits, and where the nerve runs. We plan the implant on a computer, choosing depth, angle, and position to the millimeter, working backward from where the finished crown needs to sit. Then a surgical guide is fabricated from that plan. It fits over your teeth and holds the drill on the planned path.
On surgery day the thinking is already done. Placement typically takes 10 to 15 minutes instead of roughly 50.
Why a shorter surgery is not just a scheduling detail
Chair time. Fifteen minutes with your mouth open is a different experience than fifty. If you have a sensitive gag reflex, a jaw that aches, a bad back, or a nervous stomach about dental work, this is the difference you will actually notice.
Angle. The implant is planned around the crown, not the other way around. That means the post goes in at the angle that produces a tooth you can chew with and clean easily, rather than an implant that merely fits the available bone and forces the lab to compensate.
Predictability. Clearance from the nerve and the sinus is measured in advance rather than judged in the moment. That is the specific thing that keeps people awake the night before, and it is exactly what guided placement was built to address.
Shorter surgery generally means a smaller opening in the gum tissue, and many patients tell us recovery was easier than they had braced for. Individual results vary and your plan depends entirely on what the scan shows.
No other practice in the Fort Smith market is making a comparable claim about guided placement right now. It is a fair question to ask any office you are considering: how long does your implant placement take?
The advantage of not involving the neighbors
The main alternative for a single missing tooth is a three-unit bridge, and the comparison comes down to one thing. A bridge requires cutting down the healthy teeth on either side of the gap so they can carry crowns. An implant does not touch them.
An implant also puts a root back. That matters because bone maintains itself in response to load, and the bone under an empty socket has no job. Over the years it thins, the neighboring teeth lean toward the space, and the tooth in the opposing arch drifts down into it. A simple single-tooth case today becomes a multi-tooth bite problem in a decade.
And it cleans like a normal tooth. Brush it, floss it, forget about it. You do not thread floss under anything.
When the implant goes in relative to the extraction
If the tooth is still in your mouth, we have a decision to make, and the scan drives it.
Immediate placement. In some cases the implant can go into the socket at the same appointment as the extraction. This requires an intact socket wall and enough bone to hold the implant stable from the start. When it works, it shortens the overall timeline meaningfully.
Delayed placement. More often we extract, place a small graft to preserve the socket while it heals, and come back in a few months to place the implant into solid bone. It is one extra step and a better long-term foundation, and for back teeth in particular it is frequently the right call.
A site that has been empty for years. Perfectly workable in most cases. The question is whether enough width and height remain, or whether a graft is needed first. That is one scan and one conversation away from being answered.
If you are having a tooth removed and think you might want an implant eventually, tell us before the extraction. Preserving the socket at that appointment is far simpler and less expensive than rebuilding the site later.
A front tooth is a different project than a molar
A back tooth is primarily a mechanical problem. It needs to be in the right position, at the right angle, strong enough to chew with.
A front tooth is a cosmetic problem with a mechanical component. The gum contour has to be right, the crown has to match the tooth beside it in shade and shape and translucency, and there is no hiding any of it. We plan front-tooth cases with more attention to the tissue and we plan a temporary so you are never walking around with a visible gap during healing. Milling the final crown here, next to your actual tooth in your actual mouth, is a real advantage on matching.
Who needs a step first
Implants work for most healthy adults, whether the tooth came out last month or in 2007. What you need is enough bone to hold the post and gums healthy enough to heal well.
Active gum disease gets treated first, because peri-implantitis is essentially the same destructive process and implants are not immune to it. Smoking and uncontrolled diabetes both affect healing and we would rather discuss that openly at the consultation than discover it during integration. If you grind your teeth, we will plan a night guard, because grinding is hard on implant crowns.
Candidacy is determined by an exam and a 3D scan, not by a web page. If an implant is not the right answer for you, we will say so and walk you through the alternatives.
What it costs.
Priced as three parts — post, abutment, crown. The main cost variable is whether a graft is needed at the site.
- Grafting, if needed, is quoted separately
- Insurance often covers the crown portion
- Membership: 20% off
What patients say.
4.9 out of 5 across 1,139 Google reviews at our two offices.
Common questions.
What if I just leave the gap?
The bone under a missing tooth shrinks, the neighbors drift, and the opposing tooth drops. What's a simple implant today becomes a bigger case later.
Will it match my other teeth?
It's milled and shaded here, next to your actual tooth. Matching is the easy part.
How do I clean it?
Brush and floss it exactly like a natural tooth. That's the whole appeal.
How long does the whole process take, and how many visits?
For a straightforward case, plan on three to six months from placement to final crown, and roughly three or four appointments total. Almost all of that time is healing, not chair time, while the bone fuses to the post. If you need an extraction, a graft, or a sinus lift first, add a few months. You get a timeline specific to your scan at the consultation rather than a general range.
Does the placement hurt, and what is recovery like?
Placement is done under local anesthetic and most patients report it was easier than the extraction that preceded it. Because guided placement usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, you are not holding your mouth open for an hour. Afterward, expect soreness for two to three days, the kind most people handle with over-the-counter anti-inflammatories and an ice pack. Most patients drive themselves home. If dental anxiety is the real obstacle, ask about sedation when you call. It is a normal request here.
Will my insurance pay for a single-tooth implant?
Partially, sometimes. Many plans cover the crown portion while excluding the implant post itself, and annual maximums are often low enough that one implant consumes the entire year's benefit. Staging the surgical phase and the crown across two benefit years can save real money for some patients, and we will tell you when that applies. A single implant, abutment, and crown at our Fort Smith office typically runs $5,000 to $6,000, and you get your exact number in writing after the 3D scan.
Request your appointment.
Four questions. Our care team calls you back within one business day. If you are in pain right now, call the office directly and we will get you seen.