Why does treatment with implant-retained dentures take so long?

Unlike a fixed full mouth implant bridge where dental implants are placed and a bridge is fitted within the same week, an implant-retained denture is a removable prosthetic that cannot be loaded onto dental implants while the mouth is healing.

There are generally 8 stages in the treatment process for replacing missing or damaged teeth with implant-retained dentures, however much of this time involves your dental implants healing (over a period of 3 to 6 months) after surgery. Once healed, dental implants are exposed in a minor procedure to place healing caps. This requires another 3 weeks for your gums to heal around the area where the dentures attach via denture abutments. New impressions are then taken to custom-make your denture.

Once your denture comes back from the lab, we'll try it in, make any final adjustments and then fit it. Depending on your desire to make adjustments, it can take another 1 to 3 visits in this final stage.