Frequently asked questions about treatment time

Do you really replace a full set of teeth all in one day?

For most of our patients, a full set of implant-supported replacement teeth can be done in only one day.
Of course, a full examination is first necessary to fully assess your individual situation and dental condition. After evaluating your panoramic x-ray and a 3D CT bone scan, your local team of ClearChoice doctors will determine if you have the right amount of bone and are a qualified candidate for implants to be placed and teeth connected to them on the same day (what we call “immediate function”). At that exam, all the x-rays, impressions, photographs, and everything else necessary for your treatment are taken and prepared so that your next visit to the office is your one-day treatment.

At ClearChoice, we use proven protocols and techniques, and have specialists with unique experience in treating patients that need a full arch (or two arches) of teeth replaced, and we usually accomplish this in one day. We have very high success rates (95%), and perform more of these types of procedures in our ClearChoice Centers across the U.S. than any other organization.
One of the best parts of my job is to see people come into the office in the morning with failing or missing teeth, and leave in the afternoon with a beautiful new set of teeth (not dentures). The most touching moment is when their new teeth are completed and placed, and we hand them a mirror to see their new smile for the first time. Many tears of joy are often shed, even by grown men. And certainly, many lives are changed!
-- Dr. Daniel GalindoBack to top

How can this procedure be done in just on day? Most other dentists say that it takes much longer than that.

ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers are unique in the fact that the prosthodontist (a specialized dentist), surgeon and master laboratory technician are all in one location. This allows for a more efficient and seamless treatment for the patient eliminating multiple visits at different offices. In times past, teeth used to be removed a number of months prior to placing implants. Now, with new technologies and procedures, teeth can be removed and dental implants can be placed at the same time. The implants are connected to the new teeth providing immediate stability of the implants and new teeth. Not all dentists are trained to do these specialized procedures.
-- Dr. Tom BerryBack to top

How can you do implants in one day when upper implants necessitate bone grafting with six months of waiting time?

This is a very intelligent question which implies that there is not enough bone present to do All on 4 surgery without bone grafting--usually to the sinus cavities. Newer All-on-4 techniques, the so called M-4 and Vomer bone-fixation approach, generally eliminate the need for bone grafting at all. In fact, bone is generally removed in the process of doing this procedure. The M-4 technique almost always allows immediate function--no waiting.

It is true that if bone grafting is done, especially with cadaver (allogenic) bone grafting, 6 months or longer is needed for the bone to be ready for implant placement – and even then immediate loading may not be desirable due to lack of immediate loading capacity of bone grafted sites.

In summary, the need for cadaver bone is very, very rare with appropriate All-on-4 Procedures.

-- Dr. Ole JensenBack to top

How can a sinus lift, bone grafts, extractions, and prep for implants take one day, when I was told it would take two-and-a-half years to complete that process?

When placing single implants, treatment can often require several steps over a lengthy period of time, consisting of tooth extraction, bone and sinus grafting, then implant placement. Single implants have limited treatment options because of adjacent teeth, bone volume and vital structures, thus requiring the surgeon to alter the bone to accommodate the implants. The more healthy teeth a patient has, the less treatment options are available because of physical inference of the existing teeth. When bone grafting is required, the total implant treatment process does not usually take 2 ½ years, but may take many months to complete.

If a patient is missing many teeth, the options are different. While many dentists use the same multi stage, multi step process on a full arch of teeth that they use on a single implant, at ClearChoice, we take a different approach.

During a procedure for a full arch of teeth at ClearChoice, we remove the few remaining teeth in the jaw, and thus remove most of the inference, creating better treatment options. Using the All-on-4 protocol with special implant placement techniques, the ClearChoice surgeon can avoid structures like sinuses and nerves by changing the position and/or angulation of the implants. Since we avoid the sinuses, there is no need for bone grafting. With four implants placed in solid (not grafted) bone, we are able to support a full arch of replacement teeth, placed the same day as the implants, with very high success rates.
-- Dr. Jared CottamBack to top

Can you do single implants in one day?

In many cases, yes. We will need to assess your specific dental condition, and determine what treatment approach (immediate or staged) will give you the best long-term functional and aesthetic results.
-- Dr. Daniel GalindoBack to top