Can You Get a Dental Implant the Same Day a Tooth Breaks?

Published by My Pompano Dentist.

A front tooth that breaks off at the gum line is a stressful way to start the day. You're worried about how your smile looks, whether the tooth can be saved, and how long you'll be walking around with a gap. When the area is healthy enough, we can remove what's left of the tooth, place a dental implant and send you home with a natural-looking temporary in the same visit. This is what most people are hoping for when they search for an emergency dental implant. Below, we walk through what that visit looks like at My Pompano Dentist and when it makes more sense to wait.

Can you get a dental implant the same day a tooth breaks?

Often, yes. If the root and the bone around it are healthy enough, Dr. Andrew Browne can take out the root, place an immediate implant and fit a temporary tooth before you leave. If the site needs time to heal first, we'll tell you that honestly and plan the next step with you. Same-day placement is one of the options we offer for single-tooth dental implants.

When it comes to implants, Dr. Browne remembers one case in particular. A patient came in with her front tooth broken off at the gum line, still sitting inside its crown. He removed the root, placed the implant and turned her original zirconia crown into a temporary. What he remembers most is how much it meant to her to leave the office without a gap in her smile.

A front tooth is the one everyone sees. Instead of hiding her smile or wearing a removable plastic tooth, often called a flipper, while she healed, she could smile, talk and go about her days with a tooth that looked like her own.

What should you do right after a front tooth breaks?

Call us right away, then keep the area clean and comfortable until you get here. The American Dental Association's MouthHealthy guide to dental emergencies recommends rinsing your mouth with warm water and using a cold compress to keep swelling down.

• Rinse gently with warm water.
• Hold a cold compress against your cheek or lip.
• If a crown came off with the tooth, bring it with you. In the case above, that crown became the patient's temporary.
• Call our office at (954) 941-2412.

Our same-day emergency dental care is set up for days like this. We keep room in the day for you, and in most cases we can help you feel better the same day.

What happens during a same-day implant visit?

The visit follows a clear order, and you'll know each step before it happens.

1. We take a 3D scan and plan exactly where the implant should sit.
2. You're fully numb before anything starts.
3. Dr. Browne removes the broken root and places the implant in the same spot.
4. We fit a temporary tooth, either made from your original crown or printed here in the office on our own 3D printer.
5. You go home with a tooth in place while the implant heals underneath.

Dr. Browne puts it plainly: "a single implant is not like a major surgery." He places a single implant with local anesthetic, and he's described the mouth as pretty resilient at healing. On a recent call he said to expect some discomfort for a few days, maybe a week, and that most people just take ibuprofen or ice the area.

How long until you get your final implant tooth?

Usually a few months. An implant needs time to bond with your jawbone before it can carry a final crown, and Mayo Clinic explains that this bonding process, called osseointegration, takes several months.

Dr. Browne measures that healing directly. He places a small smart peg in the implant and reads it with an ISQ meter made by Megagen, which tells us whether the implant needs more time to heal or is ready for its final tooth. He's explained that in a lot of cases this lets us shorten the usual three to four months of healing, sometimes to as little as six to eight weeks.

Your final tooth is made for you. Dr. Browne says, "All of our restorations are custom milled, custom designed." His implant crowns are solid zirconia, a very strong ceramic, on custom-milled abutments, the small connector that joins the crown to the implant.

Is a same-day implant right for every broken tooth?

A same-day implant depends on what we find in your scan and exam. Mayo Clinic notes that if your jawbone isn't thick enough or is too soft, you may need a bone graft before an implant can go in. In that case, the safer plan is to give the site time to heal first.

When an implant can't go in right away, Dr. Browne can graft the socket when the tooth comes out, which helps preserve the bone for an implant later. The 3D scan shows exactly how much bone there is to work with, so you'll see the reason for the plan yourself.

Your general health matters too. Mayo Clinic lists health conditions that affect bone healing and tobacco use among the factors that shape whether an implant is a good fit, so tell us about your medical history and the medications you take.

Why do Pompano Beach patients choose My Pompano Dentist for a broken tooth implant?

You get one dentist guiding the whole plan, from the emergency visit to the final crown. Dr. Browne plans each implant on a 3D scan, we print temporaries here in the office, and he checks your implant's stability with the ISQ meter from placement through the final restoration, so the last step happens when your implant is ready for it.

You'll also hear every option. Dr. Browne walks you through the ideal plan, a sensible middle path and a comfortable place to begin, then leaves the decision with you. We file out-of-network benefits, and Cherry, CareCredit, Sunbit and HFD offer monthly payment options.

If a tooth just broke, call our Pompano Beach dental office at (954) 941-2412 and we'll make room for you. For a planned implant consultation, reach us through our contact page.

Published by My Pompano Dentist (Dr. Andrew Browne).