You are missing a tooth. Maybe for years, maybe since a recent extraction. Someone said "implant", you nodded — without really knowing what that involves: how long, how many appointments, and what can go wrong.
So let us go through it properly, with nothing dressed up.
What an implant actually is, in one sentence
An implant is not a tooth. It is an artificial root — a small titanium screw placed into the jawbone, onto which a crown is later fixed: the visible part, the one that looks like a tooth.
Three pieces, then: the implant in the bone, an abutment through the gum, the crown on top. And above all: time in between. That is the part most people underestimate.
The real sequence, step by step
1. The assessment. Your dentist examines your mouth, the state of your other teeth and, crucially, your gums — an implant placed in a mouth with untreated gum disease is an implant at risk. They review your general health, your medication, your smoking. This is also when the alternatives should be discussed (we'll get there).
2. Imaging. X-rays, and usually a 3D scan (cone beam). The purpose: measure the volume and density of available bone, and locate what must absolutely not be touched — the nerve in the lower jaw, the sinuses in the upper. This step decides everything: where to place, what size of implant, and whether there is enough bone at all.
3. Possibly, a bone graft. If bone is lacking — common when a tooth has been missing for years, because bone that is no longer loaded resorbs — it has to be rebuilt beforehand, or sometimes at the time of placement. That adds a procedure and several months to the timeline.
4. Placement. Under local anaesthetic, in the chair. The dentist opens the gum, prepares a site in the bone, screws in the implant, closes up. For a single implant this often takes under an hour. You should feel no pain — only pressure.
5. Osseointegration. This is the heart of the process, and it is the long part: the bone must fuse with the titanium surface. It cannot be hurried by willpower. This phase is counted in months, longer after a graft. In the meantime a temporary solution can often be fitted so you are not left with a visible gap.
6. The crown. Once the implant has integrated and been checked, an impression is taken, the crown is made, and it is fixed onto the abutment. Only then do you get your tooth back.
Add it up: from the first appointment to the final tooth, expect several months — more if bone has to be rebuilt. If someone sells you an implanted tooth "in a day", ask very precise questions about what exactly that promise covers.
A missing tooth, an extraction coming up, and no idea which solution suits you? Find a dentist near you on OlamKal and book an assessment — it is the only way to know whether an implant is right for you.
The real risks — the ones you must be told about
An implant is surgery. It is common and well mastered, but it carries genuine risks, and you have every right to know them before saying yes.
Failure of osseointegration. The bone does not accept the implant, which stays mobile and must be removed. Disappointing, but not always the end of the story: after healing, a second attempt is often possible.
Post-operative infection. It occurs in the days after placement and is treated far more easily when caught early — hence the warning signs below.
Peri-implantitis. This is the long-term risk, and the most underestimated. An implant can lose its foundation. Inflammation around the implant destroys the supporting bone, exactly as periodontitis does around a natural tooth — and just as with periodontitis, the lost bone does not grow back. The cruel difference: an implant has no nerve. It does not warn you. It can progress painlessly until the implant moves.
Damage to neighbouring structures: injury to a nerve (causing altered sensation in the lip or chin, usually temporary), or a sinus problem in the upper jaw. This is precisely what 3D imaging exists to prevent.
And one sentence worth reading slowly: no implant is guaranteed for life. A well-integrated, well-maintained implant in a mouth with healthy gums can last a very long time. But nobody can promise you "fitted and forgotten". An implant needs lifelong maintenance.
What can rule you out (at least for now)
These are relative contraindications: they do not close the door, they set conditions.
Tobacco. Let us say it plainly: smoking markedly increases the risk of implant failure and peri-implantitis. This is not a moral argument, it is a clinical fact — nicotine reduces the blood supply to gum and bone, precisely where healing is needed. Some practitioners decline to place implants in heavy smokers; most ask, at minimum, for a stop around the surgical period. If you smoke, say so honestly: it is the factor over which you have the most control.
Poorly controlled diabetes. Well-controlled diabetes generally does not prevent an implant. Poorly controlled diabetes, however, impairs healing and raises the infection risk: it needs to be brought under control first, with your doctor. That is not a refusal — it is an order of operations.
Insufficient bone. Too little volume, too little height: either you graft, or you choose another solution.
And the rest: active gum disease (always treated first), certain medications — notably osteoporosis drugs and some cancer treatments — radiotherapy to the jaws, or severe untreated bruxism. Which is why you should give your dentist your complete medication list, leaving nothing out.
The alternatives, honestly
An implant is not always the best solution. A practitioner who offers you only one option is not offering you a choice.
A bridge. The neighbouring teeth carry the replacement tooth. Faster, no surgery, no long wait. Major drawback: the adjacent teeth must be ground down — a real sacrifice if they are intact. If they are already crowned or damaged, that objection falls away and a bridge often becomes a very sensible choice.
A removable denture. Partial or complete, it remains a valid solution, particularly when several teeth are missing, when bone is insufficient, or when the medical situation makes surgery unwise. Less comfortable, needs daily care — but reversible, simpler, and no months of waiting.
Doing nothing? An option, as long as you know its price: the bone in the gap resorbs, neighbouring teeth drift and tilt, the opposing tooth over-erupts. The longer you wait, the more complicated any reconstruction becomes.
And the cost?
Let us be clear without quoting figures, because no figure here would be honest: implant treatment is a significant investment, and it varies a great deal — with the number of implants, whether a graft is needed, the type of crown, the practitioner, the city.
In Israel, coverage depends on your health fund and your supplementary insurance, and the terms differ markedly from one policy to another. Always ask for a written, itemised quote (assessment, imaging, any graft, implant, abutment, crown, follow-ups), and check with your health fund before starting, not after. For your rights within the health system, the reference is the Israeli Ministry of Health. The NHS also offers a clear, neutral overview of implants.
After surgery: what is normal, and what is not
In the days following the procedure, expect swelling, discomfort, sometimes bruising, and difficulty chewing. That is ordinary. Ice, the prescribed painkillers, soft food, no smoking, no strenuous exercise, and careful but gentle hygiene around the site.
Call your dentist without waiting if: you have a fever, swelling that grows instead of subsiding, discharge or pus, a persistent foul taste, bleeding that will not stop, or pain that gets worse after the third day. After an implant is placed, pain should be decreasing, not increasing. Pain that turns back upward is a signal, not something to endure.
Call 101 immediately if: the swelling of your face or neck is spreading, if you have difficulty swallowing or breathing, if you can no longer open your mouth, or if you have a high fever. An infection spreading toward the neck is a life-threatening emergency. It is not something to raise on the phone the next morning.
Maintenance, for life
An implant cannot decay. That is the one advantage it has over a natural tooth — and it is also the trap, because many people conclude there is nothing left to do.
An implant cannot decay, but the gum and bone around it can become infected. Brushing, cleaning between the teeth and around the abutment, regular check-ups with your dentist: that is what separates an implant that lasts decades from an implant that has to be removed. And if you smoke, that remains just as true after placement as before.
The bottom line
An implant is a fine solution: it replaces a tooth without touching its neighbours, it keeps the bone loaded, and the result is often excellent. But it is surgery, it takes months, it demands lifelong care — and it is not the right answer for everyone.
So the real question is not "implant or no implant", but: which solution is right for your mouth, your bone, your health and your life? That is decided in front of a scan, not in front of an advertisement.
Considering an implant, or torn between options? Book with a dentist near you on OlamKal. An assessment, imaging, every option on the table — and a decision you make with your eyes open.
