Unrestorable Decay – Extraction & Implant

A patient will often come into the office on an emergency basis because they “chipped a tooth.” This patient broke one of his lower molars but wasn’t in any pain. Looking in the mouth, it didn’t look that bad, and we thought it would be repaired with a buildup and crown…until we saw the x-ray. Once we had the x-ray, we knew the tooth could not be salvaged. This case then became a routine, extraction, bone graft, and implant. This process will take 4months to a year depending on the healing periods needed for the implant and bone grafts to mature.