Dental implants before and after
We do not publish patient photographs. What we can tell you is what happens at each stage, how long it takes, what makes a result good or disappointing, and what the whole thing costs — which is usually what people searching for before-and-after pictures actually want to know.
Why we don't show galleries
Before-and-after photographs are marketing assets. They are chosen by the clinic that produced them, lit and angled to flatter, and there is no way for you or us to know how representative they are. A gallery of another clinic's best cases tells you almost nothing about what your mouth will look like. The timeline below tells you more.
The timeline
- 1 CBCT scan and plan 1 day
Bone volume measured. Whether you need a graft is decided here, not later.
- 2 Extraction if needed same visit
Some clinics graft the socket at the same time to preserve the gum shape.
- 3 Implant placement 1–2 days
Fixture goes into the bone. Swelling for three to five days.
- 4 Fly home —
Nothing visible above the gum but a healing cap.
- 5 Bone integrates 3–6 months
The wait that makes this a two-trip treatment. No way around it.
- 6 Abutment and impression 1 day
Connector fitted, impression taken.
- 7 Lab work 2–5 days
The crown is made. You stay for this.
- 8 Final crown fitted 1 day
This is the "after" in every photograph you have seen.
- 9 Follow-up yearly
Arrange this before you fly, not after.
| Stage | When | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | Day 0 | CBCT scan and examination. This is where bone volume is measured and whether you need grafting is decided. |
| Extraction if needed | Day 0–1 | Visible gap. Some clinics graft the socket at the same time to preserve bone shape. |
| Healing | 2–4 months | Gum closes over. If a tooth was extracted, you have a gap or a temporary partial denture. |
| Implant placement | Surgery day | Fixture goes into the bone, gum is closed over it or a healing cap fitted. Nothing visible above the gum except the cap. Swelling for 3–5 days. |
| Osseointegration | 3–6 months | The bone grows onto the implant. You wear a temporary. This is the wait that makes implants a two-trip treatment. |
| Abutment and impression | Second visit | Connector fitted, impression taken for the crown. A few days in the lab. |
| Final crown | 2–5 days later | The finished tooth. This is the "after" in every photograph you have seen. |
Start to finish: four to nine months for a straightforward case, longer with grafting. Nobody flies out on Monday and comes back on Friday with finished implants — if a clinic offers that, they are describing immediate loading, which suits a minority of cases.
What decides the result is invisible in a photograph
Bone volume, gum thickness, the angle the fixture is placed at. None of it shows in a before-and-after shot, and all of it determines whether the finished tooth sits level with its neighbours or slightly too long.
What separates a good result from a poor one
Bone volume, decided before anything starts
The single biggest factor, and it is largely out of your control by the time you are searching. Bone resorbs after a tooth is lost — most of it in the first year. An implant placed into a site that lost its tooth ten years ago sits in less bone, and the gum contour above it will be flatter than the neighbouring teeth. That is the source of the "slightly too long tooth" look people notice in disappointing results.
Grafting rebuilds some of it, adds £200–£900 and several months. A clinic that skips the grafting conversation on a long-standing gap is optimising for your budget, not your result.
Where the tooth is
A molar has to work, not look good — nobody sees it. A front tooth has to match its neighbour in shade, translucency, length and gum line, next to a natural tooth for direct comparison. Upper front teeth are the hardest single-tooth work in dentistry, and the price should reflect that. If a clinic quotes the same for an upper central incisor as for a lower molar, ask why.
Gum health
Implants do not get cavities but they do get peri-implantitis — inflammation and bone loss around the fixture, the leading cause of late failure. Untreated gum disease before placement is the strongest predictor. Any clinic that will place an implant without addressing active periodontal disease is one to walk away from.
What "after" looks like at ten years
Implant survival at ten years is commonly reported around 95%, which sounds excellent and is. But survival means the fixture is still in the bone — not that it looks the same as on the day it was fitted.
- Gum recession. Slow, normal, and more visible on an implant than a natural tooth because the crown margin can show.
- Crown wear or chipping. Ceramic chips. Replacing a crown on a sound implant is routine and costs far less than the original.
- Shade drift. Your natural teeth darken with age. The implant crown does not. A perfect match at forty can be visible at fifty-five.
When the result disappoints
Honest about the common ones, because nobody's gallery shows these:
- The tooth looks longer than its neighbours. Bone loss before placement. Preventable only by grafting, and only if it was discussed.
- A dark line at the gum. Metal abutment showing through thin gum tissue. Zirconia abutments avoid it and cost more.
- Shade slightly off. Very hard to fix afterwards. Insist on shade matching in daylight, not under surgery lighting.
- Food trapping beside it. Contact point too loose. Usually adjustable — but if you are 2,000 miles away, "usually adjustable" becomes a flight.
What it costs
| Country | Complete tooth | Range |
|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | £2,500 | £1,800 – £3,500 |
| 🇹🇷Turkey | £500 | £350 – £800 |
| 🇦🇱Albania | £450 | £330 – £700 |
| 🇵🇱Poland | £650 | £400 – £1,000 |
| 🇷🇴Romania | £700 | £450 – £1,000 |
| ðŸ‡ðŸ‡ºHungary | £750 | £500 – £1,100 |
| 🇪🇸Spain | £1,000 | £650 – £1,300 |
All figures for the finished tooth — fixture, abutment and crown. Full comparison across 11 countries →