You can replace any number of teeth with dental implants from just a single tooth or multiple adjacent teeth, to a full upper or lower jaw of teeth. If you're wondering what will be involved to replace your teeth, here are some general guidelines.
How are different numbers of missing teeth replaced by dental implants?
One or two individual missing teeth can be replaced by a single implant, abutment, and crown. This is the standard procedure whether or not the teeth are adjacent.
If you have three or four adjacent missing teeth, they can be replaced with two implants, two abutments, and three or four crowns (respectively) in the form of a three- or four-unit bridge, attached to the abutment.
Six or seven missing teeth can be replaced with three implants, eight-ten missing teeth with four-five implants, and nine-ten missing teeth require four-six implants. If you are missing a whole upper or lower jaw of teeth (that’s 14 teeth altogether), no more than 8 implants are usually necessary.
Please remember that the above numbers are just guidelines; the number of implants you ultimately get also depends on the volume of bone in your jaw.
Those with small jaw bones and those who have experienced bone loss as a result of having missing teeth for over an extended period of time may require a bone graft procedure in order to place the required number of implants effectively.
In many cases, dental bridges or dentures may be a better solution. It depends on the person!