Treatment
Single Tooth Implant — Replacing One Missing Tooth
A single tooth implant is a small titanium post placed in the jaw to replace one missing tooth, topped with a custom crown that looks and works like a natural tooth. This page is for anyone deciding how to fill a single gap, covering the procedure, healing, suitability, risks and cost. The core point: one implant restores one tooth without altering the healthy teeth beside it.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Ibraheem Ijaz, Principal Dentist · GDC 301711 · 500+ implants placed · Last reviewed August 2026
Medical disclaimer: This page is for general information only. It does not replace an examination or treatment by a dentist.
What is a single tooth implant?
A single tooth implant is a small titanium post placed in the jaw that supports one replacement crown where a tooth is missing. It has three parts: the titanium post that acts as the root, a connector called an abutment, and the crown you see and chew with. Once placed, the post fuses with the surrounding bone through a natural process called osseointegration, which gives the implant the stability of a real root.
This is what sets it apart from a conventional bridge. A bridge replaces a missing tooth by grinding down and capping the healthy teeth on either side to carry a false tooth between them. An implant stands on its own in the jaw, so the neighbouring teeth are left untouched, and the bone under the gap is kept active rather than left to shrink. For most people missing one tooth, that independence is the deciding factor, and it is one of several routes you can read about across our full dental implants service.
Because the crown is made individually for you, it is shaped and shaded to match the teeth on either side, so it blends in rather than standing out. Replacing the tooth also protects your bite: when a gap is left open, the teeth around it can drift and the opposing tooth can over-erupt, which changes how your teeth meet. A single implant holds that space and keeps the bite working as it should.
The single tooth implant procedure, step by step
The procedure has five stages: planning with a CBCT scan, placing the titanium post, healing, fitting the crown, and a review. Here is what each stage involves and roughly what to expect at each visit.
1. Plan the case. Every implant at the practice starts with a clinical examination and a CBCT scan, a 3D X-ray that shows the height, width and density of the bone and the position of nerves and the sinus. This scan is taken for every case, not only complex ones, because it lets the implant be positioned precisely before any surgery begins.
2. Place the post. At the placement appointment the area is fully numbed with local anaesthetic. A small opening is made in the gum, the titanium post is set into the planned position in the jawbone, and the gum is closed with fine stitches. For anxious patients, ways to make treatment more comfortable are discussed at your consultation.
3. Heal and integrate. The post is then left to fuse with the bone, which grows onto its surface so it becomes a stable anchor. The length of this healing phase depends on the site and your own healing, and it is confirmed for your case at the planning stage. A temporary tooth can often be worn over the site so you are not left with a visible gap while healing.
4. Fit the crown. Once the implant is stable, an impression or digital scan is taken and a crown is made to match your other teeth. The crown is attached to the post through the abutment, checked against your bite, and adjusted until it feels natural.
5. Review and maintain. After the crown is fitted, the implant is reviewed to confirm the gum is healthy and the bite is even. From then on it is looked after with normal brushing, flossing and routine dental visits.
Immediate versus delayed placement
Immediate placement fits the implant at the same visit as the tooth is removed; delayed placement waits for the socket to heal first. When a tooth still needs to come out, these are the two ways to time the implant, and the right choice is made for each patient rather than by rule.
Immediate placement means the post is positioned into the socket straight after the extraction, in the same appointment. Its appeal is fewer surgical visits, a shorter overall timeline, and often better preservation of the gum shape around a front tooth. It depends on having enough healthy bone at the site and no active infection, which is one reason the CBCT scan and examination come first.
Delayed placement means the socket is allowed to heal for a period before the implant is placed, sometimes with a bone graft to rebuild the site. It is the more predictable route when there is infection, thin or damaged bone, or when the socket walls are compromised. The trade-off is a longer overall treatment time, and for a front tooth the natural gum line can also steer the choice toward one approach or the other.
Survival is high either way. A recent review found around 97 per cent of implants still in place whether they were fitted immediately or after the socket had healed, with no meaningful difference between the two. Some larger analyses have found immediate placement slightly less forgiving, so the decision rests on the condition of the socket and bone, whether the tooth is in the smile line, and your own healing and health. At Deepcar Dental Care this is assessed from your scan and examination before any date is booked, so the approach chosen is the one most likely to give a stable, lasting result in your particular case.
Crown types and materials
Implant crowns are either screw-retained or cement-retained, and are usually made from zirconia or porcelain bonded to metal. The crown is the visible tooth, and how it attaches to the implant matters for both looks and long-term care.
A screw-retained crown is fixed to the post with a small screw through the top, hidden by tooth-coloured filling. Its advantage is that it can be unscrewed cleanly if it ever needs adjusting, checking or replacing, without damaging anything. A cement-retained crown is glued onto the abutment, the connector that joins crown to post; it can give a slightly better appearance in some positions but is harder to remove later. The choice between them, and the shape of the dental implant abutment types used, depends on where the tooth sits and how your gum meets it.
For a tooth in the smile line, the aim is a natural emergence profile: the way the crown rises out of the gum so it looks like it grows from your own tissue. Getting this right is what makes a replacement front tooth blend in. You can see how the practice approached a comparable case on our page on how we replaced a missing front tooth.
Materials are chosen for the position too. Zirconia is strong and highly aesthetic; porcelain bonded to metal is a long-established, durable option. Whichever is used, the final permanent crown is fitted only after a temporary crown stage where needed, so the fit, bite and shade are confirmed before anything is made definitive.
Ask whether this treatment fits your case.
Healing timeline and what to expect
Healing happens in two overlapping phases: the gum settles within the first week or two, while the bone integrates with the implant over several months. Knowing what recovery looks like takes the worry out of the days and weeks after surgery.
In the first phase, the gum around the implant heals over. It is normal to have some swelling, mild bruising or tenderness for a few days, which is managed with ordinary painkillers and settles quickly. A softer diet for a short while and gentle cleaning around the site help this along. Many people return to their usual routine the next day.
In the second, slower phase the bone grows onto the surface of the post to lock it in place. This is what gives the implant its strength, and it is why the crown is not loaded straight away in most cases. The length of this phase varies with the site, your general health and whether the upper or lower jaw is involved, and it is confirmed for you at the planning stage.
If your case needs extra bone before or during placement, a bone graft for dental implants adds healing time, because the grafted area has to mature before it can support the implant. Your treatment plan will set out a realistic timeline for your situation, including any graft, so you know what to expect at each visit rather than being left guessing.
Who is suitable for a single tooth implant?
Most adults with healthy gums and enough jawbone can have an implant, though gum disease, smoking and some medical conditions affect suitability. Suitability is decided case by case from an examination and scan, not from age alone, and many people who assume they cannot have an implant turn out to be good candidates.
The main requirement is enough healthy bone to hold the post, along with healthy gums. If a tooth has been missing for years, the bone under the gap can shrink, and a common worry is that this rules an implant out. In practice it often does not; where bone has been lost, grafting can rebuild the site so an implant becomes possible. This is exactly what the CBCT scan is for, as it shows precisely how much bone is there before any decision is made.
A few factors need managing rather than being outright barriers. Smoking roughly doubles the risk of implant failure and slows healing, so stopping, or at least cutting down around the surgery, improves the odds. Well-controlled conditions such as diabetes are usually fine, while gum disease is treated and stabilised first so the implant has a healthy foundation. Uncontrolled conditions or certain medications may mean an implant is not the right choice, and that is discussed openly.
Because more than one tooth-replacement route can suit the same mouth, it is worth understanding the alternatives before committing; you can compare them on our guide to which implant is right for me. None of this is a diagnosis: the only way to know your own suitability is a clinical assessment.
Risks, limitations and long-term outcomes
Single tooth implants are a well-established, thoroughly studied treatment, but they carry real risks including infection, gum problems and, rarely, failure to integrate. Being clear about the risks is part of giving honest advice, and for most healthy patients these risks are low and manageable.
The main early risk is infection or failure of the implant to fuse with the bone, which is uncommon and is why the site is planned carefully and kept clean during healing. Over the longer term, the equivalent of gum disease around an implant, called peri-implantitis, can develop if plaque is allowed to build up, which is why maintenance matters as much as the surgery. Placing an implant also has to respect nearby structures such as nerves and the sinus, and this is precisely what the CBCT scan protects against by mapping them before treatment.
A useful distinction for judging how long treatment lasts is between the implant and the crown on top of it. The titanium post, once integrated, is designed to be a durable long-term foundation, whereas the crown is a working surface that can wear, chip or need replacing over time, much like any restoration. Pooled long-term studies put ten-year survival at the implant level at roughly 93 to 96 per cent, which is reassuring, though these figures describe the post in the bone rather than the crown above it.
This is why the practice takes full responsibility for planning, placement and the restoration together, and reviews each implant over time. Looked after with good daily cleaning and regular check-ups, a single implant is a long-lasting way to replace one tooth, though no dental treatment can be promised to last forever.
Ask whether this treatment fits your case.
How much does a single tooth implant cost?
The cost of replacing one tooth with an implant depends on the crown, any bone grafting or sinus work, and the scans and appointments involved. Because those factors vary from person to person, the practice quotes a clear price after your assessment rather than a single headline figure, and prices are given as ranges.
The fee is staged rather than paid all at once, and the implant consultation is credited against the cost of your treatment if you go ahead, so the assessment is not money lost if you decide to proceed. What you are paying for is more than the parts: the cost reflects the surgical planning behind the case, the medical-grade, precision-engineered components used, the 3D scanning that makes placement accurate, and the practice standing behind the result if anything ever needs adjusting. When comparing prices, it helps to check exactly what each quote includes, since scans, grafting and the crown are not always part of a single headline figure. For a full breakdown of what is included at each stage, see how much a dental implant costs in the UK.
Monthly payment options are available at the practice, subject to status and credit checks, and are set out in full on our monthly payment options for implant treatment page.
NHS availability
Single tooth implants are very rarely available on the NHS and are almost always provided privately, only funded where there is a specific clinical need. On the NHS, dental implants are tightly restricted and reserved for a small number of medical situations, rather than offered as routine tooth replacement.
Funding is generally limited to cases such as tooth loss from facial trauma, treatment for mouth cancer, or teeth missing from birth due to a medical condition. For someone replacing a single tooth lost to decay, a fracture or gum disease, an implant is almost always a private treatment, which is how it is provided at this practice. The NHS may still restore a gap in other ways where clinically appropriate, but the implant route itself is rarely funded.
Patients across South Yorkshire therefore usually access implant treatment privately. If you are looking specifically for dental implants Sheffield, or for the local page on a single tooth implant Sheffield, those pages set out access, travel and what to expect for patients coming to the practice from around the region.
Questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
Does a dental implant for one tooth hurt?
No, the placement should not be painful, because the area is completely numbed with local anaesthetic before treatment starts. What you feel afterwards is usually mild and short-lived: some tenderness, minor swelling or a little bruising for a few days, all of which respond to ordinary over-the-counter painkillers. The surgery to place a single post is smaller than many people expect and is often on a par with a routine extraction. Anyone who feels anxious can raise it in advance, and ways to make the visit more comfortable are discussed at consultation.
Will an implant look like a real tooth?
Yes, a well-made implant crown is designed to be indistinguishable from a natural tooth. The crown is made individually for you and shaded to match the colour, shape and translucency of the teeth on either side. For a tooth in the smile line, particular care goes into the emergence profile, the way the crown comes out of the gum, so it looks as though it grows from your own tissue rather than sitting on top of it. Because the implant replaces the root as well as the visible tooth, it also supports the gum naturally, which helps the final result blend in.
I have had the gap for years, is there still enough bone?
Often yes, and even where bone has been lost it can usually be rebuilt. When a tooth has been missing for a long time, the bone that once supported it tends to shrink, which is a common reason people assume they have left it too late. A CBCT scan measures exactly how much bone remains in three dimensions, so the answer is based on your actual anatomy rather than guesswork. If there is not enough, a bone graft can restore the site so an implant can be placed safely, which means a long-standing gap rarely rules the option out on its own.
How long does a single tooth implant last?
With good care it can last for many years, and it helps to think of the implant and the crown as two separate things. The titanium post that integrates with the bone is a durable, long-term foundation and, once healed, is rarely the part that needs attention. The crown on top is a working surface, so like any restoration it can wear or chip and may be renewed at some point without disturbing the post beneath. Daily cleaning around the implant and regular check-ups are what keep both parts healthy, and no dental treatment can be promised to last forever.
Do I have to go to hospital for the treatment?
No, single-tooth implant treatment is carried out at the dental practice, not in a hospital. The placement is a minor surgical procedure done under local anaesthetic in a normal dental appointment, and you walk in and out the same day. Everything from the initial scan and planning to placing the post and fitting the crown happens in-house, with the same clinician managing your case throughout. Keeping it all under one roof means better continuity, since the person who plans and places your implant is also the person who restores and reviews it.
How is the cost of treatment structured?
The total is broken into stages rather than charged all at once, and a written quote is given after your assessment so you know the full cost before committing. The initial implant consultation is credited against treatment if you decide to proceed, so the assessment is not wasted money. The range depends mainly on your crown and whether any grafting or sinus work is needed. Payment plans that spread the cost over time are also offered, with the details and eligibility explained on the practice's finance page.
Ready when you are
Book your consultation
Booking your consultation is the first step, where a clinical assessment and CBCT scan confirm whether an implant is right for your tooth. At this appointment you will get an honest recommendation and see all your options, not pressure to proceed.