Teeth in a Day Explained
It is a phrase that sells, so it pays to understand precisely what it covers. What is fitted on the day, what still lies ahead, which patients it suits, and the questions to put to any clinic offering it.
Is Teeth in a Day Available in Broughty Ferry, and What Does It Actually Mean?
It is, on two of our four full-arch pathways. On Same-Day Fixed Teeth (£13,500 an arch) and Premium Guided Zirconia (£14,950 an arch), surgery can end with a fixed temporary bridge screwed to the new implants. That depends on your bone and on how stable the implants are once they're in, so it can't be guaranteed beforehand; your written plan explains what happens instead if it isn't suitable, and your pathway fee is the same either way. These same-day teeth are a robust temporary, and the permanent bridge follows around three months later, once the bone has fused firmly to the implants.
What the Phrase Actually Means
Same-day teeth, smile in a day, teeth in a day: the labels differ, but the treatment underneath is identical. In a single visit, failing teeth come out, implants go into the jawbone, and a fixed bridge is attached to them with screws before you leave. The months of healing are not spent wearing a removable denture. Here in Broughty Ferry, that is what two of our pathways aim for, Premium Guided Zirconia as well as Same-Day Fixed Teeth, where it's clinically suitable. 1
This works because an implant that is gripped tightly by the bone from the moment it goes in can tolerate gentle loading immediately. Linking several implants together under one bridge braces them against one another, rather like the legs of a table, while bone grows onto their surfaces.
What the Headline Leaves Out
The teeth fitted on surgery day are temporary. They are strong and natural-looking, but they are deliberately made a touch lighter and simpler, because their job is to protect implants that are still healing, not to withstand full chewing force. You will be on soft food while wearing them.
The permanent bridge is a separate stage. Once the implants have become solid, usually about three months later, it is made from a digital scan: in acrylic / PMMA on the Same-Day Fixed Teeth pathway, or as zirconia teeth over a titanium bar on Premium Guided Zirconia. The whole treatment, then, is not completed within a day: it begins with consultation and planning, and it ends with the final teeth some months on. What does happen in a day is the part most people fear, the move from failing teeth to fixed teeth with no toothless gap in between.
Are Same-Day Teeth an Option for You?
A free consultation with a CT scan at our Broughty Ferry practice gives you an honest view of your chances.
Who It Suits
Same-day teeth tend to suit people who:
- are about to lose every tooth in a jaw, or very nearly
- have sufficient bone for the implants to grip firmly, which the CT scan reveals
- have gums that are healthy, or have already had gum disease treated
- are non-smokers, or are prepared to stop, because smoking damages healing more than any other factor in your control
Nobody can be promised same-day teeth in advance. It depends on your bone quality and on how stable each implant is once placed, and that is only known during surgery. If the bone is soft and an implant does not achieve the grip we are looking for, we allow it to heal unloaded, and the fixed teeth are fitted a little further down the line; your written plan explains this alternative before you agree to anything, and the pathway fee is unaffected. At your consultation, Dr Sharma will say which outcome looks more likely. 1
Same-day teeth aren't the only way to a fixed arch. If your gums healed long ago under a full denture, Healed Foundation (£9,300 an arch) places four implants and fits the fixed bridge after healing. Where failing teeth are better taken out first, with a removable denture worn while things settle, that is Staged Treatment (£11,500 an arch).
One Tooth, Same Day
The same principle can apply to one front tooth. Where the socket and gum are healthy following an extraction, our implant dentist can sometimes place an implant straight into the socket and attach a temporary crown during that same visit. The crown is kept fractionally clear of the bite as the implant heals, and the permanent crown follows some months later.
When loading the implant immediately is not safe, the gap is covered in the meantime by a small denture or a bonded temporary bridge. A single implant with its crown starts from £2,605.
What Happens on the Day
- Planning in advance. Your CT scan, taken at the practice, lets Dr Sharma position each implant on screen, and the temporary bridge can be prepared ahead of time. On the Premium Guided Zirconia pathway, that plan also becomes a custom surgical guide.
- Settling in. The area is numbed with local anaesthetic. Most people also opt for IV sedation at £500 per session, so they stay relaxed and remember very little.
- Placing the implants. Whatever teeth remain are extracted, with routine grafting if it's needed, and between four and six MegaGen AnyRidge implants are placed. On Premium, each one is placed through the custom guide using MegaGen's R2 system. The grip of every implant is then measured.
- Fitting the bridge. Provided they are firm enough, the temporary bridge is screwed into place and the bite adjusted until it meets evenly. If not, we follow the alternative in your written plan, with your pathway fee unchanged. 1
- Heading home. Someone collects you, and you leave with written aftercare instructions and our phone number.
For a fuller account of the day, see our implant surgery day guide.
While the Implants Heal
For roughly three months, soft food is the rule, and you will clean around the temporary bridge carefully with the small brushes we give you. You will return for review appointments so we can check the gums and the bite. As soon as the implants have firmed up, we scan the mouth digitally, have the permanent bridge made (acrylic / PMMA, or zirconia on a titanium bar if you're on Premium), fit it and fine-tune it. From then on, your guarantee stays valid as long as you attend hygiene visits every three months. Food and cleaning are covered in more detail in our full-arch living guide.
What It Costs
Fixed teeth on the day belong to two of our four full-arch pathways, each with its own fee per arch: 2
- Same-Day Fixed Teeth, £13,500. Extractions, routine grafting where required, four to six implants, fixed temporary teeth on the day where suitable, then a separate final bridge in acrylic / PMMA.
- Premium Guided Zirconia, £14,950. The same route, planned in finer digital detail with a custom-made surgical guide, and finished with zirconia teeth on a titanium bar.
Both also cover your assessment, CBCT scan and digital records, 3D planning, a written plan and routine reviews until treatment is complete. Sedation, more extensive bone augmentation and long-term maintenance are quoted separately. Our other two pathways, Healed Foundation at £9,300 and Staged Treatment at £11,500, reach fixed teeth after a healing period instead. Every item is broken down in our All-on-4 cost guide.
Questions to Ask Any Clinic First
- Is the same-day bridge part of the quoted price, or an extra?
- What is the plan if an implant turns out not to be firm enough for loading on the day, and does the price change?
- Are the implants planned from a 3D scan, and is a surgical guide used or charged as an extra?
- Will the same dentist handle the planning, the placement and the aftercare?
- What material will the permanent bridge be made from, and when will it be fitted?
A clinic that promises same-day teeth before it has scanned you is promising something it cannot yet know.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.