As sufficient time has past and the extraction site has healed I had my implant placed last week.   The procedure was done under local anesthesia and was relatively pain free.

In this radiograph note how the bone has filled in and is relatively uniform in consistency.

The procedure is relatively straight forward.  Dr. Michael Maltz reflected a full thickness flap and drilled a small pilot hole in the bone to a measured depth.  Then after drilling it to the measured width he tapped a titanium root form implant into place with an instrument that is not unlike a ratchet you might have a home only on a smaller scale.  Then a healing cap is put on top and two sutures later I am ready to walk out the door.  In 3-6 months it will be ready to restore. The entire procedure took about a half hour.

Originally I said that I wanted a gold crown but I am concerned about electrical conductivity between dissimilar metals so right now I am leaning toward a ceramic one.  I have a few months now to figure it out.

If you are missing a single tooth or several in one area of your mouth I would ask you to consider implant dentistry.