An implant is a small titanium root placed in the jawbone where the tooth used to be; the bone knits around it over months, and on top sits a crown made to the shape and colour of your teeth, that you eat with. It suits someone who has lost a tooth, or several, and wants a fixed replacement: nothing leaning on the neighbours, nothing you take out, and whether it suits you right now is decided at the examination and on the x-ray.
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Between the root and the crown there is a third piece: a small connector, the abutment, that comes up through the gum and joins them. What matters about the three: the root stays in the bone, and the crown is a separate piece that can be replaced years from now without touching the root.
The word “fixed” is the whole difference: an implant stands on its own in the bone. It does not lean on the teeth beside it the way a bridge does, and it does not come out the way a denture does. That is exactly why people ask for it, and exactly why it is not for everyone right now.
The cost is discussed after the examination, not over the phone or by email, and what decides it is explained on What decides the cost of your treatment.
An implant is not a single visit. It is a course of four stages, and between some of them there is healing time that is not compressed. Here are the stages as they are, with no number of weeks or months attached, because the timeline for your case is something you hear at the examination.
The examination and the x-rayThe doctor examines your gum, your bite and the teeth beside the gap, not just the gap. Digital x-rays are taken in the clinic, and whether your case needs a more detailed image is decided at the examination. Because what we need to see before an implant cannot be seen by eye: how dense the bone is, how tall and how wide, and how close it sits to the nerve in the lower jaw or the sinus in the upper jaw. The right image for your case is what shows it.
Placing the implantA small operation under local anaesthetic, usually in one visit: the root is placed in the bone through a small opening in the gum, in the position and at the angle planned on the image, and the gum is closed over it or around a small cap. And the pain? It is the first question below.
HealingThe bone knits around the root over months, and you live your life as usual. There is some discomfort and mild swelling for the first few days, and they settle; the instructions for those first days you hear from the doctor on the day of the procedure. During this stretch there is no final tooth in the implant's place, and whether your case allows a temporary tooth for appearance is decided at the examination, not here.
The crownOnce the root has taken, a small abutment is fitted on it, an impression is taken, and the crown is made in the lab to the shape of your mouth and the colour of your teeth. When it is fitted, your bite is checked so the crown does not carry more than it should and so cleaning around it is possible. From here you eat normally, and the follow-up begins.
If the bone is thin, or the gum is inflamed, or a tooth has to come out first, a stage is added before these four, with its own healing time. And anything beyond this course, such as an implant placed at the same visit as the extraction, or a temporary tooth soon after, has conditions and is decided at the examination, sometimes at the moment of extraction itself: Same-day implants: when they work and when they wait.
You hear the downsides before the advantages, because an implant is a decision that stays with you. These are the things to know before you book:
An implant is not the only way to replace a tooth, and sometimes not the most suitable one:
How the three differ in your daily life, and when the balance tips one way or the other: Implant or bridge: what actually differs.
And how long does it last? There is no fixed number, and the difference is care and follow-up more than the implant itself: How long do dental implants last: what makes one last, and what shortens its life.
In these cases the answer is usually not “no”. It is “not yet”, and you hear what has to happen for it to become possible:
That is how the question is asked, and the honest answer: yes, in many cases, after the bone has been assessed. What changes over the years is not the implant; it is the bone. When there is no root loading it, it shrinks little by little, at a different speed from one person to the next. So the x-ray decides: enough bone and we place the implant, too little and it may need building up first, and how and where is decided at the examination, and sometimes a bridge or a denture is the more suitable fit if the neighbours allow it. Nobody can say it is too late before the x-ray, not over the phone, and not by email from abroad.
Say the three things at the first visit: smoking, diabetes, grindingThese change the whole plan; they are not details for later. How much you smoke, your latest sugar results, and whether you wake with a tired jaw or anyone has told you that you grind in your sleep. Not so you are ruled out, but so the plan is built right from day one, and without a lecture.
Have your medicines and your health history readyA list of everything you take, especially blood thinners and medicines for the bones, any past radiotherapy, and any allergy to metals. And do not stop any medicine on your own, before the appointment or after it: anything arranged around your medicine is the doctor's decision, and he may need to speak with your own physician first. If you had dental work done abroad, bring whatever records you have, x-rays included.
If the tooth is still in placeSay that an implant is on your mind before the extraction, wherever it is done. The way the tooth comes out helps preserve the bone when an implant is in the plan.
If you are in Amman for a whileAn implant takes months, because healing is usually not shortened just because of travel. If you are in Amman for a fixed stretch, a posting, a contract, a semester, or you travel often, say so at the first visit. The stages are planned around your travel before you commit, as far as the healing allows, and whether a temporary tooth is possible between stages is decided at the examination. An implant is usually not squeezed into one short trip, and it is fairer to hear that before you book flights than after.
Book an examination and an x-rayThe first visit has no implant in it; it has an x-ray and a conversation. The rest is in the card below.
If the gap has been there for a long time and nothing hurts, that is not an emergency. Some situations, though, do not wait:
Most of what happens after an implant is expected: some discomfort and mild swelling for the first few days, and then they settle. These, though, do not wait for the follow-up appointment:
Call and we will find you the earliest slot, and tell you what to do until you arrive. Before any painkiller, ask the doctor first, so it suits your case. If the swelling has reached your eye, or it has become hard to swallow or breathe, that is a hospital emergency, not an appointment. If the clinic is closed and the bleeding will not stop with pressure, or the swelling is growing, or you have a high fever, go to the nearest hospital emergency department. Let us know as soon as we open. And if the pain is in another tooth, not the implant: Toothache: what to do right now.
The clinic has a team of dentists, Dr. Adnan Alakhras among them. At the first visit you hear the state of your gum, bone and bite before you hear any plan. His qualifications are on his page: Read about the doctor and the clinic.
The implant is usually placed under local anaesthetic, and the doctor chooses the type and amount for your case at the examination. During the work you usually feel pressure and movement, not pain, and if you feel anything you raise your hand and the anaesthetic is topped up. Once it wears off there is some discomfort and mild swelling for the first few days, and a suitable painkiller the doctor decides on, not something to pick up on your own. What is not normal: pain that grows over the days instead of easing, and that is a reason to call. If fear itself is the problem, say so from the first moment and we go at your pace. For those who need it there is laughing gas alongside the local anaesthetic, not instead of it: a small mask over the nose, you stay awake and can talk. When the visit is hard.
Stages, not a single visit: an examination and an x-ray, then the implant visit, which is usually one visit, then the bone knits around the implant over months, then the abutment and the final crown. If the bone needs building up, the gum needs treating or a tooth needs extracting first, that comes before. The time between the stages is not compressed, because it is what lets the implant take and stay. And if a same-day implant is done, it saves a visit or a waiting period; it does not save the healing. And if you are flying in, it is rarely one trip: say so at the first visit, and the stages are planned around your travel, as far as the healing allows. The actual timing for your case is discussed at the examination, as an expectation, not a promise.
Not at the moment. The doctor is looking into it and wants a trustworthy partner before he commits to anything. What you can do now: after the examination, talk to him about sequencing the plan in stages, the most important first. And the cost itself is discussed after the examination, not over the phone or by email. The full answer is under Payment and insurance on What decides the cost of your treatment.
There are many implant systems, and most share the same idea: a titanium root that bonds to the bone. What sets one apart from another is its size, its shape, its surface, the way the crown connects to it, and the system behind it, not the country on the box and not how famous the name is. The doctor chooses the size and the system from your x-ray and the position of the tooth, not from a list, and you hear why at the examination. Implant types: what really differs.
Often, yes. Diabetes on its own is not a closed door; uncontrolled sugar is, because it slows healing and makes infection easier. If your sugar is controlled, the plan is close to anyone else's, with closer follow-up. If it is not, it is brought under control first with your own doctor, and then we place the implant. The decision is made at the examination, with an x-ray and your blood results. Dental implants when you have diabetes.
There is no fixed number. The implant itself cannot decay, but it lives in bone and gum that react to smoking, uncontrolled sugar, grinding and neglected cleaning. What makes it last longer: cleaning along the gum line every day, check-ups and an x-ray, no smoking, protection from grinding if you grind, and controlled sugar. What shortens it: smoking, neglected gums, and missed check-ups. At the examination the doctor tells you what he expects for your case. How long do dental implants last: what makes one last, and what shortens its life.
In many cases it is not, even after twenty years, once the bone has been assessed. What decides is the bone, and the bone is seen on the x-ray, not over the phone or by email. The full answer is above: When it is not right for now, or should wait.
We suggest only the treatment you need, we tell you why, and we protect your tooth before we think about extraction.
An examination and an x-ray. You come in, you are examined, you see your bone on the x-ray, and at the examination your gum, your bite and the teeth beside the gap. Once the right image for your case is in, you hear whether an implant suits you right now or something has to happen first, what the alternatives are, and why. And you decide, in your own time, without pressure, whether you live around the corner or are only in Amman for a while.
This page explains the procedure in general; it is not a diagnosis of your case. The decision is made at the examination and on the x-ray, and the cost is discussed after the examination.
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