The quick answer
About four to six hours of appointments in total, spread over roughly a week. Surgery day takes around two of those hours. The visits after that are short, and most of that time is you looking at your new teeth and telling us what you'd like changed. So "a week" is the calendar, not a week in the chair.
In this answer
A week on the calendar, a few hours in the chair
"A week" can sound like a week of appointments. It isn't.
Surgery day is the long one, about two hours. Every visit after that is short, around half an hour to 45 minutes. We look at your current teeth, note the changes you want, and a new set is made overnight.
Added up, it's around four to six hours of appointments. That's from our experience, not a measured average.
Most of that time is you choosing
Most of those hours aren't surgery. They're design time, with you looking at teeth in your own mouth and telling us what you'd like different.
With the older, staged method, chair time often added up to twenty to thirty hours. Very little of it was the patient choosing anything. It was visits to adjust, reline, re-measure, or fix something that had shifted.
So you spend fewer hours in total, and more of them on the part you care about.
Why the older method needed so many visits
With the traditional method, the implants go in, the gums close over them, and you wait three to six months to heal before your teeth are made. During that wait you wear a denture, often one adapted on the day of surgery.
Then comes the long part, usually six to fifteen visits depending on the practice. Measurements, try-ins, adjustments.
It works, and for some people it's still the right plan. But it's a long time to live in temporary teeth that were made in a hurry over a fresh surgical site.
The trouble with same-day temporaries
A denture adapted on surgery day is made in a rush, over a site that's still healing. Its underside isn't smooth and it never fits the gums exactly.
That rubs on healing gums, and it's a common reason for an unplanned visit in the days after.
We make your first teeth in the lab overnight instead, which avoids that.
Because I traveled from out of state, the doctor was mindful of my schedule and made sure my office visits were efficient and timely.
Five days or seven
These aren't packages. It depends on how many rounds of prototypes you want.
Some people see the second version, love it, and go to final. Others want a day to live with a set first and take an extra round. Both are normal, and you decide.
What matters is that you never move to your final teeth before you're ready.
Could you do it in a day?
We could do it in a day. We spend a week to get it right. Our equipment can make a final zirconia arch by the end of surgery day.
The full reasons are on their own page. For planning your time, the week costs you about four to six hours, not seven days.
Quick answers
Is it five days or seven?
Either. Five days suits people who decide quickly or are traveling. Seven gives you more time to live with your teeth before you commit. It's set by when you're happy, not by a fixed schedule.
What happens on each day?
Surgery is the long day, about two hours. After that you come in for short visits, about 30 to 45 minutes. We check the current prototype, note what you'd like changed, and make a new set. Your final teeth go in at the end.
Do I have to stay in town the whole time?
If you're traveling in, yes. It's one trip, not two. Our travel page explains what that week looks like.
Can I go to work during the week?
Many people do, especially from the second or third day. You'll have fixed teeth the whole time, nothing removable.
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Read next
Why does Done In One take a week when other offices deliver final teeth in a day?
We could do it in a day. We spend a week to get it right. We were one of the first in the world to offer full-arch surgery to final zirconia teeth within 24 hours as a product to the public, and we still own every machine it takes. We moved to a week because a bite taken right after surgery is rarely right, adjusting finished zirconia teeth can weaken them, and most people can't tell what they want until they see the teeth in their own mouth.
Answered by Dr. Daniel R. Noorthoek
Read the full answerWhat is it like to travel to Florida for full-arch implants?
We plan your dates together, and you fly home with your final teeth. Surgery comes first. On the days after, you have one or two short fittings a day, depending on your case, which is how the whole treatment fits into one trip. Our optional travel package covers flights and a hotel for you and one companion, and someone from our team meets you at the airport and drives you to every appointment. One week is most people's experience. Depending on your needs and circumstances, you may need fewer try-ins.
Answered by Dr. Daniel R. Noorthoek
Read the full answerWhat actually happens at a full-arch consultation?
Ask your questions and talk through your options, in person or over video. It lasts as long as it needs to. Bring an X-ray if you have one. You do not need your finances arranged first.
Answered by Dr. Daniel R. Noorthoek
Read the full answer