Immediate implants: their current status.

Immediate implants are implants placed into a prepared extraction socket following tooth removal. Short-term animal and human studies have shown these implants to be comparable to implants placed into healed bone. The advantages of the procedure include fewer surgical sessions, elimination of the waiting period for socket healing, shortened edentulous time period, reduced overall cost, as well as preservation of bone height and width. Although immediate implantation is more demanding both surgically and prosthetically compared to the conventional placement technique, the advantages make it very appealing to patients who are in need of both extractions and implant therapy.