How long does the bone take to bond with the implant?
For the single implant, the Instituto AreLuna states two to three appointments plus three months of osseointegration. For the restoration of a whole jaw, the final prosthesis follows, according to the published description, three to four months after the operation. This time passes at home, with no appointments in Portugal. These are guideline values, and they depend on a prior individual examination and diagnosis.
‘Bonding’ has a clinical name
It is osseointegration, and it describes bone tissue attaching directly to the surface of the titanium. Only after that does the implant bear load as it is meant to. Before that it sits in place, but it does not bear load for the long term.
That is the reason an implant treatment consists of two separate stages and not one long appointment. Between the stages nothing happens that anyone could speed up — it is biological time.
Anyone who knows that also understands why the question of duration matters more than the question of the number of appointments. Appointments can be scheduled. The interval between them cannot.
The periods the Instituto AreLuna states
For the single implant: two to three appointments and three months of osseointegration. That is the published description of the treatment, not an estimate by this page.
For the restoration of a whole jaw: one operation and two to three follow-up appointments, with a temporary fixed prosthesis within 24 to 72 hours when the evaluation of the 3D scan confirms the conditions for immediate loading. The final prosthesis follows, according to the published description, three to four months later.
Both are guideline values. What applies in an individual case follows from a prior individual examination and diagnosis. This page names no narrower figures, because there is no published source that would support them.
Why this wait does not depend on the practice
Because it is not an organisational process but a biological one. No scheduling shortens it, and no extra charge. A practice that holds out a markedly shorter time is holding out something it does not control.
Read the other way round, that is a useful test question when comparing quotes: is the interval stated, and is it stated as a guideline value or as a commitment? The difference says more about a quote than the final amount.
According to the published description, the interval passes at home, with no appointments in Portugal. It is therefore not a time in which anyone would have to stay abroad.
What this means for planning
It means that months lie between the two trips, not days. Anyone who plans from the start for two separate trips plans realistically; anyone who hopes for a single trip plans against biology.
It also means that the second trip cannot be fixed to a date at the start. When the final restoration can be fitted is said by the finding and not by the calendar. Any date promised before the examination is an estimate and not a commitment.
The diagnostic consultation is booked by telephone, on +351 220 430 090. Dental care is provided by the Instituto AreLuna at Rua de Júlio Dinis, 194, 4050-327 Porto.
Frequently asked questions
Can osseointegration be speeded up?
This page says nothing on that, because no published statement exists. Stated are three months for the single implant and three to four months until the final prosthesis for the restoration of a jaw. What applies in an individual case follows from a prior individual examination and diagnosis.
Does one have to stay in Portugal during osseointegration?
No. According to the published description, this interval passes at home, with no appointments in Portugal.
What does one wear in the meantime?
For the protocol for a whole jaw, the description provides for a temporary fixed prosthesis within 24 to 72 hours when the evaluation of the 3D scan confirms the conditions for immediate loading. For other situations no published statement is available here; that belongs in the consultation.