I would agree that implants do need to be performed by knowledgeable professionals. Time also greatly depends on bone grafts, that adds a few months to the process.
Personally, I needed a graft (11 years with an empty space,) 4 months to heal, implant, another 4 months, then abutment & crown. Surgeries were done by an oral surgeon (if you're in the Twin Cities metro, DM me, I cannot recommend him highly enough,) and the abutment & crown were placed by my dentist. It's an upper front incisor, and I'm quite happy with the results. It's nice to be able to eat ribs and corn on the cob again. It does take a little extra dental care around the crown.
I asked both the surgeon and the dentist if they had calibration certs for the teeny tiny little beam style torque wrenches used. "Oh, yes. Wanna see 'em?"