The dental implant placement procedure
- Please have a good night’s rest before the day of implant placement, and eat a moderate breakfast or lunch.
- A local anesthetic will be used to block sensation in the area where the implant is to be placed.
- Sterile covers will be placed over your clothing and hair, and our work surfaces to reduce the presence of bacteria.
- We will wear sterile outer clothing to eliminate any contamination.
- A small incision will be made in your gums to obtain access to the location where the implant will be placed.
- Several sizes of small drills will be used to make precise, painless, preparations in the locations where the implants will be placed.
- Implants will be placed into the prepared sites.
- Your gum tissue will be stitched together to isolate the newly placed implants from oral fluids and foods. The stitches will dissolve by themselves, unless we advise you differently.
- You will be asked to bite on gauze sponges for at least one half-hour after the implant placement to stabilize the incision and stop any slight blood flow.
- You will be given at least 2 prescriptions which you should have filled and begin to use immediately:
a. An antibiotic to control any potential infection.
Please take this medication as directed until the tablets are gone.
b. A pain relieving medication to control discomfort.
Take this medication only until you do not need it anymore. - Anesthesia should remain in your mouth for at least 1 hour after we are finished.
- As soon as possible after treatment, place ice in a plastic bag and put it on the outside of your face for a few hours over the sites where the implants were placed. This reduces the potential swelling and bruising. However, you may still have some swelling and bruising for a few days.
- There may be a feeling of numbness caused by the surgery that lingers for a short time. Usually, this feeling goes away within a few days. In a very few cases it does not go away totally.
- Eat and drink only soft foods for a few days. The less force you put on the implant area for the next several days the better and faster will be the healing. Over 95% of implants are accepted well by the body, and about one out of 20 is rejected and must be replaced.
- We anticipate that these implants will serve you well for many years.
- Stay “as you are.”
- Have bone grafted into your mouth from some other part of your body to provide enough bone for conventional implants. Usually, this operation requires:
a. A surgical procedure to transfer the bone to your mouth
b. A healing period
c. Placement of conventional-sized implants
d. Another healing period
e. Placement of the teeth onto the implants - Placement of “mini” implants. These small titanium-alloy implants are only about 1.8 mm in diameter. Regular implants are 3.25 – 6.0 mm in diameter. “Mini” implants are not as strong as conventional-sized implants and the research on them has been in progress for only a few years with good results. However, they are at least an interim “fix”, if not a long-term one.
The Mini Implant
Mini Implants are used when normal diameter dental implants are too large for the amount of bone you have available. There are only three choices for a situation like this: