Implants

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.
  • 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:

    • 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.