Dental Implants

How is the procedure performed

The insertion of implants is carried out under local dental anaesthetic as used for routine dentistry. Your surgeon will prepare the given part of the jaw, and then insert the implant. The suture is removed 7-10 days later.

Depending upon the complexity of your case, the operation might take anything from 30 minutes for a single implant, to several hours for complex bone grafting and multiple implant placements.

For procedures involving oral or conscious sedation you may be asked not to eat or drink for at least four hours prior to the surgery and you will need to arrange for an adult to take you home. You will also be advised not to operate any machinery for at least 24-36 hours afterwards.

For more complex cases, such as bone grafting from the hip to the mouth, or where large numbers of implants are being placed at the same time, general anesthetic will be used and you will need to be hospitalized. However, most patients will not require a general anaesthetic since conscious sedation is very much safer and has fewer post-operative complications.

In order to calm your anxiety, your surgeon will use an effective means to make you relaxed.

Relative analgesia

A mask will be placed over your nose through which you inhale a mixture of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and oxygen.

Oral sedation

You may be given a dose of a short-acting medication that will reduce anxiety and provide a very good effect for uncomplicated surgical stages taking less than an hour.

Conscious sedation

For treatment of greater complexity ?conscious sedation? is the recommended anaesthetic. This is distinctly different from a general anaesthetic, because you remain alert enough to respond to simple instructions which may be helpful to the surgeon - however you will remember almost nothing about the treatment stage.

A carefully controlled amount of sedative is delivered through a vein in your arm or hand for as long as the treatment takes. It is a very safe procedure during which your heart rate and oxygen levels are monitored throughout by an anaesthetist.

A normal dental local anaesthetic is also injected around the proposed implant sites. You may not remember this stage because the sedation has already taken effect by the time the dental anaesthetic is given.