If you have been thinking about replacing your lost or failing teeth with dental implants, you may have been talking to friends and colleagues about the process. You may even have heard stories of terrible pain endured and long healing processes suffered through.

If you have, please don’t take them all as gospel. Human beings have a habit of making medical procedures sound worse than they actually are. It’s better to find out from us at Farnham Road Dental Practice in Guildford than from someone who may be subconsciously trying to make themselves sound heroic.

So, here’s quick heads-up of what to expect if you decide to get dental implants fitted.

Which teeth?

It all starts with an in-depth consultation. Our implant dentist will carry out a thorough examination of your teeth, to be clear about what needs to be replaced. You may have teeth that are starting to fail, and it might be easier to take them out now and replace them with crowns on a dental implant. For example, if you have a gap and one or both teeth either side of it are looking likely to fail in the near-ish future, you can get them taken out now and have the whole lot replaced on one dental implant.

Your jawbone

The implant surgeon will also need to take a good look at your jawbone with x-rays and scans. This is to see if it is strong and dense enough to sustain dental implants. If it has deteriorated, you might need to have preparatory work done, in the shape of bone grafts or sinus lifts. Or you could have extra-long implants that anchor into your cheekbones.

The procedure

This takes place under local anaesthetic, which is more than enough to numb the jawbone, which has very few nerves in it to transmit pain signals. If you are nervous, you can also have sedation so that you can deeply relax.

Afterwards

We recommend a day in bed to recover. Any pain can be treated with over-the-counter painkillers. Plus, a liquid diet for a week or so and soft food until your implants have integrated with your jawbone, in 2-6 months.

Give us a call for an exploratory chat.