I have always been an avid hockey player, and my love took a bad turn one day when I got struck in the mouth with the puck. It was a painful moment that left me with two teeth knocked out of my mouth. Had I taken the right steps after the accident, I could have possibly saved the teeth, but I did not know I had that option at the time. Thankfully, I worked up the courage to visit a dentist and ask what my options for teeth-replacement were. I was worried I would would have to live the rest of my life without smiling, but I was ecstatic to learn that I was the perfect candidate for dental implants. I created this blog to help others realize that there are so many options to replace missing teeth today that no one has to "just live with" an imperfect smile!
After dental implant treatment, that gap in your smile will be history. The missing tooth now has an ultra-realistic porcelain replacement, held in place by a small titanium alloy screw implanted in your jaw. This process is referred to as both dental implant treatment and dental implant surgery. If you've only heard it called treatment, you might be concerned when you discover that you require surgery. Please don't worry, because dental implant surgery isn't as demanding as many forms of surgery.
Not Especially Challenging
It's difficult not to classify the process as surgery. You receive an anesthetic, a medical procedure is performed, and then the healing process begins. None of these stages are especially challenging for most patients. You may already be familiar with the form of anesthetic that will be used.
Adjacent to the Relevant Nerve
A dentist routinely numbs a patient's jaw before performing a range of procedures, from repairing a cavity to extracting a damaged tooth. A suitable anesthetic (such as lidocaine) is injected adjacent to the relevant nerve, blocking the nerve's ability to communicate with the pain receptors in your brain. This level of pain relief is suitable for the placement of a dental implant. Local anesthetic is all that's needed to ensure your comfort. Partial or full sedation is rarely used—only in complex cases where the patient cannot remain still for the procedure.
Pain Relief After the Procedure
Your dentist will either prescribe pain relief or will recommend a specific product that can be purchased over the counter at a drugstore. They can also tell you the best time of day to start taking this medication (which will correspond to the approximate time when your local anesthetic begins to wear off). Swelling (the accumulation of fluid) that occurs outside of a joint is called edema, and your own edema should peak at about one to three days after your dental implant surgery. After this time, any remaining discomfort and physical evidence of the procedure should quickly fade.
Reducing Your Dose
Obviously, you must contact your dentist if your edema and associated discomfort should increase, but this isn't applicable to most patients. You will simply reduce your dose of any pain medication until you no longer need this assistance.
In most cases, a local anesthetic and over-the-counter pain medication are the only help you'll need with your dental implant surgery. To learn more about dental implants, contact a dentist in your area.
Share7 April 2023
