Dental Implant, anyone have any experience of it? I'

Fistycuffs

So I have had a world of trouble with one of my back teeth,3 abcesses later and I have to do something.As I'm missing some other back teeth due to different reasons this tooth is absolutely essential to my ability to eat. My dentist has suggested a root canal &crown which he feels may not work or an implant. In an ideal world I'd get a loan and get the implant. I'm pretty terrified of it though, my dentist showed me a model of a screw sticking out of a jaw and everything I've seen online just looks nightmarishly terrifying to me.

How hardcore is it as an experience? How long do you spend in the chair per session? How long before you can eat with it? Has anyone had one done or performed one if you are a dentist? How long would you need off work for recovery if you need to talk during work?
Any information or guidance would be so gratefully appreciated.

helimachoptor

each case will be different, I had a front top incisor done, you get numbed up pretty good and for me the most painful aspect was the injection in the roof of the mouth, otherwise it was perfectly fine.

I had subsequent work done on it, iirc i had all mine done on a friday to allow some healing over the weekend, but i didn't take any time off work.

Length of time in the chair will vary case by case, but you arent going to be in it for hours.

One of the folks in work had a double implant procedure with a bone graft on molars and she took a week off, so take advice for your dental professional, you will also know you're own body and how quickly your recovery will begin

Most dentists operate some type of stick your hand in the air if you need me to stop system, not good moving around when there are sharp objects floating about :eek:

Get it done OP, you wont regret it

SM35

Most of my patients report either minor discomfort to a few days swelling / discomfort, often less uncomfortable than having a tooth out. Some dentists will offer a mild sedative to ease anxiety for patients during the procedure - I use sedation routinely as a calm patient makes my job easier, and they are so much more relaxed and at ease. A chap this afternoon asked me after the procedure how did I get him numb without an injection - he had no recollection of the local anaesthetic injection because of the sedation.

applesock

I'm going through implant treatment now. I had removals done and bone graft that was the worse & and i took 4days of work including the weekend so 6 days in total , but maybe didnt need that much. I have now had the implants placed, again i took about 5 days , including the weekend off, but i honestly didnt need that much. I was told most people get done on a friday and have weekend to recover before monday. Soft food for a good bit for me, but wasn't too bad really, just have to be really careful.
Dont google or what any videos. They gave me relaxing tablets both times which helped. Listen to some music.

Fistycuffs

Thanks very much for the replies everyone. I'm surprised, I was expecting people to say it was a lot rougher, I deeply appreciate all your input,feeling some of the tension of thinking of it easing already!
How long are you in the chair for the drilling procedure? Is that very difficult? Is the bone graft hard to take? How long until you can eat normally?

applesock

I suppose everyone is different. But first part i think was about 2hrs and second part 1.5 hours. I was freaking out at the second part as i expected the noise to be this crazy drilling but it really wasn't. I think generally a couple of weeks as the area is very tender. Im waiting for implants to settle and get last part done - so I'm just being extra careful in general. But honestly I've the biggest fear of dentists and watched every youtube video i could find and totally regret it, i spent so much time worrying over something that wasn't half as bad as i expected. Muller rice are handy to eat in first couple of days and have ice / heat packs ready. They help with swelling.

Fistycuffs

applesock wrote: »

I suppose everyone is different. But first part i think was about 2hrs and second part 1.5 hours. I was freaking out at the second part as i expected the noise to be this crazy drilling but it really wasn't. I think generally a couple of weeks as the area is very tender. Im waiting for implants to settle and get last part done - so I'm just being extra careful in general. But honestly I've the biggest fear of dentists and watched every youtube video i could find and totally regret it, i spent so much time worrying over something that wasn't half as bad as i expected. Muller rice are handy to eat in first couple of days and have ice / heat packs ready. They help with swelling.

Thanks a million, that's great to read, I could probably survive that length of time Also I have visions of a Black and Decker drill experience after seeing the model in the dentist of the screw sticking out of the jaw. I'm afraid I watched some youtubes too but I feel more confident after reading here.
Thanks so much again. If you can think of anything else or anyone else has anything to add please do too.

SM35

If you go with it, why don't you post your experience - it could help other people in your situation.

applesock

Fistycuffs wrote: »

Thanks a million, that's great to read, I could probably survive that length of time Also I have visions of a Black and Decker drill experience after seeing the model in the dentist of the screw sticking out of the jaw. I'm afraid I watched some youtubes too but I feel more confident after reading here.
Thanks so much again. If you can think of anything else or anyone else has anything to add please do too.

No problem. The time flies in. i was given some relaxing tablet before hand - which helped. But i was fully aware of what was going on. When i went in for the implant placement i was very concerned about the noise , got the dentist to stop just as he was about to start to ask about it so he pressed the "drill" ( obviously i dont know technical name ) and it really wasn't bad at all. I had to go back a week later to get the stitches out. Im trying to think of anything else but thats it. any questions you have il try answer - I'm not a dentist so can only speak from own experience. Im getting the abutment part done next, which is the part above the gum for crown to sit on.

Fistycuffs

applesock wrote: »

No problem. The time flies in. i was given some relaxing tablet before hand - which helped. But i was fully aware of what was going on. When i went in for the implant placement i was very concerned about the noise , got the dentist to stop just as he was about to start to ask about it so he pressed the "drill" ( obviously i dont know technical name ) and it really wasn't bad at all. I had to go back a week later to get the stitches out. Im trying to think of anything else but thats it. any questions you have il try answer - I'm not a dentist so can only speak from own experience. Im getting the abutment part done next, which is the part above the gum for crown to sit on.

Lord stitches? Did you have many?
Thats great that you found the time flew though, I was expecting more of an awake operation and that it would feel like eons. I really appreciate you sharing so much. If I could double thank those posts I would.

Do you mind if I ask if you got more than one at a time ?

applesock

In my case , they placed the implant ( opened the gum placed the implant and sewed it back up ) Its really not that bad - but really is like sewing , so much skill must be involved. Taking them out is a quick 10 min job ( well for me it was ) and doesn't need to be numbed. Yeah I've had two placed. I think when your getting it done your just not that aware of the time. But the procedure really isn't as bad as you'd think in your head or by looking at videos / images.

SATSUMA

I had one and it was all very uneventful! Didn't hurt as I was asleep! Tooth looks and feels great. I'd have no fear getting it done again but that's because I trust my dentist 100 percent so do your research to find a good place.

cloneslad

I posted about my experience shortly after having mine done, which was three years ago now. I think I have since removed the post as it had pictures of me and I just wanted it to help other people considering it at the time.

I had my front tooth done. I lost it when i was about 15 and had a denture until I was 28. My dentist kept refusing me the implant as I was playing rugby, travelling, young & stupid and I think he thought it would only be a waste. I'm glad I waited as the technology improved greatly over that time.

I will answer your questions as you asked:

How hardcore is it as an experience?

it's not even a little bit hardcore. I just had the numbing injections (there's probably a technical term for these) and then they got to work with doing the ugly part of inserting the threads into the gum.

prior to this I had a consultation with the Implantologist, and had full xrays done of my mouth to see if I my bone density was strong enough or if I would need a bone graft.

How long do you spend in the chair per session?

Over all (throughout the entire time, which was about 12 months) I spent not as long as you might think. The first time doing the surgical side of things was the longest, it probably took an hour and a half or so. I can't really remember, I was too busy looking at the reflection in the dentist's glasses to see what was happening.


How long before you can eat with it?

After the actual implant was placed? about 3-4 hours, I had some warm soup and soft bread. The gum was closed up again anyway, so it was just like having stitched in your mouth.

How long would you need off work for recovery if you need to talk during work?

You could go back to work the next day, I was just back from working abroad for so wasn't working at the time. I was working by the time they put in the screw section and cap and went back to work the next day.

I had a root canal done this year, which, I found, was quite similar to the implant in terms of length in the chair and awkwardness and I was back in the office the next morning.


Any information or guidance would be so gratefully appreciated.

Get it done, it's the best money I've ever spent.

Idbatterim

I had one done last week, I thought it was going to be far worse. As has been mentioned the most painful bit for some people is the injection! I only live up the road and was driving, the dentist said "you are driving"... I could have went back into work right then, I am not saying you would or would want to.

What I was fearing most was drilling into jaw, that was very gentle and I couldn't feel anything, what ever she had to take off there, was very minor. The fear is far worse than the reality in my experience...

Lord stitches? Did you have many?

yeah I have a few stitches too. Going to get them taken out on Friday, they take them out after a week or so... I couldn't feel them going in at all...

nettlesoup

Hi idbatterim, can I ask was it a front or back tooth ? Did you need a bone Graft and CT Scan ?
Thanks.

Idbatterim

Yeah I got a ct scan down in ranelagh , e150 I think. Didn't need bone graft... You have to get the scan as far as I know. It was the first pre molar. If it was was one of real blatant front ones I wouldn't have stalled for months like I did, far back and I wouldn't have bothered getting it done...

Dawn Rider

The worst thing to do is watch a YouTube video on what's involved, it looks horrific even though the procedure is quite straightforward.

Once you have the injection it's very much like having a filling done, except your month is open for a longer time.

I had mine done in the evening so I could go straight home to rest afterwards.

In the weeks after just be careful around the stitches when brushing your teeth and eating.