Although getting dental implants is a big decision for your smile, it's not a scary ordeal. Learn why you can feel excited to get these replacement teeth!
As you might know, you shouldn’t take dental implants lightly. They’re a big commitment that deserves careful thought. Even so, there’s no reason to fear dental implant surgery. The placement process is smooth and only has upsides for your smile. As a dentist, I’d even be happy to tell you why that’s the case. So, here’s a summary of four reasons you shouldn’t be afraid to get dental implants.
At first glance, you might think implant placement is painful. That’s only natural – surgery does involve gum incisions and such. However, it’s actually an entirely pain-free treatment.
Before surgery even begins, a dentist will place you under a local anesthetic. Doing so numbs the treatment site prior to the procedure. As a result, you won’t sense any discomfort from the placement process. Instead, the most you’ll feel is some pressure as the implant is set into your jaw socket. You can thus expect surgery to be rather comfortable.
Even if you know implant treatment is painless, you may get nervous about it anyway. After all, the surgery involves tools that expose bones and nerves. Thankfully, though, you could always add sedation dentistry to the mix.
You see, many dentists offer sedatives for implant work. These help patients calm down and have a worry-free treatment. Furthermore, the medicines leave you alert enough to respond to dentist instructions. That means there’s little risk of you nodding off during the procedure.
A major reason to trust implant surgery is that it’s very well-planned and precise. Dentists rely on advanced technology to map treatment ahead of time.
For example, one such tool is the Cone Beam CT Scanner. This device scans your entire head to reveal your dental anatomy in a single image. The resulting picture, furthermore, is much more detailed than a typical dental X-ray. Consequently, it helps your dentist adjust the final treatment.
True, you may feel aches during your post-treatment recovery. (The anesthesia used for surgery will wear off.) Still, this pain is minimal and fades within a few days of surgery. Many patients hardly notice the discomfort. Meanwhile, those that do can get by with store-bought pain relievers.
The lack of severe aches is due to implant surgery’s precision (see above). Since the dentist proceeds carefully and avoids poor placement, they don’t disrupt mouth tissues much. As a result, it takes little time for any pain to cease.
It’s easy to assume implants need constant follow-up from dentists. Placing them is a complex task, so you may believe they require regular tuning. All that said, implants generally succeed and last a long time.
When you get implants, the odds are good you’ll have them for a while. Their success rate is over 95% even ten years after initial placement. Plus, well-maintained ones can last for 30 years or more. This fact ensures you won’t need to pay for many repair or replacement visits.
While a sizable commitment, implant treatment isn’t frightening. Talk to your dental provider about surgery in the coming days and weeks.
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