What happens when you get a dental implant?

Who will you see?

Implant treatment at Y3 Smiles Dental is provided by Dr Javed Mahmud, known to patients as Dr Pavel, Dentist, AHPRA DEN0001774450. He holds a Bachelor of Dental Surgery and a Master of Surgery in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from BSMMU, and has worked in dentistry for more than 25 years, in Victoria since 2015. He is a general dentist rather than a registered specialist, and implants, oral surgery and grafting are his main interests. You can read about him on our team page.

The appointments, in order

1. Assessment

   An examination, x-rays and usually a 3D scan taken at an imaging provider. The scan shows how much bone there is and exactly where the nerve and the sinus sit, which is what makes the placement predictable.

2. Going through the plan

   Your dentist shows you the scan, explains which option suits your case and what the risks are for you specifically, and gives you the quote in writing. Nothing is booked at this appointment unless you want it to be.

3. Groundwork, if you need it

   A tooth out, gum treatment, or a graft to rebuild bone. Each is its own appointment with its own healing time before the implant can go in.

4. Placement day, or stage one

   The appointment people worry about most, and usually the least eventful. Described step by step below.

5. Healing

   Usually three to six months while the bone bonds onto the implant. You wear a temporary tooth or, for a denture plan, the denture made at the first appointment. There is usually one short check in this period.

6. Stage two, then fitting

   Once the implant is solid it is uncovered, and the part your tooth or denture attaches to is fitted. Impressions or a scan are taken and the crown, bridge or denture is made to fit your bite. At the fitting it is checked, adjusted and secured, and you are shown how to clean around it.

What is placement day actually like?

You will be in the chair for less time than you imagine. The area is numbed and tested first. A small opening is made in the gum, the site in the bone is prepared, and the implant is turned into place. You feel firm, steady pressure and you hear the handpiece, which is slower and lower than the drill you associate with fillings. The gum is then closed, usually with a stitch or two.

What you should not feel is sharp pain. If you do, raise your hand and we stop and top up the anaesthetic. Most people say afterwards that it was easier than having a tooth out, which surprises them, because the word surgery had set them up for something else.

What should you do beforehand?

• Eat a proper meal before you come, unless an anaesthetist has told you otherwise.
• Bring a list of your medicines, particularly blood thinners and any bone medicines, and tell us about every one. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.
• Fill any prescription your dentist gives you on the way home, rather than the next morning.
• Get soft food in beforehand, and cold packs into the freezer.
• Plan a quiet rest of the day, and arrange a lift if an anaesthetist is involved.

Why does it take months?

Because the thing that makes an implant work cannot be hurried. The bone has to grow onto the surface of the implant and lock it in place, and that is biology, not scheduling. Usually that takes three to six months. Loading a tooth onto an implant before it has happened is how implants fail early.

Your dentist will give you a timeline once the scan has been read, and will tell you honestly if yours is at the longer end. Grafting adds months of its own. This is the part of the treatment that most rewards patience.

What if you are anxious about it?

The word implant carries more dread than the appointment deserves, usually built out of something someone else described. Tell us at the booking rather than on the day. We can agree a stop signal, talk you through each step before it happens, book you first thing so you are not sitting with it, and split the work across more visits. You are welcome to bring someone with you. Our nervous patients page covers the rest.

What happens when you leave?

You go home the same day with written aftercare. Expect some swelling and soreness for a few days, and take the first pain relief before the numbness wears off. Our aftercare page covers the days that follow and the signs worth ringing about, and dental implants explains the options and the risks behind the whole treatment.