Dental implant surgery – a guide for nervous patients

For some people, going to the dentist can be an anxious time and they may even put off dental treatment. It is not uncommon to be nervous about visiting the dentist, especially if you happen to be visiting for dental implants.

At Craigentinny, we appreciate that some patients are afraid of the idea of oral surgery – especially when it involves dental implants – and for this reason we offer sedation dentistry in Edinburgh.

Overall, dental implants are less painful than other oral treatment and the operation itself involves minimal discomfort. In many cases, pulling a tooth or root canal treatment, can be substantially more painful than receiving dental implants with the help of sedation dentistry in Edinburgh.

Your sedation options

The placement of dental implants is a relatively comfortable procedure under local anaesthetic but very rarely some bruising, swelling or mild discomfort can be expected over the following days. These side-effects can be alleviated with standard pain medication.

Patients who get nervous about dental implants, can benefit from oral or IV sedation. Both methods are extremely safe. With oral sedation you will take a pill just before the operation (or a few hours in advance). Patients who decide to have oral sedation will remain awake during the operation. Oral sedation makes long and complex procedures seem shorter, allowing patients have all their dental work done in a single visit. As an added precaution, a local anaesthetic will also be administered by the dentist, in order to ensure that there is no pain or discomfort.

IV sedation, on the other hand, involves administering the sedative straight into the blood stream. This way patients relax almost immediately and experience no pain or discomfort during the implant surgery. As IV sedation is much stronger than oral sedation, it should always be administered by a trained dentist, who will also be checking the vitals of the patient throughout the procedure. Patients who have undergone IV sedation should remain in the company of a responsible adult for 12 hours following the procedure.

Want to have dental implants but you are worried about pain and discomfort? To learn more about sedation dentistry in Edinburgh, contact us today and we will guide you through the procedure step-by-step.