Are dental implants painful? It’s entirely natural to wonder if you will experience dental implant pain since it is a surgical procedure that involves placing a dental implant that acts as an artificial tooth root into the jawbone. However, with modern anaesthesia techniques and pain medications, most people experience very mild (if any) pain at all, so let’s look at the process for dental implants and the key moments where you may experience some discomfort.
What’s Involved in Dental Implant Surgery?
Dental implants are one of the most reliable and long-lasting methods of replacing missing teeth. Still, the procedure can spark anxiety for some, as it involves cutting the gum and making holes in the jawbone to insert the dental implant. It’s little wonder that you may be nervous about the procedure and whether you will experience dental implant pain.
How Painful is Dental Implant Surgery?
The surgical procedure to place dental implants is typically performed under a local anaesthetic—although if you are of a nervous disposition, conscious sedation is also an option. Once the anaesthesia has taken effect, the surgery involves making a small cut on the top of the gum. The dentist makes a small flap in the gum to access the jawbone.
Next, the implant is placed into a small hole the dentist makes in the jawbone. The gum flap is stitched back in place, covering the implant entirely. The area is left to heal for around 3-4 months, during which time the bone and implant fuse together in an osseointegration process. This provides a strong and stable platform onto which an artificial tooth (or teeth) is attached.
So, are dental implants painful at this stage of the procedure? It’s improbable as your mouth will be numb during the process. If you take the appropriate pain medication as advised by your dentist, you should not experience any pain once the anaesthetic wears off and during the healing process.
That is not to say that you won’t experience any discomfort, as the surgery for dental implants involves trauma to the gums and the jaw. However, discomfort is not the same thing as pain. A single implant will typically cause more minor discomfort than having multiple implants placed—especially if you have them set in different areas of the mouth. But it is likely to be during the healing process that your discomfort levels will increase.
Managing Pain and Discomfort After Surgery
After dental implants are placed, one of the most crucial factors is ensuring your mouth and implants are kept clean. Clean your remaining teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste, but avoid the implant areas for a few days. Gently rinsing the mouth with salt water can help heal as salt contains natural healing properties. Additionally, saltwater creates a more alkaline environment in the mouth, which is good for getting rid of harmful bacteria that thrive in an acidic environment.
As well as keeping the mouth clean, it would help if you modified your diet so as not to cause undue trauma to the surgical site that may cause dental implant pain. A liquid diet or soft foods that do not require chewing should be followed in the first few days, gradually increasing solid foods as the mouth heals.
After around ten days, you should not be experiencing any pain or discomfort, but if it continues after this, it could be a sign of an infection, and you should seek advice from your dentist as soon as possible.
When Are Dental Implants Painful?
Immediately following surgery
It is not dental implant pain that you are likely to experience but symptoms or discomfort associated with the trauma of the surgery. This may include bleeding around the incision site, swelling and bruising of the gums or face and jaw pain or stiffness. These will subside, and you can help to reduce swelling by regularly applying ice packs to the face during the first 24 hours after surgery.
Months or Years After Your Dental Implants Are Placed
You can experience pain or discomfort in a dental implant many months, or even years, after its placement because of implant failure or peri-implantitis. Although the majority of people with dental implants will not develop any complications, there is always a possibility that they can occur. Peri-implantitis is a disease similar to gum disease that attacks the areas around a dental implant, leading to receding gums and bone loss which can lead to implant failure.
Symptoms may include:
- Pain or discomfort when you press the dental implant site
- Inflammation in the gums around dental implants
- Bone loss in the jawbone
Long-Term Care of Dental Implants
Dental implants do not require special care—but you must look after them. This involves a meticulous oral hygiene routine of brushing and flossing twice daily, supplemented with check-ups as often as your dentist advises. Dentists can often spot problems that you cannot and will be able to deal with any problems quickly to prevent them from becoming major issues.
When Are Dental Implants Painful? – The Takeaway
The pain of having dental implants placed can be managed easily with pain medication and a little care to ensure they heal. However, to ensure they remain functional and pain-free, maintaining good oral hygiene should prevent complications that may lead them to fail.
Contact us at No Gaps Dental to find out more about dental implants. We are passionate about offering you the best options for your needs. To help protect patients from any potential harm, we use hand sanitiser and disinfectants to keep surfaces hygienic. Hand sanitiser is used by our team after every patient. As an added precaution, we also advise patients to clean their hands with hand sanitiser before touching their faces and mouth to prevent the transmission of infections. Contact us on (02) 8007 6727 today for more information.
Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
References
Science Direct: Conscious Sedation
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/conscious-sedation
Colgate: How Salt Water Mouth Rinse Benefits Oral Health
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/mouth-sores-and-infections/how-salt-water-mouth-rinse-benefits-oral-health
Nobel Biocare: What is Peri-Implantitis and How Can It Be Treated?
https://www.nobelbiocare.com/blog/news/what-is-peri-implantitis-and-how-can-it-be-treated/