Placing a dental implant is simple, painless, and requires very little if any over-the-counter pain medication after the procedure. Traditionally, implant placement required sedation, several painful gum surgeries, and 4-6 months of healing time, but now a dental implant can be placed in about 10 minutes under local anesthetic without any gum surgeries. Typically 1-2 ibuprofen is all that is needed after the procedure.
The bone requires only 2-3 months to integrate with the implant at which time a crown or bridge can be cemented on top. Partial and full dentures can be immediately anchored to implants.
View a step-by-step slide show of implant procedures.