I had 4 implants today, done by a grad student at the periodontal
dept. of a major dental school. They were going to do just 3 but they
ended up doing 4: 18, 19, 20, and 29.

I thought someone who is considering getting implants might be
interested in knowing what it was like for me. Your mileage may vary,
as I know different surgeons have different methods and so on. Also,
many people just get one or two implants in a session, and I got 4,
which I think made it quite a bit more unpleasant. I must say that
during the last 45 minutes or so I suffered quite a bit, but now it's
done and I'm at home and in retrospect it already seems less bad than
it did at the time.

First he gave me a bunch of shots. I was getting implants on the lower
right and lower left, so he gave me at least 8 shots. I lost count,
but it was one of the most painful parts, lots of shots.

Then they took photos, with a camera, not x-rays. I suppose this is
part of the dental school deal, and it was one of the most
uncomfortable parts. They used prongs to pull my gums back in various
directions and used a small mirror (about 5 inches long and 3 inches
tall) to get the shot at the angle they wanted. They kept pushing the
mirror hard against my upper lip and a few times it hurt like heck. I
complained but they did not seem to "get" it, and kept doing it. Part
of the problem with going to a school, I suspect. They took about 10
photos and that was an unpleasant way to start.

Then they took me to the area where they were doing the surgery which
had been sterilized. They covered my entire face and upper body with a
paper cloth and I could not see, they only left a hole for my mouth
and nose. I'd never had anything like this before, and all I can say
is I don't prefer it. I got a bit claustrophobic towards the end. Not
really freaking out but just tired of being enclosed.

Then they started the actual implanting procedure. I must say this
part did not hurt much at all. I could hear and feel them scraping
bone, but I didn't feel any pain at this point. The oral surgery
student did all the work and was assisted by a general dentistry
student, and the professor was there at every step, giving suggestions
and making sure it was done right. I never heard any "Oh no!"'s or
even "Hmmm"'s and he said after each implant something like "Good
job!" or "Perfect!" so I hope that was the case. It did make me feel a
bit nervous at times, though, as I heard the prof making comments to
the surgeon about how to do something better, and at one point, later,
he did say, "No, don't do it that way, do it this way". But other than
that it seemed that the student did everything right. I can only hope.

Anyway, after the scraping, then there was drilling, and he was using
a stent I had made by the grad dept of general dentistry, to mark and
guide the drilling. The prof helped a lot here, telling him how to
perfect the angle and such, but the student did the drilling while the
prof watched.

Then there was the putting the implants in, which I could not really
feel but it seemeed to be a difficult part of the procedure.

Then they used a wrench type deal to screw the tops into the implants
(I THINK this is what they were doing) and they knew they were in
tight enough when the applied enough pressure in turning them, that it
started to turn my head. The prof said it can take quite a bit of
torque.

The first 2 went pretty quick and I was doing okay. But by the time
they got to the 3rd one, it started getting uncomfortable and I wanted
it to be over. Just having my mouth open so long was hard, and
something the assistant was doing, some technique he had of sucking
the saliva or blood out of my throat was very uncomfortable. It was
impossible to communicate this, so I just put up with it, but it was
very annoying and unpleasant. It felt like little pricks against my
throat.

The 3rd one and 4th one were really just more of the same. There was
little real pain, it was just super uncomfortable, my jaw was so tired
- actually hurt - from being open so wide for so long, and the
drilling hurt a little bit on this last tooth (#29).

It finally ended, and just in time, I thought, as it was really
starting to get to be too much.

Then it got to be too much: They had to take yet more photographs.
They had to have me open my mouth really wide to take the photos, and
it literally HURT for me to open my mouth that wide, now. I told them,
and they gave me a rest, but still insisted on doing it. They took
about 6 more photos and each one was painful because my jaw just did
not want to stay open anymore and when I opened it wide it hurt. I
have a feeling my jaw is going to be sore, for a week or more!

Then, they had to put in sutures, which for some reason I did not
think was part of the procedure. In the past I have had sutures that
did not hurt at all. But I think the anaesthetic was wearing off and
man, it hurt like hell. I told him, and he said he could give me more
shots, but that is no fun either, so I let him continue. Wrong choice.
It became torturous, and I imagined those old Westerns where they pull
some guy's tooth and give him a shot of whisky and say, "here, bite
down on this cloth!" and then you see the guy squirming in pain while
they pull the tooth. I felt like I was being tortured. Admittedly I am
a child when it comes to dental pain. I hate it! But I'm going to tell
him next time to give me more anaesthetic for the suturing. I think
the student was rather slow at it, as well.

All in all it was about a 4 hour ordeal, though I heard the surgeon
say they did the 4 implants in only about an hour and a half. The rest
of it was the shots, the photos, the sutures, etc..

Oh, and in the end, they took a panoramic x-ray too.

Now I am home, they told me do NOT DO ANY EXERCISE AT ALL, just REST.

I am not feeling much pain, yet. I took 4 ibuprofens just in case, as
directed, and I am on amoxicillin too. He said I could take some
Tylenol 3 if I need to, and from past dental experience I know I
probably will.

Oh, and I'm using some ice packs today to encourage it to stop
bleeding.

I hope my account of my experience does not discourage anyone from
getting implants who needs them. If they integrate successfully in my
jawbone, it will be a great thing and worth the pain and discomfort.

My friend had 2 implants done by highly recommended oral surgeon (and
paid almost double what I paid) and only had 2 done, and he said "It
was a breeze, and didn't hurt at all". So I was hoping my experience
would be the same. It wasn't. Not sure whether it was because of
having a student do it or if it was because I had 4 done instead of
just 2, but I would NOT classify it as a breeze, and it was certainly
NO PICNIC. I'll be happy if I don't end up with any post-surgery
complications and the implants "take".

If you need 4-5 implants, my suggestion would be to get the best
surgeon you can afford, someone who comes recommended and has done
lots of them. If you cannot afford that, as I couldn't, then go to a
dental school. The surgeons at the school are already dentists who are
going in for their periodontal degree, so it's not as if some idiot is
practicing on you. It just may be a bit less comfortable. Or not... I
suppose you can get stuck with someone who is at the bottom of the
class, or you can get someone at the top of the class, that's the
risk. But the same risk can exist with going to a private practicing
oral surgeon, unless you have solid recommendations.

But I go back for 3 more in 2 weeks (#2,4 and 14), including a sinus
lift, and unless I end up with complications from these over the next
2 weeks, I intend to keep my appointment, with the same student, for
the other 3 implants.

It will be a wonderful thing if and when I actually do have 7 new
teeth to chew with!