Yes, it is a risk going to a dental school, but probably not a lot
more risk than going to any dentist you don't really KNOW. At least at
the dental school, there is SOME supervision. I have had my mouth and
my wife's mouth majorly damaged by private practice dentists! I am
saying that IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY, get an oral surgeon with a lot of
experience and excellent reputation! But in my case I could not afford
the best, so I opted for the University.

It depends on the school, and the time you apply, as to whether there
is a waiting list. It sometimes helps if you get a recommendation from
a dentist who went to that school. That's what I did, and I got in
right away. Not sure if it was "who I knew" or just coincidence, but I
was surprised that I got in right away. You should know that getting
implants is a LONG process though! In my case, they started out by
taking xrays, then they spent months and several appointments building
a model of my mouth which served as a way to implant the implants
exactly in the right place. That took a month or two to get it done
and back from the lab, making sure it fit right, etc.

Then I had to have a CT scan of my jaws.

All this took many months and at least 8 appointments BEFORE we got to
the oral surgery. He did the bottoms (4 implants) in one session. It
was pretty painful just due to the amount of time I was in the chair
and having 4 at once. The surgery itself was not as painful as the
taking photos after spending hours with my mouth open. I could hardly
open my mouth at all after that, and they insisted I open "wider" to
take more photos.

All this is stuff that may not be done in a private office. Certainly
you would - I think - have the CHOICE to not have photos taken in a
private practice, and I certainly would have exercised that option if
I could have.

Now I am waiting for my sinus allergies to clear up some, before
having a lateral, crestal maxillary sinus lift, and 3 more implants.
At least, so far, it seems a bone graft is not going to be necessary.
And all the prep work (ct scans, modeling, etc.) has already been
done.

By the way, CT scans are not always necessary either, I think this is
a University thing, to show the "proper" or "best" way to do things...
IN THEIR OPINION...

My friend had 3 implants and did not have ct scans or modeling done.

Thanks for the reply.

I believe that you are the same poster that went to a university for
implant.

Even though the dental schools are supervised by dentists, aren't you
taking a risk by having students (without the important experience you
mentioned) perform transplants on you?

And is it  difficult to get an appointment, i.e., long waiting lists,
at these dental schools?

I'm not a dentist or oral surgeon, but a patient who did a lot of
research before getting implants.

I think the #1 factor you should look at is EXPERIENCE; and secondly
if that experience has led to good results.

I don't care what anyone says, implants are NOT "routine"; there is
much room for them to go wrong, if not done properly, or simply if
your body rejects them. Seems to me that if a bone graft is used,
chances for failures go up, but that's just my anecdotal observation,
not medical fact.

I'd question both as to how many they have done, ask if you can talk
to patients; how many have failed, and why?  how much each is going to
charge? And make your decision based on these answers.

I had tooth #18 extracted and am scheduled for evaluation in a month
with the  oral surgeon to see how the bone has healed. If there is bone
loss, bone graft will be required (I am not sure if the oral surgeon
does bone grafts -- I will need to go to periodontist -- but I will
have to check on that).

But I do know that both the oral surgeon and the periodontist that
previously treated my infection, perform implants.

In the case that I go for implant, does it make much difference which
one of them I select?

Is experience very important or are implants a routine procedure that
any experienced dentist could do?