Does getting a dental implant hurt?
One of the main stigmas regarding implant treatment from patients is the pain it might cause.
After all, what is pain? According to the International Association for the Study of Pain, it is “an unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.”
When performing an implant surgery, as with all treatments involving vital tissues, local anesthesia is applied to the area to be treated.
This local anesthesia is safe and tailored to each case and patient.
Now you’re probably thinking: how do we avoid the pain from the anesthesia needle? The truth is, we manage this discomfort by applying a topical anesthetic gel before administering the actual anesthesia.
What many patients don’t know is that it’s the volume of anesthesia entering the tissues suddenly that causes the discomfort. Therefore, we choose to apply the anesthesia slowly to minimize discomfort.
Once adequately anesthetized, our patients report no pain during the procedure. We often say that, in terms of comfort, placing an implant is more comfortable than extracting a tooth.
So, to answer the crucial question: does placing a dental implant hurt? No.
