Q: I am missing two teeth lower teeth and am considering replacing a bridge with implants. I have been told that I will need to have bone harvested from the back of my mouth and inserted into my jaw to prepare it for implants. I will be under general anesthesia but am very nervous about this whole procedure. How painful will it be when I wake up? How difficult is recovery from this procedure?
A: There are many different treatment options to consider when treating this area of the mouth. The anterior region of the lower (mandibular) jaw tends to have thinner bone. In many cases the ridge of bone is deficient for the placement of implants. In our office, we use local anesthesia and use either freeze dried bone (cadaver bone that is safe) or synthetic bone. We graft the sites as needed before implant placement. We would usually wait at least 3 months before the placement of the implants. We do not use general anesthesia. We do not have to harvest the bone from the back of your mouth. We try to keep the procedure as simple and conservative as possible. However, in very extreme and rare circumstances such as automobile accident cases or severe trauma, it might be necessary to refer you to a hospital trauma team. Many of those cases do require general anesthesia.
