Explain the Anaesthesia and Analgesia
Most implant surgery can be carried out under local anaesthesia, although some patients will require sedation or general anaesthesia. The surgical time will vary greatly between different operators and cases. Short cases, for example under 1 hour for placement of one or two implants do not usually present problems with anaesthesia. Complex cases, with multiple implant placement and which require additional corrective surgeries (sinus-lift, autogenous bone-grafts, etc.) may take2 or 3 hours. It is essential to use regional block anaesthesia (infra-orbital, palatal, inferior dental) and to supplement this during the procedure.
Local infiltrations are also administered as they improve the anaesthesia and more importantly control haemorrhage. Sedation is recommended for operations of long duration eg more than 90 minutes. It is a good idea to give analgesics, such as ibuprofen or paracetamol, immediately prior to surgery.