Will a dental implant hurt as much as...?

Question

Today I got a baby tooth pulled because the was no adult tooth above it and the tooth had completely rotted through (I hadn't been to the dentist in 4-5 yrs). The tooth was to decayed that the 3 roots broke and were stuck in the bone. My dentist then had to use A LOT of force and many sharp tools in order to remove the remaining roots . This was SOOOOO uncomfortable and painful (I was so nervous that the anesthesia started to wear off faster than usual). There was a lot less pain after the 3rd shot, but it was still extremely uncomfortable.

So what I am wondering is, will the implant be as painful? Will there be as much pressure used as when prying out the roots?

Btw, my dentist is wonderful and I know the pain was not from him being a bad dentist, so I know he will be good at doing implants...

Answer 1

The extraction of teeth is actually still a very crude way of doing surgery.  The only reason we still do it this way, is because we have no other means to remove teeth yet (well certain lasers may change that in the very near future).  There is always bending of bone and "tearing" of tissues and ligaments involved, when a tooth is extracted.  This is what usually causes the pain and post-operative discomfort.  

Implant surgery is different.  Implants are being placed with water-cooled drills and precision instrumentation.  The procedure itself should be absolutely painless with proper local anesthesia and the post-operative discomfort should be only a fraction of what the extraction caused.  Hope this eased your concerns a little.

Answer 2

I have not had an implant, but have assisted in the placement of them. Most of the patients tell me that it is worse having the tooth out than placing the implant. Good luck!