Dental implant - anyone know about it - kinda scared

I had twilight sleep for my lumpectomy and multiple d&cs (another story!) and liked it. I am not even sure what kind of anethesia they were offering me at the dentist, but I remembered how my children were when coming out of their anesthesia after wisdom teeth extractions and I didn't want to be in that state at the dentist's office.  I didn't even need anyone to drive me. The dental assistant had tried to convince me to do the anesthesia, saying that the sounds/sensations - tapping, drilling, crunching whatever would be awful, but in fact, I found the whole process very interesting.

During the healing time, I actually got used to the little implant nub. When I finally got the tooth, my dentist said that it would be solid - no movement, that whether I was aware of it or not, my other teeth moved a bit. Well I am not aware of anything, which I think is a good thing! 

ooh one thing, I was prescribed chlorhexidine glucomate - an oral rinse after the surgeries because I wasn't supposed to brush in the area of the implant and it turned my tongue BROWN!!!

Hi, Beacon800 - I had a tooth that my dentist was determined to save, and I ended up having FOUR ROOT CANALS on it, one with my dentist, and the others with specialists. (There were extra nerve growing all wonky, and nothing took the pain away.)

Finally, he said my only recourse was to have it extracted, but that I was a good candidate for an implant.

The extraction itself was nothing. I had novocaine (or one of the "caines") and I felt no pain at all. He did yank kind of hard because the root had grown into a weird shape, but the procedure itself was easy.

I went home with ice packs and antibiotics.

I had to have a CT scan to make sure I had enough bone to accept the implant post. Even though I was already osteopenic, I had plenty of bone. If you don't, they can do a tiny bone transplant in the region where the implant will go.

There is LOTS of down time and waiting with implants. Every single little step needs weeks to heal.

Finally, the time came to drill into my jawbone and insert the post. The first thing the dentist did was to take some blood from my arm and put it into a special gazillion dollar centrifuge, to extract PRP from it.

That's Platelet-Rich Plasma, and contains a huge concentration of platelets that make your tissue start to heal immediately.  (They use it a lot in dental procedures and orthopedic surgeries. He even offered to make me some for my BMX, but my PS said "No thanks"...

Within 24 hours the tissues around the post had healed. Again, I went through lots of check-ups and waiting around for everything to heal.

Finally, though, I got my final implant (he had made the impression for the crown while I still had my tooth). It seemed like I waited forever for it. 

The best part was being able to chew on that side again! It's a weird feeling....from being in excruciating pain from all the root problems, to NO feeling at all. Seriously, it's like after novocaine...that tooth just remains numb. No amount of pressure or force can make it hurt.

I was even more pleased when he charged me about half of what I thought it would cost.

I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had to have another tooth extracted. DH is now in the process of getting his first implant.

The only downside I've noticed is that I need to keep the area very clean, therefore I use my Water Pik at least twice a day just to clean everything out under the implant. Because of my jaw structure, and the way the tooth behind it sits, food gets trapped in there.

Otherwise, I love it.

mouth rinse - I had to use it for a few weeks. I also used it when I had extensive periodontal surgery. The problem was that I forgot about the brown tongue and didn't look at my tongue in the mirror. If I had, I would have seen that it and I would have brushed it. I think that would have helped, as it was, it faded in a few days.  I didn't have the PRP, but I did have grafting when I had the extraction. I too would do it again. I wanted to avoid the alternative, to drill down the healthy adjacent teeth and have them capped so that a bridge with a false tooth could be supported.

I completed the implant process one year ago.  From all of the other posters you can see that there are no contradictions unless you are on one of the bisphosphinates.  It is more high maintance to care for (than a regular tooth or crown) as there is more space in-between the implant and other teeth making the spaces a trap for food.

I had novacaine only for the extraction of the bad tooth, and I was terrified.  The oral surgeon I had was so fantastic I literally didn't feel a thing.  If you have any crowns on either side of the tooth being extracted, there is the possibility that they can pop off during the extraction.  Luckily for me this didn't happen, but it wouldn't be a big deal.

Good-luck!!

Beacon.  Everything you mentioned sounds like what I had.  No doubt it's the same for anyone getting a graft.  Glad you are feeling more comfortable!!