All-on-4 Explained: A Full Arch of Teeth on Four Implants

The direct answer: implant placement is done under local anesthesia, and most patients feel pressure — not pain — during the procedure, with a few days of manageable soreness after. After thousands of implants, the sentence Dr. Emami hears most often afterward is some version of "that was it?"

During the procedure

The site is thoroughly numbed before anything begins — you'll feel vibration and pressure, the way you would with a filling, but the nerves that carry sharp pain are off-duty. Because every case at Sunland Dental Care is planned in 3D beforehand, the surgical site is small and the procedure short; guided placement means no exploring, no guessing, no extra trauma.

That night and the week after

Expect the site to be tender when the anesthesia fades — most patients describe it as a bruise-like ache, handled with over-the-counter ibuprofen. Mild swelling for a day or two is normal. Most people work the next day and eat carefully on the other side for a few days. By the one-week mark, most forget which side the implant is on until they're reminded.

Why the fear outweighs the reality

Implant dread mostly borrows from old extraction and root-canal stories — procedures whose reputations are themselves decades out of date. Modern anesthesia, high-magnification technique, and 3D planning have quietly turned implant placement into one of dentistry's more predictable, lower-drama procedures. The osseointegration that follows — the bone fusing to the post over a few months — is completely painless; you won't feel it happening at all.

If fear has been the thing standing between you and fixing your smile, read what a first visit back actually looks like — and know that being nervous is common, normal, and accommodated here.