Knowing what is going to happen — step by step — is one of the most effective ways to reduce anxiety about a dental procedure.
Implant surgery sounds significant. And in a sense, it is — you are having a titanium post placed into your jawbone. But the reality of the experience, for most patients, is considerably calmer and more manageable than the anticipation.
This is a complete walkthrough of what surgery day looks like at Sunny Dental Buderim. Nothing is glossed over, and nothing is exaggerated.
How Sunny Dental Plans Your Implant Placement
Before surgery day, your implant position is mapped out digitally — not estimated freehand. At Sunny Dental, we take intraoral scans in-house to capture a precise 3D model of your teeth and bite. Where cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging is needed to assess bone depth and nerve position, this is arranged through a referral to a specialist imaging centre prior to your surgery appointment.
That imaging data is used to plan your implant placement using computer software. On surgery day, a custom surgical guide — a clear template that fits over your teeth — is used to direct the drill to the exact planned position and angle. This is guided implant surgery: the combination of digital planning and a physical guide that makes placement more precise and reproducible than freehand technique alone.
The result is a procedure that follows a plan worked out in advance — not one improvised in the chair.
Before You Arrive: Preparation
In the days before your surgery, your dentist will have given you specific instructions. These typically include:
Fasting (if having sedation): If you have chosen intravenous or oral sedation, you will need to fast — no food or drink (except water) — for a period before your appointment. Your dentist will give you the specific timeframe based on the type of sedation being used.
Medications: Tell your dentist about every medication you take, including over-the-counter medicines, supplements, and herbal products. Some medications affect bleeding or interact with anaesthetic. Your dentist may ask you to pause or adjust certain medications in the days before surgery — only do this in consultation with your prescribing doctor.
Arranging transport: If you are having sedation, you cannot drive yourself home. Arrange for someone to collect you. Plan to rest for the remainder of the day.
What to wear: Comfortable, loose clothing. Avoid anything with a tight neck. Leave jewellery at home.
Eat beforehand (if not sedated): If you are having local anaesthetic only with no sedation, eat a normal meal before your appointment. Arriving hungry makes the experience less comfortable.
Arriving at Sunny Dental Buderim
You arrive at 2/64 King St, Buderim. The atmosphere is calm — this is deliberate. Sunny Dental is not a high-volume, high-speed practice.
Our team will greet you, confirm your details, and go through any final questions before you are taken through.
If you have any last-minute concerns or anxieties, this is the moment to raise them. Nothing proceeds until you are comfortable and informed.
Sedation: Your Options
Dental anxiety is extremely common, and it is nothing to be embarrassed about. Many patients — including those having implants — benefit from sedation.
What makes Sunny Dental different in this regard is that our Practice Manager, Dwi George, is a Registered Nurse (BSc). Her clinical qualifications are what allow us to offer genuine sedation dentistry — not the light “relaxation dentistry” that many practices describe as sedation.
Your options include:
Local Anaesthetic Only
This is the most common approach. The area around the implant site is thoroughly numbed with local anaesthetic injections. You are completely awake and aware throughout the procedure. You feel pressure and movement, but not pain.
This is suitable for most patients, including those who are not particularly anxious about dental procedures.
Oral Sedation
A sedative medication taken by tablet before the procedure. This reduces anxiety significantly and often causes some degree of memory blunting — many patients later report remembering very little of the procedure. You remain conscious but deeply relaxed.
You will need a driver if you choose oral sedation.
Intravenous (IV) Sedation
Administered through a small cannula in your arm or hand. IV sedation produces a state of deep relaxation that most patients describe as feeling as though they were asleep. You can still respond to instructions, but you are unlikely to retain clear memories of the procedure.
Dwi George monitors your vital signs throughout if IV sedation is used. This is a clinical environment with trained oversight — not something you would find in most dental practices.
If you have been avoiding dentistry because of anxiety, sedation dentistry at Sunny Dental is worth discussing specifically. It has allowed many patients who thought they would never manage a dental procedure to complete treatment comfortably.
The Implant Placement Procedure — Step by Step
Once you are in the chair and the anaesthetic or sedation has taken effect, the procedure follows a consistent sequence.
Step 1: Confirming the Anaesthetic
Before anything proceeds, your dentist confirms that the area is completely numb. You may be asked to tell us what you feel when we touch the area. Only when there is no sensation does the procedure begin.
If you are not numb enough, more anaesthetic is given. There is no time pressure here.
Step 2: Preparing the Site
A small incision is made in the gum to expose the bone beneath. This is very precise — the incision is only as large as needed for access.
In some cases (a technique called a flapless procedure), the implant can be placed through the gum without an incision at all — your dentist will advise if this applies to your case.
Step 3: Drilling the Implant Site
A series of drills — starting small and progressively widening — create the precise hole in the jawbone where the implant will sit.
This is done slowly and carefully, with irrigation to keep the bone cool. You will feel pressure. You will likely hear the sound of drilling. You will not feel pain.
Dr Louis George works methodically. Rushing this step is not acceptable — the precision of the site preparation affects how the implant sits and integrates.
Step 4: Placing the Implant
The titanium implant post is threaded into the prepared site in the bone. It is placed to a specific torque — confirming that it has achieved initial stability in the bone.
Step 5: Closing the Site
The gum is closed over or around the implant with sutures (stitches). These are typically dissolvable and fall away on their own within one to two weeks. In some cases, non-dissolvable sutures are used and removed at a follow-up appointment.
A healing cap or temporary restoration may be placed at this point to protect the site.
Step 6: Post-Procedure Instructions
Before you leave, you receive written aftercare instructions. These cover:
- What to eat and what to avoid for the first week
- How to manage swelling and discomfort
- How to care for the surgical site without disturbing it
- When to call us (and what signs would prompt an urgent call)
- When your follow-up appointment is
If you have had sedation, you will review these instructions when you are fully alert — your driver should also receive a copy.
How Long Does the Procedure Take?
For a single implant, the surgical procedure itself typically takes one to two hours, including the time for anaesthetic to take full effect.
If multiple implants are being placed in the same session, allow longer. Your dentist will give you a specific time estimate for your case.
Factor in arrival time, paperwork, and post-procedure observation if sedated. Plan for a half-day at minimum.
What Does It Feel Like During?
This is the question patients most want answered honestly.
Pressure is the most common sensation reported. When the implant site is being prepared and the post is being placed, you will feel pushing and pressure against your jaw. This is normal.
Sound — the drilling is audible. Some patients find this unsettling. Others barely register it. If sound is something you find distressing, bring earphones and listen to music or a podcast.
No pain — when the anaesthetic is working properly, there should be no sharp pain during the procedure. If you feel anything that crosses from pressure into pain, tell your dentist immediately. More anaesthetic can be given at any point.
Awareness varies by sedation level. With local anaesthetic only, you are fully aware of everything happening — you just do not feel pain. With IV sedation, you may feel that very little time has passed and remember almost nothing.
The consistent feedback from patients at Sunny Dental: it was less bad than they expected.
The First 24 Hours After Surgery
How you manage the first 24 hours significantly affects your comfort over the following days.
Swelling
Swelling is normal and expected. It typically peaks at 48 to 72 hours after the procedure, then gradually resolves over the following week. Applying an ice pack (wrapped in a cloth) to the outside of your cheek for 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off during the first day helps reduce this.
Pain Management
Most patients manage post-operative discomfort with over-the-counter pain relief — paracetamol and/or ibuprofen (if appropriate for you). Your dentist will advise what is suitable given your medical history.
Take pain relief before the local anaesthetic wears off, rather than waiting until discomfort builds. Getting ahead of it is easier than catching up.
Prescription pain relief is available if needed — discuss this with your dentist before you leave the surgery.
Bleeding
A small amount of oozing from the surgical site is normal for the first few hours. Biting gently on a gauze pad helps. Avoid rinsing vigorously — it can dislodge the clot that is forming at the site.
If bleeding is heavy and persistent, call us.
Diet
Soft foods only for the first week. Think yoghurt, scrambled eggs, soup (not hot), mashed potato, and smoothies. Avoid anything hard, crunchy, or chewy near the surgical site.
Avoid alcohol for at least 24 hours, and avoid smoking entirely during the healing period. Smoking significantly increases the risk of implant failure.
Activity
Rest for the remainder of surgery day. Avoid strenuous exercise for 48 to 72 hours — exertion increases blood pressure and can worsen bleeding and swelling.
What to Watch For — When to Call Us
Most implant surgeries heal without complication. But it is important to know the signs that warrant a call:
- Heavy or persistent bleeding that does not settle with gentle pressure
- Severe pain that is not controlled by the pain relief you were given
- Swelling that continues to increase beyond the 72-hour mark (rather than starting to reduce)
- Fever or feeling systemically unwell
- The implant feeling loose or moving
Our number is (07) 5445 8400. If you have an urgent concern outside business hours, do not wait — seek appropriate care.
The Follow-Up Appointment
You will have a follow-up appointment typically one to two weeks after surgery. Your dentist will check that the site is healing well, remove any non-dissolvable sutures if present, and answer any questions.
This is also when you can raise anything that has been worrying you since the procedure.
After this, the main healing phase begins — the three to six months of osseointegration during which the bone fuses with the implant. Further appointments during this period may be limited to check-ins.
You Are Not Doing This Alone
A lot of what makes a surgical procedure feel manageable is knowing you are in good hands and that the team around you is paying attention.
At Sunny Dental Buderim, Dr Louis George’s experience in implant surgery — honed through his military career and extensive clinical practice — means that even complex cases are handled with precision and calm. Dr Jeremy Collins brings the same steady composure, drawing on his years as an Australian Army dentist to keep patients at ease throughout the procedure. Dwi George’s nursing background means that if sedation is involved, it is managed properly.
We do not treat implant surgery as routine in the sense of taking it lightly. We treat it as a procedure that deserves full attention, every time.
For a full picture of the implant process from start to finish, see our complete guide to dental implants. If you are considering replacing a full arch of teeth, our page on full-arch implants on the Sunshine Coast covers what that pathway looks like.
Ready to Book?
If you have questions about what your specific procedure would involve, the best next step is a consultation.
Call Sunny Dental Buderim on (07) 5445 8400 to arrange a time. We are at 2/64 King St, Buderim — easy to reach from Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, Palmwoods, and across the Sunshine Coast.
If anxiety has been the barrier to seeking treatment, please mention it when you call. We can discuss your sedation options before you even come in for your appointment.
Wondering what implants cost? Before surgery day comes a consultation and a written treatment estimate. See our transparent cost breakdown: How Much Do Dental Implants Cost on the Sunshine Coast?
All dental treatments carry risks. Outcomes vary between individuals. The information on this page is general in nature and does not replace personalised advice from a registered dental practitioner.