Does Speed Count in Implant Surgery?: Tissue Punch Approach

Q: I recently brought my mom to a doctor who placed several dental implants. I was shocked that she was in the office for almost five hours! She was exhausted. Is this normal?

A: Five hours? You could have picked my Mom up and taken her to a Broadway matinee! Take her. Please!

I recently had a patient who is a retired surgeon, very worried about her planned procedure to place four dental implants (titanium artificial roots inserted into the jaw bone to support permanent crowns or secure lose dentures.) Her husband was shocked that I came out of my operatory in my private practice in twenty-eight minutes. I told him I would have been done sooner, but I had a large OJ for breakfast and had to take a break before having an accident.

Now not all surgeries go that easy, but when we use an incision-less, no cut, no stitch surgical technique that we will now officially name: “JIM”tm -(Josephs Incision-less Implant Method), each implant could be placed in seven minutes through a 5mm diameter hole made buy a tissue punch, not a knife. Not all patients are candidates and must be evaluated first with digital X-rays and an examination, but I can tell you that I place over 200 implants every year and 95% of my cases are performed with JIMtm.