Sedation Dentistry for Full Mouth Implants: Lela's Case

Sedation dentistry gave Lela something years of avoidance had taken away: a way to sit through the surgery she needed. Lela, a 58 year old woman from Russia, had feared dental treatment for so long that her mouth had reached a point of no return. This case study follows how our clinical team used sedation dentistry to place 12 implants and rebuild both jaws for a patient whose anxiety had blocked every earlier attempt. Lela was treated at International Plus, where more than 200,000 patients from 140+ countries have been treated since 2014.

Key Takeaways

• The challenge: Long standing tooth loss, non restorable roots, widespread upper caries and infection, advanced lower bone loss, plus severe dental anxiety that had delayed care for years.
• The solution: A single sedation dentistry surgery, extraction of all remaining teeth, 12 Megagen implants and bone grafting for primary stability.
• Technical highlights: A Toronto prosthesis for each jaw, designed as individual crowns rather than one block for a natural result.
• The outcome: Infection cleared, chewing restored and an aesthetic result Lela was satisfied with. Individual results may vary.

Lela’s Story: Years of Avoiding the Dentist

Lela, a 58 year old woman from Russia, had avoided dental care for years because of intense dental anxiety. By the time Lela reached our clinic, the upper front teeth and several lower teeth had been missing for a long time. Chewing had become difficult and the remaining roots could no longer support normal function. Dental anxiety of this severity is common and systematic review data show that a large share of adults report high dental fear that delays treatment (Hoffmann B, et al., 2022). For Lela, that delay had allowed infection and tooth loss to advance across both jaws, the kind of damage our team documents in cases of severe tooth loss and full mouth rehabilitation. Our treatment coordinators spent the first consultation explaining each step slowly because trust mattered more than speed for a patient this anxious. Lela’s goal was direct: to eat comfortably again and to stop dreading the dental chair.

Diagnosis and Treatment Plan

Diagnosis confirmed a mouth where almost nothing could be saved. Clinical examination and imaging showed widespread caries in the upper teeth, with root tip lesions, periodontal infections plus gum problems, while the lower jaw showed advanced bone and gum loss, the kind of severe bone loss our surgical team manages with advanced techniques. The remaining roots were not restorable. After reviewing the findings, the team reached a clear decision: extract all teeth and rebuild both jaws with implant supported prostheses. Removing every infection source first is a documented prerequisite for predictable implant treatment (Buser D, et al., 2023). Because Lela’s dental anxiety was severe, the plan added one element that shaped everything else: the surgery would run under sedation. Our Diagnostic Council reviews every full arch plan before surgery and for Lela the council agreed that one sedated session would spare a fearful patient repeated visits. The plan set 12 implants as the foundation for both jaws.

Bottom line: every infection source was removed first, then both jaws were rebuilt on a planned set of 12 implants, an approach shared with our full arch rehabilitation for challenging anatomy.

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How Did Sedation Dentistry Make Full Mouth Surgery Possible?

Sedation dentistry is the use of controlled medication to keep a patient calm and comfortable during dental treatment. Sedation dentistry turned an impossible appointment into a manageable one for Lela. In a single session under sedation, the surgical team performed all needed extractions and placed 12 Megagen implants, adding bone graft where extra support for primary stability was required. Managing severe dental anxiety with sedation is a documented route to completing care that fear would otherwise block (Appukuttan DP, et al., 2016). Sedation is designed for comfort rather than a promise of a painless experience and the depth is adjusted to the patient throughout. In our practice, we prefer a single sedated surgery for severely anxious full arch patients because staging the same work across many visits repeatedly reactivates the fear. One sedated session delivered the entire surgical phase at once.

Placing 12 Implants and Designing the Toronto Prosthesis

After the sedated surgery, Lela entered a healing phase before the prosthetic stage began. The plan called for a Toronto prosthesis on each jaw, a fixed implant supported bridge that restores a full arch of teeth, much like Suzy’s Toronto bridge transformation. Complete arch fixed prostheses are a well studied solution for edentulous jaws with implant number planned to match each patient’s load (Daudt Polido W, et al., 2018). For a more natural look, the Toronto restorations for Lela were designed as individual crowns rather than a single block of teeth. Primary stability, the mechanical firmness of an implant at placement, guided the timeline since firmer implants integrate more predictably (Monje A, et al., 2024). The 12 Megagen implants gave both arches the anchorage a full mouth dental implant treatment needs. Designing separate crowns took extra laboratory time but the trade off gave Lela a smile that reads as natural teeth.

The Result: Comfortable Treatment and a Natural Smile

Lela finished treatment with the infection cleared, chewing restored and an aesthetic result that met the original goal. The individual crown Toronto dental bridge design gave a natural looking smile and the sedated surgery made the whole process comfortable for a patient who had feared dentists for years. Osseointegration, the process where bone fuses to the implant surface, underpins the durability of this kind of fixed full arch prosthesis (Pandey C, et al., 2022). Lela reported high satisfaction at the final visit, an outcome echoed in other full mouth implant rehabilitations we publish. Individual results may vary and each plan is built around one person’s anatomy and goals. This is the standard behind the outcome: International Plus combines official Ministry of Health authorization, 5,504+ verified Google reviews at 4.8/5 and more than 200,000 international patients since 2014 with sedation protocols planned for anxious patients. For Lela, sedation dentistry was the difference between another year of avoidance and a rebuilt smile.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is sedation dentistry for dental implants?

Sedation dentistry uses controlled medication to keep a patient calm and comfortable during implant surgery. For anxious patients, it allows extractions, implant placement and grafting to be completed in one planned session. The depth of sedation is adjusted throughout by the clinical team and it is designed for comfort rather than a promise of a painless experience.

Is dental implant surgery under sedation safe?

Sedation is used routinely in dental surgery and is planned around each patient’s medical history and monitored throughout the procedure. It suits patients whose dental anxiety would otherwise block treatment. Safety depends on proper assessment and an experienced team rather than the sedation alone, which is why a full evaluation always comes first.

Can you get full mouth dental implants in one session?

In suitable cases, yes. The surgical phase, meaning extractions, implant placement and any bone grafting, can be completed in a single session as it was for Lela with 12 implants. The final fixed prosthesis follows after a healing period that allows the implants to fuse with the bone.

What is a Toronto prosthesis?

A Toronto prosthesis is a fixed, implant supported bridge that replaces a full arch of missing teeth on several implants. It restores chewing and appearance without a removable denture. In Lela’s case, the Toronto restorations were designed as individual crowns rather than one block of teeth, which gives a more natural looking smile.

Reviewed by Dr. Abdurrahim Ulu

References

1. Hoffmann B, et al. Management strategies for adult patients with dental anxiety in the dental clinic: a systematic review. Aust Dent J. 2022. PMC9796536
2. Appukuttan DP, et al. Strategies to manage patients with dental anxiety and dental phobia: literature review. Clin Cosmet Investig Dent. 2016. PMC4790493
3. Buser D, et al. Bone augmentation procedures in implant dentistry. Periodontol 2000. 2023. PMID 38194351
4. Daudt Polido W, et al. Number of implants placed for complete-arch fixed prostheses: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2018. PMID 30328199
5. Monje A, et al. Significance of primary and secondary implant stability. Periodontol 2000. 2024. PMID 38923148
6. Pandey C, et al. Contemporary Concepts in Osseointegration of Dental Implants: A Review. Biomed Res Int. 2022. PMC9213185

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Dr. Alper Çağlayan Sarraf

Dr. Alper Çağlayan Sarraf directs the oral surgery unit at InternationalPlus Istanbul, focusing on demanding cases that draw patients from every corner of the world.