What Are All-on-4 Dental Implants?

Dental implants replace broken or missing teeth with crowns that carefully match your natural teeth. They are set into the bone of the jaw, providing a safe, secure fit. While many people think of implants as just one tooth or a bridge, All-on-4 dental implants provide another option. Just four implants can provide secure placement for an entire upper or lower arch.

Dental Implant Types

The outside of Newtown Dentistry is welcoming with bright colors and landscaping.A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that provides placement for a crown or artificial tooth. The implant is surgically placed in the jaw, where it fuses with the bone over time, strengthening and becoming part of the structure of the jaw. Once healing is complete, the implant holds a crown in place.

The most common type of implant is endosteal, meaning in the bone. The implant is surgically placed into the jawbone. You can get a single or multiple implants. Full-mouth dental implants replace all the teeth in the mouth. Some patients need additional procedures to reconstruct or work around damaged or limited bone tissue.

What Are All-on-4 Dental Implants?

All-on-4 implants are full arch implants. Just four implants provide anchoring for a full upper or lower arch. All teeth can be replaced with eight implants total, four on the top arch and four on the bottom arch.

Each arch receives two implants toward the front of the mouth and two posterior implants. The posterior implants are secured at an angle, which provides more secure anchoring. This is an alternative to using dentures or an implant for every tooth replaced.

What Are the Benefits of All-on-4 Dental Implants?

A team member in a dental office chats next to a smiling patient in an exam chair. Many patients prefer full dental implants to traditional dentures for several reasons:

  • Full dental implants look more natural.
  • Implants are more comfortable and remain more securely in place than dentures.
  • Biting, chewing, and eating are easier with implants than with dentures.
  • Full implants provide a long-term solution to missing teeth.
  • Dentures require more maintenance, including removing and cleaning them after eating and soaking them overnight.
  • Implants can be maintained like natural teeth with regular brushing and flossing.

Another option when missing all of the teeth in one or both arches is to place an implant for each tooth. There are clear advantages to using All-on-4 implants instead, most importantly that it requires installing far fewer implants. Many patients with missing teeth also have missing or low bone density in the jaw, so using an implant for every tooth isn’t an option. Using fewer implants also reduces costs.

Studies of All-on-4 dental implants also show that the angled implants used in the back of the arches provide sturdier anchoring than traditional implants. These studies have also found that All-on-4 implants have high success rates.

What to Expect When Getting Dental Implants

A relaxing dental exam room is decorated to look like a mountain cabin setting. Whether you get full or single dental implants, the process begins with preparatory work, which might include removing a damaged tooth. Next, the surgeon secures a dental implant into the jaw. If you need reinforcement of bone tissue, you might receive a graft at this stage.

The implant takes a few months to heal and fuse with the existing bone. In the meantime, your periodontist will provide you with temporary crowns or dentures to wear.

Once the tissue has healed adequately and the implant has fused and is secure, you will receive permanent crowns or dentures. They attach to the implants and can last 20 years or longer. You’ll take care of them as you would natural teeth with regular brushing and flossing and dental checkups and cleanings.

Contact us to discuss your implant options, All-on-4 dental implant costs, and any other questions or concerns you have. Our periodontist will assess your needs and talk to you about treatment plans. Request an appointment today to get started!

  • AUTHOR

    Newtown Dentistry

  • DATE

    May 7, 2024

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