If you’ve lost all your teeth, traditional dentures can sometimes be a solution with limited success. At times they can be unstable, uncomfortable and make eating difficult and frustrating. However, with modern dentistry, there is now a variety of solutions to overcome these issues.
The All-on-4 treatment is a cost-effective and graftless treatment which provides a fixed, full-arch prosthesis to replace your missing teeth.
The All on 4 treatment
The All on 4 treatment replaces your missing teeth with a fixed in dental bridge which is supported by four dental implants. It ensures greater stability in the bone and reduces the need for bone grafting surgery due to the special angle of the implants. This treatment ensures a secure and stable anchorage for the replaced arch. What’s more, with just four implants, treatment times and costs are reduced.
At Black Swan Dental Spa, we are normally able to place temporary provisional teeth on the same day of treatment. These teeth look and feel much like natural teeth, so you can go back to your normal routine straight after surgery. After a few weeks of healing time, we can place your final bridge.
There are two options for this – either a fixed option (this offers the highest degree of durability and chewing function but can’t be removed) or a removable option (this can be removed by you for easy cleaning). Your quality of life will be greatly improved with this treatment, and you can start enjoying your favourite foods again with confidence.
Am I suitable for All-on-4?
Before beginning treatment, your dentist will perform a thorough assessment to ensure the suitability of treatment. Implants have the highest success rate when they’re carried out on suitable candidates but there are several factors which can affect success.
The biggest risks are if the patient is diabetic or smokes heavily. Smokers should note they are two and a half times more likely to experience failure than non-smokers. However, this does not preclude smokers from having implants.
Similarly, if you suffer from gum disease, this will need to be treated before you can proceed with implants. This treatment might be a professional clean from a hygienist, to lower the bacterial count, or an intense gum treatment for more severe cases.
Maintaining oral hygiene with All-on-4
Unlike natural teeth, All-on-4 supported prosthetics have a seamless design with no spaces between individual teeth. However, depending on the prosthetic’s structure, accessing the area beneath the denture or bridge with a toothbrush can be difficult. This makes maintaining oral hygiene for All-on-4 supported bridges and dentures somewhat more challenging.
Keeping the gums healthy is essential for the longevity of dental implants, so it’s important the patient understands the importance of good oral hygiene and is able to undertake daily brushing and flossing using correct techniques prior to the placement of implants. You should discuss your suitability with us before contemplating undergoing the All-on-4 treatment.
How long do All-on-4 treatments last?
One of the biggest benefits of the All-on-4 treatment is that it is durable, with an average lifespan of around 10 years and a success rate that is comparable to traditional implants.
What are the benefits of All-on-4?
- Only requires 4 implants instead of the usual 6 – 10
- Is carried out far quicker than traditional methods with less surgery
- Less costs involved than standard placement of 6-8 implants
- Bone graft unlikely to be required, which also reduces the cost
- Permanent set of teeth can be fitted in the same appointment as the implants
- Durable and stable implants prevent the inconvenience of denture looseness, slippage and wear, which helps when eating and talking, and allow the new teeth to be treated just like regular teeth. Those who have All-on-4 dental implants experience the same ability to eat as people with a full set of natural teeth and will experience no difference in taste, i.e. the ability to eat hard and sticky foods which are normally challenging to denture wearers.
- The teeth All-on-4 do not rub against the gums (so there’s no ulceration as with denture wear) as they are securely anchored into the dental implants.
- All-on-4 replacement teeth are fixed permanently in the mouth and can be cleaned just like natural teeth. In time, you won’t think about the fact that you have implants.
- High implant survival rate. Short term: 97.5%-100%, Medium term: 96.7-100%, Long term: 94.8%
Meet the Black Swan Dental Spa team or see our standard prices.