You may need to fully restore the entirety of your upper or lower teeth. Ordinarily, you would need a separate implant for each tooth in your mouth. However, there are solutions available to you that allow you to restore a full arch without an individual implant in each location. All-on-4 dental implants may be the exact option for you and your situation.
All-on-4 Implants Are a Comprehensive Solution for Extensive Tooth Loss
The normal full arch dental implant procedure would mean that you need an individual implant for every site where a tooth would be attached. Although this solution may be necessary, it could also result in multiple surgical procedures and a high cost. The reason why it is called an All-on-4 procedure is that you would only need four implants in your mouth to support the entire arch. This would enable you to minimize the number of procedures that you would need to get you on the pathway to an entirely new smile.
In an All-on-4 procedure, the oral surgeon would usually attach all four implants in one day. They would place a temporary set of teeth on top of the implants for a certain amount of time, which would remain in place while your mouth heals. At that point, they would attach a full set of prosthetic teeth through a bridge on top of the four implants. The oral surgeon could perform procedures on both arches in your mouth, although this would usually happen in separate surgeries. Nevertheless, you can leave your oral surgeon’s office with a new set of teeth on the same day as the procedure, improving your appearance and chewing ability.
All-on-4 Dental Implants Are Effective
All-on-4 dental implants have been shown to work for patients who have elected to have the procedure. Studies show that this procedure has a 95% success rate, and it can last for 20 years or more. The last thing that you want is to take a chance that multiple implants could fail, causing you to need additional surgeries and incur more costs in the future.
All-on-4 dental implants could both minimize the cost of your procedure and your recovery time. Instead of paying for each individual implant, where the cost would add up quickly, you would pay one fee for the entire arch. The overall cost is likely lower than if you were paying on a per-implant basis. In addition, you can begin your recovery immediately after the procedure instead of waiting for a series of implant surgeries to be completed.
You Need to Be a Suitable Candidate for All-on-4 Implants
Before an All-on-4 procedure, your oral surgeon would examine your mouth to determine the strongest points of your jawbone. The hope is that there are four healthy enough places located far enough apart in your mouth to support the entire arch. Preferably, the implants would be located in areas where you would not need jawbone grafting to support them.
Unfortunately, not everyone is a suitable candidate for All-on-4 dental implants. You would need to have a jawbone that is strong enough to support the four implants. In addition, you would need to have reasonably good overall oral health for the surgery to be a success. An oral surgeon would perform a comprehensive evaluation to determine whether you are a suitable candidate for this type of procedure, and they would advise you of your treatment options.
Contact the South Jersey Oral Surgeons at Lanzi Burke Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons Today
To learn more about whether you are a suitable candidate for an All-on-4 implant procedure, reach out to the South Jersey oral surgeons at Lanzi Burke Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons. We can perform a comprehensive oral examination and discuss the treatment options that may help you. Schedule your initial evaluation by contacting us online or calling us at 856-582-4222. We have offices in Washington Township, Haddonfield, and Woolwich Township, New Jersey, and we treat patients throughout South Jersey.