All-on-four dental implants are a great way to cost-effectively replace numerous missing teeth. With a traditional dental implant, you replace a single missing tooth with a titanium or ceramic implant and a dental crown.
However, with all-on-four dental implants, you only need four to six strategically placed dental implants to hold fabricated rows of teeth securely in place. The result is a stunning smile with the functionality and security of dental implants. Who is a good candidate for all-on-four dental implants? The following cases may benefit the most from all-on-four applications.
Those Missing All of Their Natural Teeth
If you are missing most or all of your natural teeth, you may benefit from all-on-four dental implants. All-on-four implants allow you to only get a few dental implants to support your new teeth rather than getting an implant for every single tooth, saving you time and money.
People who opt for all-on-four dental implants have a long-term dental restoration for their missing teeth, whether they are missing the top row, bottom row, or both [1]. So while you’ll need to replace your artificial teeth every so often, your dental implants will never need to be replaced.
Those Concerned About Bone Loss
An excellent benefit of dental implants is that they help regenerate lost bone in the jaw. When you lose a natural tooth, the bone around where that tooth root was gets reabsorbed by the body over time. By restoring your smile with dental implants, you can help regenerate some of that lost bone and prevent facial sagging and sunken cheeks.
While you will need adequate bone in order to place the dental implants for an all-on-four restoration, you may also qualify for a bone graft prior to the procedure to replace any bone you may have lost over time [2].
Those Who Have Difficulty Adapting to Dentures
If you have lost most or all of your natural teeth and have had dentures before, you may have had difficulty adapting to them. Dentures are designed to fit well in your mouth and be comfortable, but for some people, they have a hard time getting used to the feeling of a denture and are afraid of the dentures moving or even falling out.
You don’t have to worry about that with dental implants because the tooth restoration is permanently attached to your dental implants, meaning it can only be removed by your dentist. As a result, you can smile, eat, and laugh without worry since the implants stabilize your new teeth [3].
Could All-on-Four Dental Implants Be the Right Choice for You?
All-on-four dental implants are a great way to restore your natural teeth while conserving the amount of work, time, and money that goes into your new smile. Are all-on-four dental implants the right choice for you? Ask your dentist if you qualify for all-on-four as a restoration option to have a beautiful, secure new smile!
Sources:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253293/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5347302/
3. https://www.aaid.com/about/Press_Room/History_and_Background.html