Benefits of All-On-4

Missing one or several teeth at once can have a detrimental effect on your overall health. For instance, some people experience a lack of confidence or become reluctant to engage in any social interactions. Laughing or even smiling becomes one big concern for people with several missing teeth. While those are mental health issues, several physical health issues can also prevail. When you don’t have crooked teeth in your mouth, it can lead to severe jawbone structural degradation. Moreover, chewing and biting problems become common which leads to inadequate food absorption.

With advancements in dental technology and science, multiple treatment options have made their way into the healthcare industry. From dental implants to dentures, there’s an extensive range of treatment options to recover from missing teeth. While dentures are a traditional approach to taking care of missing teeth, people require more subtle and reliable treatments. All-On-4 is an effective treatment option due to the subtlety and high success rate when performed by an experienced prosthodontist.

What Do Prosthodontics Mean by All-On-4?

When you have several missing teeth in the lower or upper teeth set, dental implants like all-on-4 can be a perfect solution. All-on-4 means replacing missing teeth with a full set of dental implants that appear and act no less than natural teeth. Moreover, they are suitable as an alternative to dentures.

An experienced surgeon will insert a small titanium screw into your gums to place restore the missing teeth using an artificial one. However, not every missing tooth will require a separate titanium screw to hold the false tooth in place. The surgeon will strategically place four dental implants (all-on-4) into your gums. The four titanium screws will fuse with the jawbone structure and once they are fit in place, your dentist will place a permanent denture onto your gumline. The screws will act as anchors and help in creating a consistent look for your teeth.

8 Major Benefits of All-On-4

Let’s check out the multiple benefits of an all-on-4 dental implantation procedure that make it a better option over other treatments for missing teeth.

1. Confident Smile

It’s common to feel down and lack confidence when you’re missing several teeth. Some people can even experience depression and anxiety due to a lack of social interactions. But with stable dental implants, you can experience a brighter and confident smile. While partial or removable dentures can still make some people self-conscious, all-on-4 dental implants help with a comfortable smiling experience.

2. Instant Results

All-on-4 dental implants allow you to experience enhanced chewing and biting abilities with stronger teeth stability. This treatment option replaces partial and removable dentures to offer comfort almost immediately. For that reason, it’s known as the smile-a-day treatment procedure.

3. Better Chewing

In simple words, there are little to no restrictions on food items that you can eat after an all-of-4 dental procedure. Missing a few teeth can affect your biting and chewing strength. This can prevent you from enjoying your favorite foods. However, with the said dental procedure, you will experience a significant boom in your chewing abilities. You can turn back to your favorite foods anytime, anywhere. However, there’s a great emphasis on full hygiene.

4. Enhanced Appearance

Once you lose several teeth, the jawbone structure can start to deteriorate and curve inwards. This happens because there’re no teeth to hold the bone mass firmly. It can make an individual look older than they are. Thus, with the use of an all-on-4 dental treatment, you can preserve your jawbone’s health and prevent additional damage to your facial structure as well. Also, a strong and consistent jawbone structure helps in preventing wrinkles that usually appear due to missing teeth.

5. Reduced Bone Atrophy

As discussed earlier, the absence of teeth on the gum line can cause the jawbone to deteriorate and lose its mass since there’re no roots to hold it in place. But when you’re quick with your decision and get all-on-4 dental implants immediately, you can avoid bone atrophy from taking place.

6. Saves Time

Since the dental implant procedure usually involves the same steps followed in a typical dental implant process, the time spent is less. Moreover, as only four dental implants are inserted before the final placement of a permanent denture, no patient has to worry about the procedure time.

7. Fewer Dental Health Issues

The risks of cavity infections, jawbone infections, and other dental issues get higher when you’re missing several teeth. When lacking proper teeth structure, the manifestation of jawbone disorders is possible. As infections can occur inside the open gum sockets, bacteria or viruses could also pass down to the stomach and cause additional health problems. Periodontal diseases also increase the risks of heart health conditions.

8. No Slipping or Shifting Risks

With normal dentures such as the removable and partial ones, there’s always a risk of shifting or slipping. But that doesn’t happen with the all-on-4 dental implants because the titanium screws holding the denture are placed directly into the thick angulated area of the jawbone that enables teeth stability.

Typical All-On-4 Dental Procedure

For first-time visitors, an appointment with a dentist might appear frightening. However, this happens only because of the idea of uncertainty. Once you’re ready for the procedure at your dentist’s office, the procedure might begin like this:

1. Your dentist will administer anesthesia to make your comfortable
2. Your dentist will remove any infected gum or jaw tissue from your mouth
3. Your dentist will also remove any falling teeth or infected ones
4. Your dentist will insert two titanium screws at the posterior and two at the front of your mouth (strategic placement of dental implants to act as anchors for the permanent denture)
5. Your dentist will clean the surgical site and apply sutures to the incisions after implantation
6. Your dentist will send you to the recovery room to wake up comfortably from the anesthetic effect

Who Is the Right Candidate for All-On-4 Dental Procedure?

People who have lost most of their teeth or the ones near the dental ridge are the most appropriate candidates for all-on-4 dental implants. However, the basic requirement for the respective dental procedure entails that the patient must have adequate jawbone structure and gum tissue. When someone’s missing several teeth for long, it’s common for the jawbone to lose mass and deteriorate over time while the gum tissues can lessen and become weak as well. To hold the titanium screws (dental implants) in place, the jawbone has to be sufficient and strong, along with the presence of gum tissue.

After the denture placement, full oral hygiene is of paramount importance under the supervising dentist's care. In case a potential candidate doesn’t have adequate gum tissue or jawbone structure for an all-on-4 dental procedure, other treatment options are usually available. These include dental bridges, partial dentures, and more. Discussing your eligibility as a suitable candidate for this dental procedure with your dentist is the right approach.

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking for all-on-4 dental implants or crowns & bridges, Dr. Christopher Sasik, D.D.S can provide an excellent level of dental services. At Metropolitan Prosthodontics, Dr. Sasik offers a variety of dental treatment options, especially for patients with missing teeth. You can contact the office and schedule an appointment at 763-559-7600 today.

With the compassionate dental associates there to help Dr. Sasik, you will surely have a comfortable and relaxing experience at Metropolitan Prosthodontics. Go through the official website in detail to learn more about the services of Dr. Sasik.

Reference Links:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253293/

https://www.naturalsmiles.co.uk/blog/benefits-of-all-on-4-dental-implants/

https://www.dentalassociates.com/our-services/dental-implants/all-on-4-dental-implants/benefits