Edentulous patients who want to upgrade their dentures can turn to All-on-Four® dental implants as a better solution. All-on-Four® implants use titanium posts that essentially serve as artificial tooth roots to secure a denture to the underlying jawbone.

The oral surgeon places the four dental implants in specific locations toward the front of the jaw to leverage the maximum available quality bone, even if the bone at the rear of the mouth has begun to wear away already.

The outer two implants are angled underneath the jaw to provide sturdier support for the prosthetic arch. With All-on-Four®, patients can be fitted with a prosthetic arch on the day the implants are placed, giving patients a fully restored smile in just a matter of hours.

The technology behind All-on-Four® implants is identical to traditional dental implants. That is, the titanium devices are biocompatible and able to fuse with the bone, which gives them durability and stability.

All-on-Four® implants can last for decades with proper care, offering a lifelong solution for tooth loss. Additionally, the implants help to stabilize the jaw bone and prevent resorption. This represents a vast improvement over conventional dentures, which often need to be refitted periodically as the shape of the jaw evolves.

In some ways, All-on-Four® implants differ from traditional implants as well. Before All-on-Four® implants were introduced, patients had to get six or eight traditional implants to support an entire denture. This often necessitated placement of at least two implants at the rear of the jaw, which might not suitable for implant placement.

As a result, patients who needed six or eight implants often had to undergo a preliminary bone graft to supplement the jawbone in the area and provide enough material to support the implant. This added to the overall cost and treatment timeline for the process. Most patients will qualify for All-on-Four® implants without requiring any preliminary procedure.

The All-on-Four® approach can help patients take advantage of dental implants even if the jawbone has already eroded to a significant degree. To learn more about the benefits of this treatment option, contact our team at Surgical Arts today to schedule your consultation.