“All-on-4” Implants

“All-on-4” implants is a specific type of treatment, which can be an option for patients who are missing all of their upper or lower teeth, and who have adequate bone to support a full arch of teeth with only four implants. However, patients should know that only certain people are candidates for this procedure.

Patients who have worn dentures for any length of time lose a significant amount of bone and facial and lip support, as a result of the bone resorption, or deterioration, that naturally occurs when teeth are lost or removed. Those patients with severe bone resorption are not good candidates for the “All-on-4” procedure, as this type of treatment will not provide facial and lip support.

For many patients, cost and convenience are important factors when making treatment decisions. And certainly the concept of having dentures replaced in one day is very appealing and sounds convenient. However, this is somewhat misleading because the implants and replacement teeth are placed the same day, but there are multiple steps between the initial consultation and the actual procedures.

However, when a surgical procedure, such as implant placement or bone grafting is involved, the experience, education and credentials of the surgical specialist should always be more important than convenience. In addition, most experienced surgical specialists prefer to recommend traditional implant treatment options that are supported with long-term clinical data documented in the scientific literature. They are not inclined to recommend treatment that is not clinically and scientifically proven, simply because it is perceived as convenient.