All On 4
Lewiston, ID
 The All-on-4™ Treatment Concept refers to a type of dental implant that supports a set of complete dentures for people missing their teeth. Dentures that are able to be supported by dental implants are preferred because they are stable, and they look natural. Oral & Facial Surgery explains that All-on-4 has several advantages over other kinds of dental implants. We will also tell you how the entire process works.
All-on-4 Treatment Explained
The All-on-4 treatment allows a complete set of dentures to be supported on just four individual dental implants. For other implant types, you will likely need more implants than that, so this procedure is less invasive than others. At our office, this treatment process includes each of the four dental implants. We will work with your dentist for the completion of the dentures that fit over the implants. This is a permanent restoration as well, so you do not need to worry about removing and storing the dentures. We generally provide this procedure to patients that already have a set of removable dentures. However, this can be used for any patients missing their teeth, given they are in good health.
Advantages of All-on-4 Treatment
Most patients who need to get dental implants prefer this type of treatment because it is less invasive than others. This is still a surgical procedure, but this surgical procedure is very simple and so is the maintenance for these implants. Additionally, the dentures placed by the dentist look like natural teeth, and, despite only being on a set of four implants, are highly stable. They are beneficial in maintaining your oral structure and they last for many years. This treatment has a success rate of 98 percent. Fixed dentures also allow you a stronger bite than removable ones.
The procedure requires less preparation than traditional dental implants. For instance, they do not require us to place a bone graft since they are placed on an angle. This makes them easier for your jaw to support.
How All-on-4 is Placed
This surgery has a different recovery time for each patient since everyone’s immune system is different. That said, you can expect the recovery to take about six months. The surgery itself will take between two to three hours. We will give you both local and general anesthesia. Effects from these tend to last for a few hours, but you will get more details on this at your consultation.
Our oral & maxillofacial surgeon starts the surgery by incising the gum where they intend to place the implant. After the gum is cut, a drill is used to create an opening in the bone. Some tissue may need to be removed at this stage. Once the gum and jaw are prepared, the implant is placed in the opening. This process is repeated four times, for each of the individual implants in the lower jaw.
Once your jaw has healed from the surgery, your dentist can place the permanent dentures with dental cement. From that point forward, you can treat the dentures like your natural teeth. This includes daily activities as well as oral hygiene.
Call Oral & Facial Surgery in the Lewiston/Clarkston region at 208-743-1640 or in the Moscow/Pullman region at 509-330-5020 to learn more about the All-on-4 treatment. |
