Hi. I'm Dr. Saahil Trivedi with Preferred Dental Care. I wanted to make a video to answer common questions patients have about all four dental implants.
What are All-on-4 dental implants, and how do they work?
All-on-4 dental implants are an option for patients whose teeth are not in great condition. All-on-4 dental implants are used to replace a full set of someone's teeth. So let's say all the teeth on the top or all the teeth on the bottom or both all the teeth on the top and bottom are not in great condition and can't be saved, then we turn to All-on-4 dental implants. That's the reason it's called All-on-4. It's all your teeth on four implants. So, we put in four dental implants. And using those four dental implants, we support a full set of teeth for either the top or the bottom or both.
How is the All-on-4 procedure different from traditional dental implants?
Patients may wonder how the All-on-4 procedure is different from traditional dental implants. And, honestly, there are not too many differences as far as you and the patient are concerned. If someone were to get four single implants because they had to replace four missing teeth, versus if they had to get four All-on-4 implants because they have to replace all of their teeth. There's not too much of a difference in terms of the procedure in that you'll get numb, and we'll place the implants or remove any teeth that need to be removed.
There are some technical things that we do to make sure that the implants are put in the right place at the right location and things like that. But all of those things are more on the dentist's side, and it doesn't change too much on the patient's side as far as the experience is concerned.
Who is a good candidate for All-on-4 dental implants?
Patients may wonder, am I a good candidate for All-on-4 dental implants? We look at a couple of different things. The first question is, does this patient really need All-on-4 dental implants? Because dental All-on-4 dental implants are used when someone doesn't have any teeth or if we can't save enough of their teeth to do another option. Here at Preferred Dental Care, we always like saving teeth as much as possible. If we can get you the results you want while saving your teeth, we'll always opt for that. But there are many conditions and situations in which we do need to replace all the teeth, or all the teeth are missing. And in those cases, All-on-4 can often be a very good option.
Are All-on-4 denture implants a good option for seniors?
A lot of our patients who would be considered seniors wonder if All-on-4 dental implants are a good option for them. I say yes, they are a great option for a lot of patients. If you are missing all of your teeth on the top or bottom or both, or if your teeth are in really bad shape and you really don't think they can be saved, then All-on-4 dental implants might be the solution you need to get a full set of teeth back so that you could eat and smile and do everything that you would almost with with a full set of teeth.
Are All-on-4 implants suitable for patients with bone loss in the jaw?
Patients who've been missing teeth for some time might be worried that the bone loss they've had from being without teeth for a long time might stop them from getting All-on-4 dental implants. The good news is that we have procedures that we can provide in our offices together with All-on-4 dental implants to allow you to be a candidate for All-on-4 dental implants. We can rebuild bone. We can add bone and make your jawbone strong enough to support a full set of teeth on All-on-4 dental implants.
What does the All-on-4 dental implant process involve?
Patients want to know what is involved in the All-on-4 dental implant process because it may often feel like it's a long process. The good news is that at Preferred Dental Care, we have all the steps needed for All-on-4 that can be done in-house in our office. So there's a lot less running around. We bring all the specialists into our office, so we're not going to send you anywhere, which is great. And that allows you to get awesome treatment much faster.
The first thing we're going to do is just bring you in to do an examination. We will do a 3D scan, which we have in many of our offices, which is not always very common. This 3D scan will allow us to make sure that you're a great candidate for All-on-4 dental implants because we want to see if there are any teeth that we can save. So, let's say you're missing all your teeth on the top or bottom or both, or your teeth aren't in the best of shape, and we aren’t able to save many of them. Then we will let you know you are a great candidate for All-on-4 dental implants, and then we'll start planning out your procedure.
We will get you scheduled with one of our awesome specialists. That's right. We have specialists we bring in, people who are extremely skilled in placing dental implants to make sure that your implants are put in as perfectly as possible! After that, we're going to let the implants heal. But don't worry, you won't go without teeth because of our on-site labs. We can actually allow you to walk out the same day as your surgery with a set of teeth. They won't be permanent, but it's better than no teeth. After the implants heal, we'll bring you in with yet another specialist who will give you a beautiful permanent smile that is permanently fixed in so you can eat, chew, and smile as if you had a full set of teeth.
How long does the All-on-4 procedure take from start to finish?
The All-on-4 procedure can be split into many parts. There's the part about putting the implants in, and then there's the part about putting the teeth on top of the implants. The first part of the procedure, which is the part where we put the implants in, often takes one to two hours at most.
After that, we like to let the implants heal for some time. The second part of the procedure is when we put the teeth on the implants. This usually takes about three visits and sometimes more because we like to make sure that the smile looks amazing and is also very useful for eating.
So in these multiple visits, we'll put in a temporary smile, a temporary set of teeth. You're going to use those for some time. They're going to look amazing. And a lot of times, patients think that the temporaries are their permanent. But we are going to adjust it because we want to get this so perfect that when you get the permanents, there's really no adjustment needed, and you feel very comfortable with it. So we want to be as close to your natural teeth as possible.
How many visits are required for the All-on-4 dental implant procedure?
Patients will often wonder how many visits the All-on-4 procedure involves. The good news is that the placement of the implants usually requires only one visit. We do all the implants at the same time. It's very simple and straightforward for our surgeons. They're very skilled. After that, you'll probably come in in a week or two for a follow-up, which is a quick visit. Then, we let the implants heal. And once the implants are healed, you're looking at three to four visits usually to make sure that we give you a very beautiful and also functional set of teeth on top of those implants.
Are All-on-4 implants a permanent solution for missing teeth?
What I can tell you is that All-on-4 dental implants, when well taken care of, can be extremely long-lasting, and I've seen them last for a patient's life. They can be a lifelong solution. A big part of that is making sure you take care of your All-on-4 dental implants, and we're going to train you how to do that. We're going to show you the best ways to keep them clean. We're also going to have you come in routinely so we can professionally clean your All-on-4 dental implants. And the other part of it, to make sure it lasts as long as possible, is getting it done at the right place. An office that is extremely well-trained in All-on-4 dental implants that has dentists or, in our case, even dental specialists who have done a lot of All-on-4 dental implant procedures, because you get the best results.
So it's really a team effort. We're going to make sure we do our job to give you an amazing All-on-4 dental implant, but it's also down to the patient to make sure they're keeping it clean. But we'll make sure we show you how to keep it clean so that your All-on-4 dental implants could very well be a lifelong solution.
What is the difference between full-arch implants and the All-on-4 procedure?
Patients often hear many different solutions to getting all their teeth replaced if they're missing all of their teeth or if they're missing a lot of teeth. And they might hear full arch dental implants versus All-on-4 dental implants. And it's a great question because this can get confusing.
Really, for us, full arch dental implants, All-on-4 dental implants, and what some people even call All-on-6 dental implants are all the same solution to the same problem. There might be slight differences in technique. For example, on All-on-4, we use four implants. On All-on-6, we use six implants because sometimes people have bigger jaws or bigger mouths. Full arch dental implants could use four implants. So they're an All-on-4. It could use a six; then it's an All-on-6. Sometimes, we use five. So, really, all of these terms are just different ways to say that we can help you through dental implants to get a full set of teeth so that you can eat and smile like you used to.
What are the advantages of All-on-4 dental implants over other tooth replacement options?
Patients may wonder what the benefit is of getting All-on-4 dental implants versus other tooth replacement options. And really, the question comes down to what's the benefit of implants overall. And the great part about implants is that when you're missing a lot or all of your teeth on the top, bottom, or both, dental implants are really the best solution because the other solution is dentures. And dentures are not solid. They often move. You can't eat and chew and smile as well as you want to. But with dental implants put in, essentially, they work just like your teeth do in your body, and they show the body that, hey, there are teeth here. So one, with dental implants, you don't get bone loss, which you can get without dental implants. And two, with dental implants, they hold your teeth in position so you can actually eat and chew what you want without any worries of your teeth moving around and falling out, and you can confidently smile.
What do before-and-after results of All-on-4 dental implants look like?
A lot of times, patients want to see before and after results of dental implants. And if you reach out to us at the office, we'd love to show you because we've done so many of these cases of All-on-4 dental implants. The before and after results are honestly amazing because a lot of times, patients come in before All-on-4 dental implants, and they have no teeth or their teeth are in really bad shape. And you go from that to essentially having a perfect Hollywood smile, which can be as bright as you want, a full set of teeth that when you smile, you know, it goes edge to edge. It looks amazing. And so the before and after results are unbelievable with All-on-4 dental implant.
How do All-on-4 implants improve oral health and quality of life?
One of the best parts about doing All-on-4 dental implants is that it is good for your health as well as your quality of life. The ability to properly eat and chew your food is actually very important to your digestion. As well as before we do implants, we get rid of all the infections in your mouth, which can be affecting your whole body because infections don't just stay in the mouth. They travel everywhere. The process of removing any damage or infected teeth, getting rid of infections, and putting in the implants. If you don't put in the implants but you remove teeth, you actually get bone loss in your mouth. Dental implants prevent that.
There are a lot of health benefits to All-on-4 dental implants, and one of the biggest benefits is just quality of life. Imagine being able to eat and chew and smile as if you had a full set of natural teeth that you were very proud of, you were very happy with, and you were very confident about. You can imagine that your quality of life would be so much better. It would be amazing, and that's what we aim to provide with all of our dental implants.
What are the potential problems or complications with All-on-4 dental implants?
Because for a lot of patients, All-on-4 dental implants are a big step. They want to know, are there any potential problems or complications that I might face? And with any dental procedure, any medical procedure that you get done, there's always a risk of problems and complications. But it comes down to two things. Both us, as the dental office, and you, as the patient, can work together to prevent problems and complications. So when we do the procedures, we'll educate you on the steps to take to help minimize any problems and complications afterward, the home care, the precautions, things like that. So, together as a team, while there's always a minor chance of problems and complications with any medical or dental procedure, we can work together to limit those risks of problems and complications. If you have any questions about that, our doctors will be more than happy to sit down and actually have a conversation with you about that.
What is the cost of All-on-4 dental implants?
So a very important question that patients ask is, what is the cost of All-on-4 dental implants? That's a great question, but it's also a hard question to answer over a video because All-on-4 dental implant cost varies from patient to patient and smile to smile. It really depends on the current condition of the mouth, the current condition of the bone, and things of that sort.
What I can say is the best thing to do is come in. We can get you in for a consultation. We'll give you an examination of your mouth, and we can tell you what the costs are going to be. And we can also work with you to figure out how to fit those costs into your budget, whether it's through office payment plans, third party financing plans, splitting the payment into different parts because there's different steps to the procedure. We have so many options for people from all walks of life to get All-on-4 dental implants.
What is the recovery process like after getting All-on-4 dental implants?
Patients want to know what the recovery process is after getting All-on-4 dental implants done. What happens after the procedure? So a big part of the recovery process is actually the procedure itself. If you get the procedure done in the right way with the right dentist and specialists like we have here in our offices, then that's honestly a big part in reducing any recovery issues because we're very careful, we're very gentle, very precise when we do our procedures, and that helps you have minimal recovery time.
Now, with any medical or dental procedure, there's always going to be some recovery. We'll go over what to do to make you as comfortable as possible in those next few days. But for most patients, forty-eight hours is really the main part of the recovery time. The implants do take longer to heal, but they're not going to cause you much discomfort or trouble after the first forty-eight hours. And it may very well be less than forty eight hours because we're very careful about that.
How long do All-on-4 dental implants last?
Patients, when they're getting All-on-4 dental implants done, want to know how long this will last. That's a really good question. And I'll say that All-on-4 dental implants often last as long as the patient takes care of them. The dentist and the office play a big role in that as well. We make sure that we have the best dentists and the best specialists. We use the best high-end materials to give your All-on-4 dental implants the best chance of being a lifelong procedure for you. And the next step is making sure that you are taking good care of them at home, which we'll very strongly educate you on. We also have you come in so that we can professionally clean your dental implants to make sure they last as long as possible.
What type of care and maintenance do All-on-4 implants require?
Patients want to know, after I get all up for a dental implant, what kind of care and maintenance will I need for this? That's a very good question. That's a very good question. We'll educate you on all the care and maintenance requirements when you get your All-on-4 dental implants done. There's a lot of home care that needs to be done, but it's the same as if you had a full set of teeth. You still want to brush them; you still want to floss them. We often recommend a water flosser that works amazingly for our patients with All-on-4 dental implants. We have those available for you at our offices. So we'll educate you on how to take care of them.
But if you take care of your All-on4 dental implants the same way you would your natural teeth, they can last you an extremely long time. It can even be a lifelong procedure. And it's also very important to come in for your routine checkups as well.
If you're interested in getting All-on-4 dental implants done, Preferred Dental Care is the place for you. We have amazing dentists and specialists who can help you out, and we have helped countless patients get the smile of their dreams and eat again, smile confidently again as if they had their smile when they were younger. So give us a call. We'd love to help you!