In our previous article post on All on 4 dental implants, we provided an overview of what the procedure involves, from the surgical placement of the implants themselves to the affixing of the customized, non-removable dental bridge by the prosthodontist. In this, the second installment of a four-part series on All on 4 dental implants, we shall be looking at how this revolutionary technique for oral rehabilitation enables patients to go from edentulous (not having a single original adult tooth left) to having a full set of immediately functional, beautiful and non-removable teeth in a single day, with a single surgery!

All on 4 Dental Implants: Traditional Challenges Facing Older Implant Techniques

In order to fully appreciate the incredible capabilities of All on 4 dental implants, one needs to understand what happens when teeth are lost and left without replacement. Bone tissue, just like the muscles in your body, need to be exercised in order to remain vital, strong and healthy. When a tooth falls out, the essential source of stimulation provided by the root to the underlying jaw bone tissue is also lost. Over time, this tissue begins to atrophy and waste away, resulting in a loss of volume at the site/s of the missing tooth/teeth (see picture below).

Patients who have been living with multiple missing teeth or removable dentures for years typically present with quite a substantial loss of bone volume, which poses a problem to traditional dental implant methods. Dental implants, just like natural teeth, require a certain amount of jaw bone volume in order to successfully osseointegrate (form a biological bond with the bone). For this reason, edentulous and near-edentulous patients frequently have to receive bone grafts before dental implants can be placed. However, bone grafting surgery is very invasive in nature, which means that it is painful. It is also expensive and typically requires three to twelve months of healing (depending on the source of the grafted bone) before the bone is healthy and strong enough to support dental implants.

 

All on 4 Dental Implants: Overcoming the Need for Bone Grafting

The technique behind All on 4 dental implants was innovated by European implantologist, Dr. Paulo Malo, to almost always avoid the need for bone grafting surgery. Even in patients who have been living without teeth for many years and who present with advanced bone loss in the jaw! This is achieved through the careful angulation and precise placement of dental implants in regions of the mouth that naturally contain a greater volume of atrophy-resistant bone tissue (see above diagram). As a result, All on 4 dental implants are almost always able to be placed without the need for bone grafting, which enables oral surgeons to provide oral rehabilitation in a single day, with a single surgery!

 

All on 4 Dental Implants: Stay Tuned…

Stay tuned for our next article on All on 4 dental implants. In the third installment of this four-part series, we shall be taking a look at the difference between All on 4 dental implants and traditional placement protocol.