This article discusses the various reasons the “All-on-4” dental implant technique enables patients to save, on average, $25,000 on the cost of fixed oral rehabilitation.

The innovation of newer and more sophisticated dental implant hardware, surgical procedures and medical technology has enabled qualified implant dentists to provide edentulous (toothless) and near-edentulous patients with an immediate and long-term solution to their oral problems. While we are used to cutting-edge technologies demanding a higher price, the reality of the “All-on-4” protocol is that it actually undercuts the traditional cost of dental implants by tens of thousands of dollars! In this article we shall be explaining exactly how…

The Cost of Dental Implants: What is the “All-on-4” Technique?

The “All-on-4” is a surgical protocol that was innovated by European implantologist Dr. Paulo Malo in collaboration with the world’s leading manufacturers of dental implants, Nobel Biocare. This advanced solution for edentulism and near-edentulism was not only designed to bypass the many challenges facing traditional surgical methods, for example, the need for bone grafting in patients presenting with substantial jaw bone loss. The “All-on-4” also offers patients a great number of advantages over traditional surgical techniques that actually end up lowering the overall cost of dental implants. In fact, the amount patients can expect to save on the cost of dental implants with the “All-on-4” is approximately $25,000 for straight-forward cases and, for more complex cases, as much as $45,000!

How on Earth does the more sophisticated surgical technique undercut the traditional cost of dental implants? For three predominant reasons:

1. Reducing the Cost of Dental Implants: The “All-on-4” Uses Fewer Implants for Fixed Oral Rehabilitation

Traditional dental implant surgery requires as many as 20 dental implants to provide edentulous or near-edentulous patients with a fixed, fully functional and aesthetic smile. The “All-on-4,” as the name suggests, only requires four dental implants to be placed per jaw. These implants are used to support a fully customized prosthetic dental bridge, which replaces every missing tooth in the mouth. When you consider that the cost of dental implants lies in the region of $3,000 to $4,000 per implant, you can appreciate just how expensive traditional surgical protocol could get! With only eight implants required for complete oral rehabilitation, the “All-on-4” already manages to substantially lower the cost of dental implants. But there’s more…

2. Reducing the Cost of Dental Implants: The “All-on-4” Requires a Single Surgery for Oral Rehabilitation

Traditional implant techniques generally require patients to undergo multiple surgeries in order to have up to 20 implants placed. These surgeries are separated by long periods of recovery, healing and endless consultations. As such, edentulous or near-edentulous patients are not only required to fork out a lot of money for the cost of dental implants, but also the cost of multiple surgeries, anesthetist bills, medications and time spent off from work. Surgery, as we all know, is never ever cheap, so the cost of dental implants plus surgery is – with traditional protocol – prohibitively high for many patients.

With the “All-on-4,” however, only four dental implants are being surgically placed per jaw, which is quite manageable with a single surgery of a few hours only. This sophisticated tooth replacement method not only reduces the number of dental implants required for oral rehabilitation, it also generally requires a single surgery only! This enables patients to save a substantial amount of money on the overall cost of dental implants.

3. Reducing the Cost of Dental Implants: The “All-on-4” Almost Always Avoids the Need for Bone Grafting Surgery

Many of the edentulous or near-edentulous patients who require a new set of teeth cannot have dental implants placed because they present with advanced bone loss in the jaw. This is caused by living with missing teeth or wearing removable dentures for many years. Without your tooth roots, the underlying jaw bone is allowed to atrophy and waste away. This would traditionally be remedied by bone grafting surgery, which is not only invasive and painful, but incredibly expensive too. It also requires many months of healing before the jaw bone is ready to support dental implants.

With the “All-on-4,” the precise positioning and angulation of only four dental implants in regions of the jaw that are more resistant to atrophy almost always enables the implant dentist to bypass bone grafting altogether. This strikes from the list yet another exorbitant expense for patients in need of oral rehabilitation, further reducing the cost of dental implants.

A Final Note on the Cost of Dental Implants

These three important factors (the number of dental implants, the number of surgeries and the need for bone grafting) enable edentulous and near-edentulous patients to save a staggering $25,000 on the cost of dental implants. Better yet, the patients who have been wearing removable dentures for many years and would traditionally require bone grafting surgery first are looking at saving an incredible $45,000 on the cost of dental implants!