The mere mention of any dental procedure is enough to make the average person flinch. When it comes to any treatment, most people are concerned that it will be uncomfortable, even painful. “Invasive” dental procedures are the type most likely to induce a squeamish reaction.
Invasive dental procedures are the kind involving manipulation of the gums or perforation of the mucus membrane. This includes extractions, gum surgery and traditional dental implants. Non-invasive dental treatments include common procedures like fillings, crowns, dentures, bridges, prosthetics and root canal therapy. While these treatments may be detailed and uncomfortable and involve extensive work in your mouth, they don’t technically count as “invasive”.
What about the All-on-4® treatment? If you’ve been searching for a solution for missing or badly damaged teeth, this is one option you may have come across in the course of your research. It involves using just four implants to provide you with an entirely new smile. Is it, therefore, highly invasive or not as invasive as it may sound?
Missing teeth shouldn’t be ignored, as the pain and, ultimately, the problems they can cause outweigh any issues that may come from seeking treatment. Even a single lost tooth can have negative effects on the rest of your mouth and body too. What begins with other teeth shifting out of place to fill the space left behind can end with bacteria from gum disease-causing cardiovascular and respiratory conditions.
So when you commit to All-on-4®, are you signing up for an “invasive” procedure? To answer that question, we first need to address what it is and how it differs from more standard treatments.
What is All-on-4®?
All-on-4® is a medically advanced procedure that offers a long-term alternative to dentures. It’s based on a concept very similar to dental implants, which involves titanium screws inserted into the jawbone one by one to replace each missing tooth. Pioneered by Dr Paulo Malo in 1998, the All-on-4® treatment takes an approach that’s very different in powerful ways. An entire “bridge” or arch of new teeth is supported by a total of four implants: two at the front and two at the back on one jawbone. These four implants are all you need to achieve a realistic-looking and fully functional bridge of teeth.
At Next Smile Australia, we use ‘the Malo Protocol’, Dr Malo’s own treatment concept. This two-bridge process has a proven track record of effective results. During the first stage of the process, we provide you with your first set of teeth – your “provisional bridge” – to be worn for three to six months. This gives the implants a chance to fuse with your jawbone in a process known as “osseointegration”. Once this stage of healing is complete, you’ll be ready for your “final bridge” or final set of teeth.
Benefits of All-on-4®
All-on-4® is different from traditional dental implants due to both its unique approach and its distinct advantages. Some of the biggest benefits of the All-on-4® treatment and Next Smile Australia’s Malo-informed approach include:
A proven 98% success rate*
If you’re a suitable candidate for All-on-4®, the procedure has a very high chance of working out for you long-term, according to well-documented studies with very positive results. Clinical data based on over 25 years of research demonstrates the success of natural-looking teeth that function like real ones and last for the long haul with the proper care.
A new smile in one day
One of the biggest benefits of the treatment is that it provides you with a new set of teeth in 24 hours, while more traditional treatments often require multiple visits to the chair and long, drawn-out healing times.
No bone grafting
One of the most significant ways in which All-on-4® cuts down on treatment and recovery times is by eliminating, by design, the need for dental bone grafting. If your jawbone lacks sufficient mass in parts to support implants, traditional treatments will often require bone to be harvested, sometimes from other parts of your body. All-on-4®, however, places the implants at specific angles that target the strongest parts of the jawbone.
Fully functional, natural-looking teeth
Your new teeth will look, feel and function like a natural set, allowing you to not only smile in photographs but also to bite, chew and perform all the other functions of regular teeth without any difficulties.
Innovative treatment and advanced technology
All-on-4® is an advanced method of restorative dentistry, so both the techniques and the technology it uses are similarly advanced. When you seek treatment from the highly experienced Next Smile Australia team, you can rest assured that you’re being treated with the most cutting-edge methods currently available.
Access to treatment close to home
Our treatments are carried out at our industry-leading Super Clinics. If you live a long way from a Super Clinic, however, our accredited partners can offer you the same standard of treatment closer to where you are.
Is the All-on-4® Treatment Invasive?
Your comfort is always a very high priority for Next Smile Australia. We’re committed to putting your mind at ease and keeping your treatment process as free from stress as possible every step of the way. One of the ways in which we achieve this goal is to make your treatment process as painless for you as we can. Fortunately, All-on-4® is a treatment type with less pain on average than your typical treatment. In fact, many patients who undergo treatment report no pain at all at any stage of the process. Implant surgery doesn’t hurt because you’re under anaesthetic, and any discomfort felt during recovery is usually experienced as a dull ache rather than an intense pain.
But is it invasive? All-on-4® is considered a minimally invasive procedure, as it requires fewer implants than traditional dental implants and has a shorter recovery time. It also doesn’t require bone grafting which makes it a much less invasive operation to traditional implants. If you’re worried about feeling sore or uncomfortable, rest assured that the All-on-4® treatment is not as painful as it seems, besides some post surgical discomfort from temporary swelling, patients experience minimal pain. Next Smile Australia goes above and beyond to ensure your experience of it remains that way.
Book a Consultation at Your Nearest Next Smile Super Clinic
At Next Smile Australia, we make sure that all of our staff shares our values. Values that involve placing our patients at the centre of everything we do and working hard to guarantee their comfort along each stage of the treatment timeline. Values such as empathy, dedication to staying at the forefront of treatment innovations, and a non-judgemental understanding of everyone’s individual life and story.
Our All-on-4® Super Clinics are staffed by well-trained and experienced dental surgeons and anaesthetists who are renowned for being leaders in their field. Implant surgery takes place in our safe, hygienic, regulated, state-of-the-art surgical rooms. Technicians in our in-house dental laboratories construct your prosthetic teeth from detailed scans and plans using the highest-quality Nobel Biocare materials. Also on-site, we have x-rays and CBCT scans to make sure your specific needs are accounted for and keep every appointment in your treatment journey under one roof. With a growing number of Super Clinics across Australia, we’re achieving new milestones in our goal of bringing a new smile within 24 hours to anybody who needs it.
If you’d like to find out more about All-on-4® or attend a Next Smile Australia personal consultation, get in touch with our team.