Imagine this: after years of living with missing teeth or teeth that have sustained significant damage, you wake up from surgery with a brand-new smile.
You would probably wonder, “How do I take care of these new teeth? How do I make them last?”
All-on-4® with dental implants can make this a reality. In just 24 hours, you can say goodbye to awkward and ill-fitting dentures and gaps in your smile. However, like all surgical procedures, All-on-4® implant-supported teeth require aftercare. Chances are, you’re wondering how to care for All-on-4® teeth so they maintain their quality for years to come.
The good news is that cleaning All-on-4® prosthetics is no harder than cleaning natural teeth, and Next Smile Australia is available to help with the aftercare.
All-on-4® is an innovative form of dental restoration that gives you a new smile in one day. Created by Dr Paulo Malo in 1998, it offers a powerful solution to the common problem of missing teeth. Similar to traditional dental implants, it contains some important distinctions. While traditional implants commonly use titanium screws inserted one by one into the jawbone to replace the roots of each missing tooth, All-on-4® supports an entire arch of new teeth on either the upper or lower jawbone with just four implants: two in the front and two in the back.
The procedure typically has a much quicker recovery time than traditional dental implants, helped in part by the fact there’s no dental bone grafting required. It also has a 98% success rate, with hundreds of thousands of successful treatments performed.
So, how do you clean All-on-4® dental implants, and what else do you need to do to ensure their longevity? What should you do to protect your new set of teeth, and just as importantly, what should you avoid?
Oral Hygiene Aftercare for All-on-4®
During healing, you need to exercise caution to allow your implants to integrate properly. Your healing period will take three to six months, during which you will wear a temporary bridge.
After your surgery, and as per your All-on-4® dental surgeon’s advice, you must get plenty of rest and stay hydrated. You will likely be sore and swollen, so it is advisable to take it easy and limit exercise in the first few days after the procedure. Keeping your head elevated will aid in the healing process.
While most dental implants are routine procedures, there is always a chance for complications, however minor they may be. While it’s normal to experience discomfort as your gums heal and your bone fuses with the implants, you should be aware of the following.
Potential risks and complications may include:
- Pain at the site of your implant surgery
- Minor bleeding
- Bruising of the gums or skin
- Swelling of the face and gums
- Infection
- Poor healing
Although your All-on-4® prosthetics and implants won’t be at risk of decay like regular teeth and roots, you’ll still have to take care of them to make them last. This includes regular cleaning.
Once you receive your new All-on-4® implants, the Next Smile Australia team will provide you with more detailed aftercare instructions to take care of them. As long as you follow our maintenance schedule, your new teeth will be fully covered by our Next Smile Treatment Warranty.
Your care regime for your implants is easy to follow, and our level of care before, during and after your procedure should encourage you to take care of your smile.
Here is how you should be looking after your new teeth in the days after the procedure:
Day 1
Don’t rinse or brush your teeth during the first 24 hours after surgery, as rinsing may interrupt the normal healing process.
Days 2 - 14
Thoroughly cleaning and caring for the implants during all steps of the treatment is extremely important. Immediately after your surgery, avoid direct contact with the surgical sites and only use a soft bristle toothbrush and minimal pressure to clean your teeth. Very gently brush the gums, but avoid brushing around the exposed stitches.
After two weeks
Later, your oral hygiene with All-on-4® will remain similar to that you applied to maintain a natural smile. Brush twice a day, floss at least once daily, and, if your dentist recommends, use antibacterial mouthwash to rinse after every meal. Be gentle around surgical sites. At four weeks post-op, you will be shown how to clean with a Waterpik to flush out any food that may be trapped under or around your dental implants and bridge.
Paying careful attention to your oral hygiene will greatly improve your chances of success. We also highly recommend attending professional cleaning appointments every six months.
Note: We recommend not smoking after your All-on-4® dental implant surgery. Smoking can dry out the tissues and delay the healing process, causing you to bleed more and for longer periods of time. It also increases your risk of periodontal disease and the chance of staining your new teeth.
Diet After Getting All-on-4®
Immediately after your surgery and during the following days, your food intake will be limited to liquids and soft foods to allow your wounds to heal properly. Avoid hard and chewy foods for the first 12 weeks after your All-on-4® procedure.
Foods you can eat
| Vegetables | Well-steamed carrots, broccoli, peas, beans. Oven-baked pumpkin, potatoes and sweet potatoes. |
| Fruits | Bananas, avocados, pawpaws, and raspberries. Harder fruits like pears, apples, and peaches need to be peeled and poached. |
| Dairy | Cottage cheese, yoghurt, smoothies, custard and milky rice pudding. |
| Grains and starches | Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, lentils, oats, soft noodles and soft pasta. |
| Meats | Ground mince, slow-cooked lamb, chicken or beef. |
| Fish | Tuna and steamed fish. |
| Soft tofu | Tofu and other soy-based meat substitutes. |
| Other | Applesauce, boiled or scrambled eggs, soups and stews, smoothies and protein shakes. |
Foods to avoid
| Vegetables | Uncooked carrots, celery, asparagus, raw broccoli, deep-fried vegetables or crispy oven-baked. |
| Fruits | Apples, oranges, lemons, pears, stone fruit with skin. |
| Dairy | Hard cheeses, cheese with extras like nuts or fruit. |
| Grains and starches | Crackers, biscuits, chewy bread and crusts of bread, bread with a lot of grains, popcorn, muesli bars, crunchy cereal. |
| Meats | Chewy, tough cuts of meat, fried fish, battered, crumbed or crispy coated meats. |
| Spicy/irritating foods | Hot chilli, tomato sauce, tabasco sauce. |
| Fats | Nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, crunchy nut butter. |
| Other | Chewy lollies, gum. |
| Drinks | Hot liquids, acidic drinks. |
Ongoing Maintenance For All-on-4®
Visiting your dental practice for regular checkups is just as important as your immediate post-op care and dental hygiene.
Your All-on-4® treatment fee at Next Smile Australia includes regular checkups in the first six months post-surgery and a personalised Gold Standard level of care managed by your clinic-appointed treatment coordinator.
Together, we will decide how often these visits should take place, but they are usually at intervals of three to six months. During these visits, your implants, teeth and gums are checked and professionally cleaned, including the areas you cannot reach yourself.
Book A Consultation with Next Smile Australia
All-on-4® is a relatively quick way to restore oral function and aesthetics with a long-lasting solution.
While you are guaranteed that your treatment will be delivered by experienced and Malo-certified dental professionals using premium, clinically proven componentry specifically designed for Next Smile Australia All-on-4® treatments, the success of the procedure is largely in your own hands.
Practising proper oral hygiene, maintaining a soft food diet, avoiding the use of tobacco products completely after your surgery and avoiding drinking alcohol for the first two weeks after surgery will greatly increase the chances of success.
For more information about how you clean All-on-4® dental implant-supported teeth, the All-on-4® treatment in general, or to book a personal consultation, contact Next Smile Australia.