If you have missing or badly damaged teeth, even the act of smiling can make you feel self-conscious. You’re also at risk of further dental and health complications. Dental restoration improves your oral health and provides a new, genuine-looking smile.
Also called restorative dentistry or dental reconstruction, dental restoration involves the repair or replacement of missing teeth. It’s not one particular treatment but a term that refers to several different procedures often used simultaneously to achieve a certain outcome.
In Australia, missing teeth are more common than many people may expect. Australian adults have an average of 4.5 missing teeth. Like other medical issues, the likelihood of tooth loss increases with age, with 20% of Australians over 75 having complete tooth loss.
Tooth loss not only affects your physical appearance, but it can also lead to escalating dental problems and other health issues. The domino effect of even one missing tooth starts in the mouth with problems like other teeth shifting out of place, an irregular bite, a weakened jawbone and further tooth loss. Gum disease is an unfortunate consequence that can spread to other parts of the body and can cause serious illnesses, including cardiovascular disease.
Dental restoration not only allows you to proudly display your grin in photos. It also protects your well-being for the long term.
One particularly effective form of restoration is a medically advanced process called the All-on-4® treatment. All-on-4® is a treatment that can provide you with a brand-new smile within 24 hours.
If you’ve been living with missing teeth for years – or even for your whole life – dental restoration with Next Smile Australia is your path to a new beginning.
What is Dental Restoration?
At some point in our lives, we all need dental work – sometimes extensive dental work. Yet dental restoration is more involved and transformative than that. It’s about restoring functionality and a healthy appearance to a mouth full of missing or badly damaged teeth. If all or most of your teeth are lost, badly decayed, broken or damaged, restoration is your key to being able to use your teeth as you would a natural set.
But as you can probably imagine, this type of treatment isn’t one procedure. It’s a combination of whichever methods and operations are needed to achieve the desired outcome.
Forms of Dental Restoration
Some of the most commonly used varieties of dental restoration include
Dentures
Also known as “false teeth”, dentures have come a long way over the last few decades, developing a look that’s closer to natural teeth. Dentures are removable, although there are some that are permanently connected to the jaw.
Dental implants
Dental implants involve a series of titanium screws inserted into the jawbone, each with an artificial tooth attached to the top of it. Dental implants provide an effective permanent solution to missing teeth. But because they have to be inserted one by one, they can be a slow process for people with multiple missing teeth. Other factors can also complicate the process. For instance, your jawbone may not have sufficient mass in places, and dental bone grafting might be necessary.
Root canal
Root canal therapy can salvage a badly damaged or decayed tooth. It’s necessary when bacteria have multiplied inside a tooth, leading to infection and severe pain. It involves drilling into the tooth to remove the dental pulp (nerve) and replacing it with a sterile filling.
Fillings
Most of us need to get fillings at some point in our lives. Yet as well as being a common and fairly simple procedure, the act of restoring a decayed tooth with a porcelain or composite material is also a common element of dental restoration.
Revolutionary Dental Restoration: All-on-4®
Dentistry is an industry in which new developments and innovations are continuously being made. If none of the options so far have sounded particularly appealing, there’s another form of dental restoration out there to choose from. And it can give you a brand new, convincing-looking smile in as little as 24 hours. Does that sound impossible? Welcome to the concept of All-on-4®, which is very different to traditional methods of dental restoration.
Dr Paulo Malo pioneered the All-on-4® treatment in 1998, and over the decades, it has been shown to have a 98% success rate. The procedure is very similar to dental implants but with several differences. The key one is that it rests an entire “bridge” or arch of new teeth on just four implants: two at the front and two at the back on one jawbone. This process shortens recovery time, completely avoids the need for dental bone grafting and means a new smile is possible in just 24 hours.
Next Smile Australia are All-on-4® dental surgeons who use Dr Malo’s own treatment process, ‘The Malo Protocol’. During stage one of this process, you receive your “provisional bridge”, or first set of teeth, which are left in place for three to six months. Over that time, the implants will fuse with your jawbone in a process known as osseointegration. Once this has occurred and your mouth has healed and adapted to the new teeth, you’ll be ready for stage two of the process: the fitting of your final teeth. Both sets of teeth are made in our in-house laboratories using materials made by our research partner Nobel Biocare.
Transform Your Mouth & Smile at Next Smile Australia
If you believe you’re the right kind of candidate for the All-on-4® treatment, your treatment journey starts with a personal consultation with Next Smile Australia. One of our All-on-4® dental surgeons will discuss your goals and your medical/dental history with you in a confidential one on one session. If All-on-4® is right for your situation, we’ll work on a tailored treatment plan designed to meet your particular needs.
We want to make your All-on-4® journey not only a quick and efficient treatment with results you’ll be satisfied with but a caring and comfortable experience too. All of our All-on-4® dental surgeons and supporting staff are guided by principles that place the customer at the forefront of all we do. Values like honesty, empathy, dedication and a non-judgmental approach to providing treatment.
Our industry-leading Super Clinics around the country are designed to provide the highest possible levels of care to all our patients. These clean, comfortable, surgical-grade environments are staffed by All-on-4® dental surgeons trained in the Malo Protocol and have high-grade facilities and technology to make your treatment a comfortable one. In these Super Clinics, every step of your journey, from your initial consultation to your surgery, can take place under one roof.
The facilities in our Super Clinics include in-house dental laboratories, purpose-built surgical rooms and in-house X-rays and CBCT scans. Our skilled and experienced All-on-4® surgeons and anaesthetists carry out your treatment with the standard of care you’d expect from a first-class medical facility.
If you live a long way away from any of our Super Clinics, we have a large network of accredited partners who can provide almost all of your appointments closer to home. The only time you’ll have to travel to a Super Clinic is for a pre-surgery consultation and on the day of the surgery itself.
If you’d like to find out more about the All-on-4® treatment, arrange an information session or attend a personal consultation, get in touch with Next Smile Australia.