There are many common dental procedures in the industry, including multiple options for missing teeth. If you’ve been looking into possibilities for your own treatment, one phrase you may have come across is “All-on-4®”. All-on-4® can provide you with a full set of natural-looking new teeth in as little as 24 hours. But like all procedures, All-on-4® treatment is the perfect choice for some patients and not a suitable option for others. How do you know which category you fall into? What are the circumstances that make it the best choice of treatment for you?
Missing teeth are common in Australia and around the world. Age brings increased risk, with a worldwide prevalence of approximately 23% among people aged 60 years or older. The most common causes include gum disease, advanced tooth decay, illness, injury or trauma and birth conditions such as hypodontia.
Although they are common, missing teeth shouldn’t be ignored. Even a single missing tooth can create a ripple effect that spirals into problems elsewhere in the mouth and body: irregular bite, other teeth shifting out of place, weakened jawbone and further tooth loss, among others. The bacteria that cause gum disease can spread to other areas and cause dangerous conditions like cardiovascular disease, endocarditis and respiratory ailments.
The dental implant procedure is a commonly used treatment for missing teeth. So what makes the All-on-4® treatment different to traditional dental implants, and who is it best suited for? This article covers the basics of the revolutionary treatment, how it differs from more traditional treatments and whether or not you can benefit, like so many already have, from the brand-new smile it provides.
What is All-on-4®?
It is an advanced restorative dental treatment that uses only four strategically placed dental implants - two at the front and two at the back on one jawbone – to support an entire ‘bridge’ or arch of new teeth. Using both innovative technology and the highest quality materials, it provides a fixed alternative to dentures.
Pioneered by Dr Paulo Malo in 1998, All-on-4® has a 98% success rate, and more than 150,000 people have been successfully treated with the procedure.
At Next Smile Australia, we use ‘the Malo Protocol’, Dr Paulo Malo’s own two-bridge treatment process. During stage one of the process, you receive your ‘provisional bridge’ or first set of teeth at the same time as the dental implants are placed. You’ll wear this bridge for three to six months as the implants fuse with your jawbone. Once this process is complete, you’ll be ready for your ‘final bridge’ or second set of teeth in the process.
Benefits of Dr Malo’s approach, besides the high success rate, include a shorter healing time than traditional methods, medically advanced dental techniques and technology, and no dental bone grafting. All Next Smile Australia dental surgeons are trained in ‘the Malo Protocol’ and have the skills and knowledge to utilise it for the long-term success of the treatment.
All-on-4® vs Traditional Dental Implants
If you’ve spent time looking into the most common treatments for missing teeth, you’ve no doubt come across dental implants. This very standard procedure involves inserting a series of titanium screws into a patient’s jawbone one at a time to replace all missing teeth. An artificial tooth or “crown” is fixed on top of each screw. Acquiring traditional implants can be a drawn-out process that requires multiple appointments and lengthy recovery times.
All-on-4® differs from traditional implants in a number of ways. While traditional implants require an implant for every missing tooth, the All-on-4® treatment offers a streamlined treatment process, allowing patients to receive a complete set of functional teeth in just one or two visits. This immediate restoration is a significant advantage for those seeking immediate results.
Recovery time is also much shorter and avoids a long healing process, largely due to the treatment being designed in a way that completely avoids the need for dental bone grafting. During a traditional implant process, when your jawbone lacks sufficient mass, it becomes necessary to take the material, often from elsewhere on your own body, to add volume to the jaw. Unsurprisingly, this means a longer period of recovery. All-on-4® concept eliminates the need for bone grafting procedures, as it utilises the available bone by maximising the implant’s contact with the existing bone structure. This minimises the overall treatment time and cost for patients.
Are You Suitable for All-on-4®?
If you’re ready to improve the state of your smile, your confidence and your oral and overall health, there’s a high chance that All-on-4® is the right treatment option for you. However, like all forms of dental treatment, it’s not for everyone. If you only have one or two missing teeth, single dental implants are a more appropriate form of treatment.
The only way to know for sure if this treatment is appropriate for your case is to book a personal consultation with a Next Smile Australia dental professional. A member of our team can take your dental and medical history into account and assess your suitability. If you’re a suitable candidate, we put together a personalised treatment plan for you.
All-on-4® is likely to be the right option for you if:
- You’ve lost all or most of your teeth due to illness, trauma, injury or other causes.
- You’ve been living with missing or badly damaged teeth due to genetic or hereditary conditions or one or more of the previous causes.
- You have advanced gum disease.
- You can’t have your teeth restored by traditional means or don’t see any benefits to doing so.
Candidates don’t need to have an entire arch of teeth missing, but they certainly have a number of teeth that need replacing. The criteria for assessing this is different than for dentures or regular implants, which is why it is best to seek advice from an All-on-4® surgeon or a second opinion to determine if it’s right for you.
Book an Appointment at Your Nearest Next Smile Super Clinic
No matter your dental issues or your background, Next Smile Australia is committed to providing you with high-quality treatment and prioritising your comfort along with it.
Our team is driven by qualities such as dedication, empathy, commitment to excellent results and willingness to stay at the forefront of the best possible treatment, care and technology.
Across the country, our industry-leading Next Smile Australia Super Clinics are designed to make the experience as easy for you as possible. These medically regulated and hygienic clinics have in-house dental laboratories in which our team members use the finest quality materials from Nobel Biocare to construct your new set of teeth. State-of-the-art surgical rooms feature cutting-edge safety and diagnostic technology, and our Super Clinics also feature in-house X-rays and CBCT scans. The team of highly trained dental surgeons and anaesthetists offer end-to-end patient safety and comfort. All of your appointments, from your initial consultation to your surgery, take place in one location.
If you live a considerable distance from any of our Super Clinics, Next Smile Australia’s accredited partners offer the majority of your treatment timeline closer to home. Apart from your surgery itself and the pre-surgery consultation – which you’ll still have to travel for – all of your appointments can take place at a more convenient location for you.
If you’d like to find out more about the All-on-4® treatment or arrange a personal consultation, get in touch with Next Smile Australia.