All-on-4 Treatment Concept Parker, CO

Dental Implants for Tooth Loss

Dental implants provide a modern treatment for replacing missing teeth. It is a unique treatment that involves using small titanium posts that provide support for your replacement teeth. For dental implants, the posts require surgical implantation into your jawbone. As healing occurs, your bone gradually begins to fuse to the posts in a process referred to as osseointegration. Once osseointegration occurs, the posts become stable and take on the role of new roots for your replacement teeth. They hold the ceramic crowns that function as your replacement teeth solidly in place. Implants are versatile and can replace one tooth, several teeth, or an entire arch.

The Importance of the Jawbone for the Success of Dental Implants

For dental implants to be successful, your jawbone needs to fuse with the titanium posts. This process stabilizes the posts so that they can hold your new teeth firmly in place. However, following any type of tooth loss, the jawbone will begin to lose mass. As this happens, the bone begins to weaken. If the bone is too weak, it may not be able to fuse to a post placed within it successfully. This can result in loose, wobbly implants and implant failure. In many instances of bone loss, you may first be recommended for a bone graft. This is an additional surgical procedure that is performed to restore mass and strength to the weak areas of your jaw. Grafting involves taking some bone mass from different areas of your body, or even taking bone tissue from a donor, and transplanting it to the affected areas of your jaw to make it stronger. As healing takes place, the bone mass you have fuses to the graft material, giving it back its strength.

How the All-on-4 Treatment Concept Works

A common treatment for replacing a full arch of missing teeth is a complete fixed bridge, also called an implant supported denture. This treatment uses 6 to 8 implant posts to provide support for the full arch of replacement teeth. The problem is, in some cases, the jawbone is too weak to support these posts. Rather than have to incur additional costs and undergo additional surgery, we can provide an alternative treatment with the All-on-4 treatment concept. All-on-4 is a type of full arch restoration, specifically designed to place implants in a jaw that is too weak to support 6 to 8 implant posts. This treatment uses only four posts. The success is not in the number of posts, but how they are placed. We place two posts at the front of your jaw. They are put where there is more bone mass naturally. They are inserted vertically. The other two posts are placed at the back of the jaw. These posts are both inserted at 45-degree angles, as that helps to maximize contact between the implant posts and what bone mass you do have. With maximum contact, osseointegration is maximized.

What Are the Benefits of the All-on-4 Treatment Concept?

The All-on-4 treatment concept provides many of the same benefits as other types of dental implants. This treatment also has a few of its unique benefits. For one, fewer implant posts mean less surgery. Less surgery means that your recovery time is reduced. You do not need to worry about having to undergo any additional surgeries such as a bone graft, sinus lift, or ridge augmentation. The All-on-4 treatment concept is also more affordable. If you have suffered tooth loss and lack the bone mass necessary for a complete fixed bridge, you may be a candidate for the All-on-4 treatment concept. For more information, and to schedule a consultation, call Parker Dental Implant and Specialty Center at (720) 522-2000 today.