The Process of All-on-4 Dental Implants by a Periodontist

All-on-4® dental implants are an excellent solution for anyone who has lost most of their real teeth. These oral restorations combine implants with special dentures to restore full arches of teeth. The appearance of your smile can help to create a good first impression, and all-on-4 implants give you a replacement for lost teeth that looks as real as the teeth you lost.

What to expect when getting all-on-4 dental implants

Let us take a look at the different steps involved in getting all-on-4 dental implants:

1. The consultation

Getting all-on-4 dental implants usually starts with a consultation with a periodontist or other similarly qualified dentist. The consultation involves interviewing the patient to get details about the history behind their missing teeth and issues they currently deal with, like pain or difficulty chewing.

The appointment also involves explaining the process to the patient and what it requires. The procedure involves oral surgery, so patients should be healthy enough to recover, and the thickness of their jawbone should be sufficient to hold implants in place. Treatments like bone grafts might be needed to prepare patients for the procedure.

2. Evaluating the best areas to place implants

The next step involves the periodontist taking measurements of the patient's gum limes. Bite impressions are also taken and sent to a lab to aid in the design of the patient’s implants. This is done to ensure the artificial teeth and implants fit properly in the patient’s mouth once placed. The patient’s implants and artificial teeth should be ready in a couple of weeks, and a date is set for the procedure once they are prepared.

3. Implant placement

The third step is the placement of the patient’s implants. During the procedure, anesthetics are administered and any remaining teeth are extracted along with any diseased gum tissue in the patient's mouth. The periodontist then marks each point where an implant will be placed on the jawbone before drilling pilot holes.

The implants are pushed into the holes drilled, and any incisions made into the gums are stitched up. Temporary dentures are attached to the implants to complete this stage.

4. Placing permanent dentures

The temporary teeth attached when the implants are placed are primarily meant to restore the appearance of a full smile. Patients wear them for up to six months as their bone tissues fuse with the implants. Once osseointegration is finished, the temporary dentures are removed and replaced with more functional permanent ones.

5. Recovery

It can take up to two weeks for all the incisions made to heal after getting implants, and patients might experience some discomfort. Patients might be given prescription painkillers to help with this. Patients are advised to stick to liquid and semi-solid foods while their jawbone recovers from the procedure and integrates with the implants.