All-On-4® Treatment Concept
Hillsboro, OR
 The All-on-4 Treatment Concept, otherwise also known as implant-supported dentures, has become one of the most sought after dental implant treatments in cosmetic and restorative dentistry, for individuals with missing teeth. The procedure offers many advantages over traditional dentures and is a safer and more effective choice.
All-on-4 implants can be made of materials such as acrylic fused to titanium or porcelain stacked in cobalt-chromium frames. Most implant-supported dentures appear and feel similar to that of natural teeth. Even biting into food like apples or carrots with implant-supported dentures feels natural. If you are someone who needs the All-on-4 Treatment Concept, the expert panel of dentists at Century Dental can help in guiding you further.
What Is The Procedure Behind Getting All-on-4?
The All-on-4 procedure is a two-surgery process that entails full arch rehabilitation on just four implants. Moreover, the surgery is entirely graft-free, meaning no bone grafting is required as it would be with other dental implants.
How the procedure will be performed will depend significantly on the type of implant used - ball-retained or bar-retained - and after a full assessment of your jawbone, led by our dentist. The first step behind the procedure is a consultation. During your initial consultation, our dentist will take a full note of your medical history. Then an x-ray image of your oral cavity will be taken to use as a template to design your models, and a CT scan to identify the placement of your sinuses, nerves, and bone availability.
On the day of the first surgery you will first be given local anesthesia. After the anesthesia begins to work, four incisions are made, followed by drilling holes where the implants are then fixed. Once this is done, the incisions are stitched closed. Over three to six months, the implants are left so that osseointegration can occur, a fusing of the bone to the dental implants.
Once the area is healed, the second step of the surgery takes place. An x-ray image is taken first to ensure proper fusing of implant-to-bone followed by local anesthesia. Small incisions are then made to expose the top of the implants to which the heads will be attached in the following days, and a healing cap is then secured to the gums before the proper abutments are fixed. This aids in the proper healing of the gums.
Finally comes the day when the dentures' fixation takes place; this step takes place approximately 14 days after the final surgery. The ball or bar attachments are first secured onto the exposed implant heads, followed by the dentures getting clipped onto the ball or bar attachment.
Post-care is important. Remembering to follow-up is as important as the initial procedure. Make sure to visit us every six months, or sooner, if you have questions or concerns about your new dental implants.
The All-on-4® Treatment Concept not only helps maintain the oral cavity by improving the look of it but also protects the overall integrity of the mouth by preventing other teeth from unnaturally shifting out of their original position. To learn more, please call us today at (971) 708-1608.
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