Although it’s common to view dental implants as an alternative to dentures, the truth is that they represent a significant advancement for these solutions. Dental implants enhance the functionality, allowing them to operate more like natural teeth than any type of traditional option.

In addition to improving the performance of removable appliances, dental implants provide you with many more choices, available at our Spring Texas dental office.

Removable Implant Dentures

Removable implant prosthetics are designed to attach to dental implants while also being easy to remove for cleaning. These options provide a secure fit for everyday use, allowing you to bite and chew normally, although your bite force may vary depending on whether you have implant-retained or implant-supported solutions. All-on-4 can also be removable.

There are multiple types of connections available, with the most common being referred to as “snap-in” implant options.

Fixed Implant Dentures

Fixed implant prosthetics are securely attached to your dental implants, meaning only your dentist can remove them. These are sometimes referred to as hybrid options, though the reasons for this are too complicated to explain right now. Your dentist will remove them during regular checkups or if any issues arise.

All-on-4 implant solutions can also be fixed.

Implant-Retained Dentures

Implant-retained prosthetics utilize dental implants to secure them, while still resting on your gums. These options are very secure—they won’t shift like traditional ones—but they don’t function as effectively as natural teeth. Your bite force may be limited because the prosthetics rest on your gums. They perform better than conventional dentures but not as well as implant-supported solutions.

Implant-Supported Dentures

Implant-supported dentures are not just held in place by dental implants; they direct all (or at least most of) the bite force through the dental implants into your bones. This allows you to bite and chew almost as if you had your natural teeth back–you’ll get about 90% or more of your bite force back.

All-on-4 are implant-supported dentures.

What Is All-on-4?

All-on-4 is a dental implant system that lets us replace all the teeth in one of your arches–either the top or the bottom–using just four dental implants. This is a highly engineered dental implant approach, one that’s been proven extensively for nearly two decades.

Benefits of All-on-4

Unlike traditional dental implant systems, with All-on-4 you will get your new smile on the same day as your surgery. This implant denture, called a provisional restoration, will look good and function well while your bone heals. Then you’ll get your permanent restoration, also called your definitive restoration.

The All-on-4 restorations will give you an attractive, natural-looking smile. You will have confidence knowing not only that your teeth look beautiful, but that they’ll always be in the proper place when you smile.

Traditional dentures aren’t fixed in your mouth, which means that you can’t chew normally and might not be able to speak clearly. With All-on-4, you can eat all your favorite foods and speak naturally. You’ll never worry that your teeth will fall out!

The initial success rate for All-on-4 is very high. The documented initial dental implant success rate is about 99%, and the initial success rate for restorations is nearly 98%.

Once you get your All-on-4 dental implants and restorations, you can count on having them for a long time. The long-term survival rate of the restorations is about 99% when studied for up to 18 years.

The All-on-4 dental implant system costs much less than traditional dental implant approaches. It uses relatively few implants, which reduces the cost of the procedure, and the efficient procedure reduces the cost even further.

Dental implants depend on your bones for support. If you don’t have enough bone to support implants, you need a bone graft. The All-on-4 system puts implants where you have the most bone, so you don’t have to spend time and money on bone grafts.

man in gray shirt shows off her natural looking with with All-on-4

Are You a Candidate for All-on-4?

One of the best things about All-on-4 is that it works for almost everyone. However, there are some considerations to take into account. To be a candidate, you must:

  • Have lost or be facing the loss of all teeth in an arch
  • Have good oral health
  • Be healthy enough for surgery
  • Have lost or be facing the loss of all teeth in an arch
  • Have good oral health
  • Be healthy enough for surgery

All-on-4 is an implant procedure designed to replace an entire arch of teeth. You aren’t a candidate if you still have and want to preserve some natural teeth in that arch. You can get teeth removed at the time of your All-on-4 procedure.

Like your natural teeth, dental implants are vulnerable to conditions like gum disease. It’s important that you have good oral health at the time of your procedure. The All-on-4 procedure is engineered with tolerance, but in some cases, we might want to treat gum disease before proceeding with implants.

Finally, you have to be healthy enough for surgery. This is relatively minor surgery, but there are still risks, so we want to be sure you’re in good condition. If your Houston implant dentist has concerns, we might request an evaluation of your condition by your doctor.

The All-on-4 Implant Procedure

Your All-on-4 implant procedure begins with a consultation. Your Houston implant dentist will talk about your oral health and perform a comprehensive evaluation. We’ll talk to you about your treatment goals, and whether it would be best to preserve any natural teeth in an arch. If you want to go ahead with your All-on-4 procedure, we’ll schedule your surgery.

If you have dental anxiety, we will talk to you about sedation dentistry, then decide what type of sedation might be appropriate for you: nitrous oxide for low anxiety, oral sedation for moderate anxiety, or IV sedation for high anxiety.

During your All-on-4 surgery, we will remove any remaining teeth in the treated arch, then place your four dental implants. We will evaluate these implants to make sure they are stable enough to support your provisional restoration. Because of the way the implants and restoration distribute forces, almost everyone can get their new smile on this day. Sometimes we can even do both arches on the same day.

After your procedure, we will give you instructions to care for your implants and restoration during recovery. You’ll experience swelling and discomfort for the first few days, which will be worse if you had teeth extracted. Tooth extraction typically results in more discomfort than implant placement. Within a week you should feel back to normal.

Over the next few months, your body will remove bone around the implants and replace it with bone that bonds to the implants. By six months after your procedure, the process should be complete, and you are ready for your permanent restoration. The permanent restoration can be even more attractive and functional than the provisional.

Get All-on-4 Dental Implants in Houston

If you are considering All-on-4 dental implants, work with the expert implant dentists at Stephens & Gatewood. We have been placing dental implants for more than 20 years, and we perform the entire procedure. You don’t have to see a second dentist to get the implant or restoration. You can learn about our skill and experience from the reviews and testimonials of our patients, and see our outstanding results in the before and after gallery.

Please call (281) 320-2000 or use our online form to request an appointment at Stephens & Gatewood Dentistry, serving the Houston area from our two locations in Spring, TX.