Complete tooth loss remains a pretty big deal especially among older adults. Studies in the international dental literature suggest that millions of people worldwide have either lost all or a significant chunk of their teeth. That can lead to problems with chewing, eating the right foods, actually speaking properly and a general reduction in the quality of your life. For years the standard treatment has been removable dentures but research has shown they don’t do as good a job as implant-supported restorations when it comes to actually functioning as a set of teeth.
In places like New South Wales, including communities looking for a dental clinic Chester Hill area, there’s been increasing interest in a new kind of treatment called full arch implant rehabilitation. This is because the promise of being able to eat straight away and having a long-term solution that really works is just so much more appealing. However it’s still really important to go and get a good expert to assess you and do a proper examination of just what you can expect from the treatment before you commit to it. Especially if you are looking to replace all of your teeth.
What makes the All-on-4 Concept Different?
The way the All-on-4 approach works is that it uses just four dental implants to support a whole arch of false teeth. The two implants that go in the front of the jaw are just standard vertical ones. The two that go in the back are angled so that they make the most of the bone that’s already there. This allows dentists to avoid any sensitive areas while still keeping the prosthesis secure. One of the big advantages of this treatment is that you need fewer implants than you would in a more traditional full mouth rehab. This means less complicated surgery and a shorter treatment time. A big clinical study involving loads of patients actually showed that immediate loading, where a temporary set of teeth gets fitted on the same day as the surgery, can lead to really predictable results. As long as the right criteria are followed of course.
Long-term Success Rates and Clinical Evidence
The scientific literature actually has loads of evidence to back up how long the All-on-4 restorations actually last. One study for example, looked at 245 patients and over 980 implants over a 10-year period and found that the implants themselves succeed 94.8% of the time and the prosthetic teeth themselves 99.2% of the time. Another study which took a more in-depth look at completely toothless jaws found that implant survival rates worked out at between 93% and 95.7% over 13 to 18 years. Even though some of the implants did fail, the false teeth stayed good for between 98.8% and 99.2% of the patients. These results are actually pretty impressive and help to show that with the right care and maintenance these kinds of restorations can really work for years and years.
Factors That Can Affect How Well the All-on-4 Treatment Works
Even though a lot of people do survive with it, the All-on-4 treatment is not proof against complications. Research has consistently shown that smoking is one of the major factors that can make all the difference to whether an implant succeeds or fails. Over the long term, smokers were shown to have much higher rates of implants being lost, problems with their biological systems and excessive bone loss around the implants. Bone quality turns out to be another real big deal. People with pretty bad bone defects, or with bone that is just not robust, may see lower survival rates compared to those with better bodies. One study that ran for 10 years reported a 96.2% overall success rate, but they did see some lower outcomes in cases where the bone was less than ideal.
Costs and The Limitations of All-on-4
From an Aussie perspective, the All-on-4 treatment is a pretty expensive proposition. Depending on your location, what material you go for, the complexity of your surgery and the design of your prosthetic, you can expect to pay anywhere from AUD 20,000 to AUD 40,000 for a single arch. That’s before you include stuff like extractions, sedation, imaging, and maintenance. All of which can add a lot to the overall cost.
