All-on-4-Implants

"All-on-4" is a specific treatment option that is not appropriate for all patients. It is a suitable treatment option for those patients who are missing all of their upper and/or lower teeth, and who have adequate bone conditions to support an arch of teeth with only 4 implants.  

For these select patients fewer implants would be required, no bone grafting would be necessary, and so it is typically less costly than other implant procedures. However, consumers should know that only certain patients are candidates for this procedure. Furthermore, there are other treatment options for the lower jaw that involve only two implants fastened to a denture and are therefore, even less costly than the "All-on-4" procedure.

Bone grafting and larger numbers of implants are often required to replace either the upper or lower teeth. Patients who have lost a great deal of bone from wearing dentures for years are not good candidates for the All-on-4 procedure, as they usually need bone grafting. For example, if patients have lost a lot of bone in the upper jaw, then the All-on-4 procedure would not provide sufficient lip support, so, their mouth would appear flattened.

Although this is a concept that is very appealing to consumers, many experienced surgical specialists prefer to recommend traditional treatment options to their patients, that are documented with long-term clinical data.   This could include bone grafting and more than four implants for each jaw.