If you’re missing a bunch of teeth, if most of your teeth on an arch are badly damaged or decayed, or if you have dentures that slip and are troublesome, odds are you’ve thought about dental implants. A dental implant is used to replace a missing tooth. The implant gets its name from the titanium implant that is screwed down into the jawbone in the hole formerly occupied by the natural tooth root. Because the human body accepts titanium, the jawbone then grows around the implant, making it a part of the jaw. A post is then attached to the implant and an artificial tooth/crown is attached to the post. Now the complete dental implant feels, looks, and functions just like a natural tooth.
But if you’re missing lots or all of your teeth, the prospect of having over 20 implants placed isn’t financially or realistically feasible for just about anyone.
That’s where All-on-4 Dental Implants come in. All-on-4 Dental Implants feature a full arch of artificial teeth, a partial denture, that is anchored by only four dental implants. If you have both top and bottom arches replaced, you will need four implants on top and four on bottom. The prostheses with your artificial teeth then simply snap onto these implants. Plus, at Uptown Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry, Dr. Velasco can place All-on-4 implants in usually just a single appointment. How cool is that?
In this last blog before summer, let’s get into five reasons why All-on-4 Dental Implants could be the oral health solution you’re looking for.
- Time — Placing a traditional dental implant takes from 4 to 6 months. The implant is placed, the jawbone needs to grow around it for around 3 to 4 months, a post is attached, the gums need to heal for 2 weeks, and then the crown is attached. This is a time-consuming process only made more difficult if your entire mouth is involved. With All-on-4, we can prepare your gums, place the 4 or 8 implants and attach a temporary full arch of artificial teeth (this will be replaced by your final artificial teeth when the implants have become fully ingrained in the jawbone), all in usually just a single appointment. You’ll need to eat a soft diet for a while to let the implants take hold in the jaw, but that’s about it.
- Jawbone mass — Most people who’ve been missing a bunch of teeth for a period of time have had a loss of jawbone mass above the missing teeth. That often makes these patients ineligible, at least initially, for traditional implants. That’s because the patient’s jawbone may not have enough bone mass to adequately anchor the implant. To correct this problem, the patient has to have bone grafting, which only adds more time to the traditional implant timeframe. With All-on-4, the back implants are placed at an angle instead of vertically. This doesn’t require anywhere near the same amount of bone mass, so patients typically don’t need to have bone grafting to qualify for this procedure.
- Eat what you like — If you have a mouthful of damaged, badly decayed teeth, or is you’re missing lots of your teeth, the odds are you can’t eat many different foods. Chewing something like steak is impossible. Eating nuts and many fruits and vegetables is impossible. You probably need to eat a semi-soft diet all the time. This means you miss out on lots of foods you formerly liked to eat. Plus, you miss out on the nutritional value of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and the like. Once you have full arches of teeth with All-on-4 Dental Implants you can eat whatever you like again.
- No need to hide your teeth — When a person starts losing many of his or her teeth, or if they are noticeably damaged, they subconsciously begin to hide their smile from others. Whether this means talking without opening your mouth as wide or whether it means subconsciously putting the back of your hand up in front of your mouth when talking, this is no way to live. Once Dr. Velasco places your new arches of All-on-4 teeth, you’ll be thrilled to show the world your perfect new smile.
- Goodbye, dentures — If you’ve been wearing full dentures, you’re used to them slipping when eating and talking. You’re used to having to take them out every night for cleaning. You’re used to avoiding sticky foods and foods that require lots of chewing because you’re worried your dentures can’t handle them. With All-on-4 Dental Implants, your full arches of artificial teeth are fully anchored by the four dental implants on top and bottom. They can’t slip, and you no longer have to worry about a thing.
These are just five of the reasons our patients from all over the Houston area love All-on-4 Dental Implants. If you’re interested, please give us a call at (713) 960-9623 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Velasco.