Description
Planes Dental Arts offers All-on-4® dental implants to patients missing a full arch of teeth. Qualifying patients can receive just four implants to support an entire denture. Dr. Planes helps patients understand their teeth replacement options at his offices in Vero Beach and Port St. Lucie.
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All-on-4 is a great solution for patients that are looking to have fixed appliances in their mouths. The way it works is that an All-on-4 is basically a replacement for a full mouth or an arch, for example. We go ahead and place the implant, and basically, what happens is that you have one fixed appliance that screws into those implants. So it's not like a single tooth implant, where you're able to floss and clean just replacing one tooth. Most dental appliances for an All-on-4 have a total of 14 teeth. So a patient's able to chew, smile, and be comfortable, and have amazing function with this appliance.
As an All-on-4 candidate, you have to be able to have sufficient bone width and sufficient bone height. You want to make sure that you're planning these cases and have a predictable outcome. This case is not for everyone. If you have a really high smile line, there's other options that are available for you. If you are a smoker, I might revisit the All-on-4 option, due to the amount of damage nicotine can cause on dental implants. But dental implants have evolved so much that the success rate is 98% for these cases.
I have a rule of thumb that, basically, a patient that is going through an All-on-4 or a full mouth rehab rehabilitation is basically looking at anywhere from six to eight months. But don't be discouraged because within 48 hours you will have an appliance that you'll be wearing, and you'll be able to be smiling, laughing, chewing, and living a normal life while you're healing. And in six months later, we go ahead and we make you your permanent device.
It's like anything in life, you know, you're definitely going to go through a healing process throughout an All-on-4. You're going to have to stay with a soft diet for the first 30 days. If you are a smoker, please restrict smoking because it could cause implant failure. But you're basically going through a healing process that can range anywhere from six to eight months. So you want to make sure that you take care of them. You clean. You have good hygiene instructions. And during that whole period, me and my team will be assisting you right by your side to make sure that we take care of you the best way possible.