A dental implant is a small titanium fixture that serves as the replacement for the root portion of a missing natural tooth. It bonds with the bone over time, anchoring the teeth replacement crown or bridge.

While traditionally dental implants were placed vertically in the jaw, in All On 4 smile make overs the back implants are longer and are placed at a 45 degree angle, reducing the need for bone grafting. This also improves support for the prosthesis, which means that All On 4 not only requires fewer dental implants than older methods, but allows for immediate teeth replacement within 2-3 days – thus reducing discomfort that is often associated with older methods from loose interim dentures used during healing. That is what makes All On 4 our most popular smile make over treatment choice.

Bone Grafting

In order to place dental implants as part of a smile make over, there is a minimum amount of bone that is required. Poor dental health or long-term missing teeth may have resulted in a loss of bone and may limit the type of teeth replacement option that is possible.

In some cases, teeth replacement must be preceded by bone grafting, which replaces this missing bone with material called a bone graft.

A bone graft may often be required for teeth replacement treatments requiring dental implants at the back of the mouth. Bone grafting is a common dental procedure and modern techniques involve synthetic or bovine materials eliminating the need to harvest bone from other parts of the body, helping ensure faster recovery and improved results. However, a smile make over with All On 4 dental implants can eliminate the need for bone grafting in most patients because of the angulated placement of the back implants that avoid the poor bone that may often be found in the back.

Prostheses

There are three key components of teeth replacement – the dental implants (or fixtures), the connecting abutments and screws and the prostheses. ‘Prostheses’ refers to the actual replacement teeth and may be a range of dental appliances, including crowns, implant bridges or implant dentures.

Dental prostheses may be individual, in segments, or a full set. They may be removable, such as the case with implant dentures, or fixed, such as the case with all on 4 replacement teeth. The prostheses are crafted by a dental technician to suit you.

With All On 4 teeth replacement solutions, the loss of gum tissue that results due to gum disease, tooth loss or wearing dentures is remedied with Aesthetic Gum Replacement that has the pink appearance of healthy gums, and that is as an important component of the prosthesis that enhances the aesthetic result with a total smile make over.

To facilitate an effective and pleasing smile make over, prostheses are crafted with consideration to the shape of your face, makeup and size of your existing/remaining teeth, form of the lips, amount of gum display, mouth size and a range of other elements.

For more information or to arrange a consultation, call us today or (03) 8845 5444 or send a contact form.