Looking to replace all of your teeth but don’t want to deal with loose, uncomfortable dentures? Full mouth dental implants could be the way to go. Secure and natural-looking, full mouth dental implants restore your smile to its full glory and help you regain oral function. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about them slipping or sliding while speaking and eating!
While All-on-4 is one of the most popular full mouth dental implant treatments, it’s not the only one. In this article, we explore the different options for full mouth dental implants, the pros and cons of each and who they’re best suited to. We also take a look at the cost of full mouth dental implants.
What are full mouth dental implants?
Firstly, you may be wondering: Can you get a full mouth of dental implants?
Not exactly! When we say full mouth dental implants, we don’t mean every tooth will be replaced with a dental implant. But rather several dental implants (up to 6 or 8) will be placed in the jaw to secure a full tooth bridge (of up to 12 teeth) in place.
There are a few different options for full mouth dental implants, which we’ll explore in more detail below. They can either be fixed (meaning they stay in your mouth unless removed by your dentist) or removable (meaning you can pop them in or out without your dentist’s assistance).
Full mouth dental implant options
When it comes to replacing all of your teeth in your upper or lower jaw with dental implants, there are a few different treatment options available. The key difference between each implant treatment is the number of dental implants used and the placement technique. Keep in mind that some options won’t be suitable for certain patients, especially those with severe jaw bone loss.
All-on-4 dental implants
As mentioned earlier, All-on-4 is the most common type of full mouth dental implant treatment. This is because it is suitable for most edentulous patients — even those with jaw bone loss. Why? It all comes down to the All on 4 treatment concept, which involves the placement of two straight implants at the front of the jaw and two angled implants at the back of the jaw. This innovative placement technique utilises more bone density to support the tooth bridge, helping to overcome any bone deficiencies and reduce the need for bone grafting.
One of the biggest benefits of All-on-4 is that the tooth bridge can be connected in as little as 3 days after implant placement. This means patients can go from broken down or no teeth to a fixed arch of functional teeth in just days.
When planned and performed by an experienced dentist, the All-on-4 procedure has an extremely high success rate with very low rates of complications. All-on-4 is also less invasive than the traditional method of replacing all teeth with dental implants (which we’ll look at below). This is because it uses fewer implants and rarely requires bone grafting, meaning the treatment and healing time is typically shorter.
All-on-4 dental implants are ideal for patients who:
- Want to replace all of their teeth in their upper or lower jaw
- Want a fixed teeth replacement solution
- Have jaw bone loss
Traditional full mouth dental implants
The traditional full mouth dental implants method involves placing 6 to 8 dental implants in the upper or lower jaw. Unlike the All on 4 procedure, the implants are all positioned straight. This means patients must have sufficient bone density in their jaw to support the implants and tooth bridge.
Since this approach uses more dental implants than the All-on-4 procedure, it can mean a longer treatment and healing time for some patients. But like All-on-4, the temporary tooth bridge can be connected to the dental implants shortly after implant placement.
It’s important to note that this fixed tooth replacement solution is only suitable for some patients. Biological factors, such as jaw bone loss or a high lip line, will largely determine whether a patient is suitable for this implant treatment. For example, if a patient has a high lip line, it may not be able to effectively cover the transition line between their natural gums and the prosthetic gums of the tooth bridge. This would result in a poor aesthetic outcome. Additionally, if a patient has significant jaw bone loss, the implants may not be able to fuse with the bone properly to support the tooth bridge or they may fail altogether. The All-on-4 implant placement can help to overcome these concerns, which is why it is a more popular approach than this traditional method.
Traditional full mouth dental implants are ideal for patients who:
- Want to replace all of their teeth in their upper or lower jaw
- Want a fixed solution
- Have sufficient jaw bone density
- Have a suitable lip line to cover the transition line of the implant teeth
Overdentures (also called implant-supported overdentures)
Overdentures (or implant-supported overdentures) are used to replace all of the teeth in the lower jaw only — they are not suitable for the upper jaw. Unlike All-on-4 or traditional full mouth dental implants which are fixed, overdentures are a removable solution.
Overdentures involve the placement of two straight dental implants at the front of the bottom jaw to hold a removable tooth bridge in place. It uses special attachments that allow the tooth bridge to ‘snap’ on and off the dental implants (this is why you’ll sometimes see them referred to as ‘snap-on dentures’).
Overdentures are considered a ‘partially implant-supported’ solution. This is because only the front of the denture is supported by the implants, while the back of the denture rests upon the gum tissue. However, they are still very secure in the mouth and will not slip or slide out of place like traditional dentures.
One thing to keep in mind is that overdentures have a lengthy treatment time with a number of months between implant surgery and the insertion of the final removable tooth bridge. This full mouth dental implants option also requires two surgical procedures (one to place the implants and one to attach the healing caps).
Overdentures are ideal for patients who:
- Want to replace all of their teeth in their lower jaw only
- Want a removable teeth replacement solution
- Have enough bone density in lower jaw to support implants
