Full-Arch Restoration (All‑on‑4)
Functional, Natural-Looking Smile Restoration
Some patients desire a complete smile makeover due to many missing or failing teeth. At Vero Dental, we proudly offer life-changing full-arch restoration, also known as All-on-4, for beautiful, lasting tooth replacement.
Full-arch restoration has given life back to many patients’ smiles. This life-changing treatment uses dental implants to secure a fixed denture in one or both dental arches. The results are a fully functioning, natural-looking new smile.
If you are missing many or all of your teeth, you still have options for a happy and healthy smile. Contact Vero Dental in Lehi, UT, today to explore your options for tooth replacement and to see how full-arch restoration can change your smile—and your life.
What is Full-Arch Restoration?
Full-arch restoration procedure uses four dental implant posts to support a fixed prosthesis, hence the name All-on-4. You can receive a new arch of teeth in the upper arch, lower arch, or both. In some cases, more than four dental implant posts are necessary to hold the fixed denture. You may receive four, six, or more implant posts depending on the state of the jaw bone and how many posts it will take to maximize stability.
Some patients are able to receive their implant posts and fixed denture in one surgical visit, which is referred to as Teeth in a Day. The result of these procedures are the same, regardless of the number of implant posts used, which is a fully functioning, rehabilitated smile.
Benefits of Full-Arch Restoration
This treatment completely restores your smile’s appearance and function. There are numerous benefits to undergoing a complete smile replacement, including:
- Regain the ability to eat the foods you want without discomfort or oral appliances.
- Your new teeth will remain in your mouth at all times, unlike removable dentures, which you must take out during meals and cleaning.
- This treatment is ideal for edentulous patients (those who are missing all of their teeth) as well as those who still have some teeth remaining but that are in poor condition.
- The dental implant posts act like natural teeth roots, stimulating the jaw bone and preventing bone loss.
- The prosthesis is custom-made to fit your mouth and designed to look just like a natural set of teeth.
- The days of hiding your smile are behind you—now you can eat, laugh, and speak with total confidence in your brand new smile!
How Does Full-Arch Restoration Work?
A full-arch restoration procedure involves the collaboration of your dentist and your oral surgeon. Alex Harris, DDS will help plan where each dental implant will be placed for maximum results, and the surgeon will surgically insert them into your mouth. You will likely be given a temporary arch of teeth to wear while your permanent ones are being made. However in some cases, the final prosthesis is ready by the time of your surgical visit.
As the restorative dentist, Alex Harris, DDS is responsible for helping design the overall treatment plan, creating the final prosthesis, and placing it on the implant posts if this was not done by the surgeon. Whether you need four, six, or more than six dental implant posts, they will all be inserted in one surgical visit. It can take several months for the implant posts to fully integrate with the jaw bone, but you will be able to enjoy your new smile immediately.
Implant Dentures vs. Traditional Dentures
How do permanent and removable implant-supported dentures compare with traditional dentures? Traditional dentures sit on the gums and don’t provide any support for the underlying bone, which can atrophy and affect the way the dentures fit. Traditional dentures rely on adhesive and your own mouth muscles to stay in place, but they can slip. In the short term, dentures are much more affordable, but they may need to be replaced multiple times over the years.
By contrast, implant dentures such as the all-on-4 dental implants we offer at Vero Dental, support an entire arch of teeth with just four implants. These permanent dentures look and feel like natural teeth and work the same way. They are cleaned by brushing and flossing just like normal teeth, and they prevent atrophy of the jaw bone. They don’t cause gum soreness and are permanently attached so there is no risk of slippage.
We also offer removable implant-supported dentures, which are a middle ground between traditional dentures and permanent dentures. This option keeps many of the benefits of both ends of the spectrum. They will not slip like traditional dentures but they can be removed for easier cleaning. Implant-supported dentures are more expensive in the short term but they are an investment in long-term dental health and may end up being less expensive over time.
