All on 4 pros and cons: Do the benefits of All on 4 dental implants outweigh the drawbacks

If you’re missing all or most of the teeth in your upper or lower jaw, All on 4 dental implants are a fantastic tooth replacement solution. But that doesn’t mean they are entirely free from drawbacks. Before getting this treatment, it’s important to consider all of the All on 4 pros and cons.

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Just like any medical procedure, All-on-4 comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Read on to weigh up the pros and cons of All-on-4 dental implants and decide if this treatment is right for you.

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All on 4 pros: what are the All on 4 benefits?

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All on 4 is proven to be a highly successful and life-changing treatment for thousands of patients. Not only do All-on-4 patients get their smiles back, but they also see a huge improvement in their quality of life and comfort.

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The truth is there are many benefits of All-on-4 dental implants and we’ll break each one down below. No time for the nitty-gritty details? We’ve got you! Here’s a quick snapshot of the advantages of All-on-4 dental implants:

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All-on-4 pros

- A new smile in as little as 3 days

- Natural looking

- Restores function

- Long-lasting

- Secure

- High success rate

- Rarely requires bone grafting

- Easy to clean

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Want to know more? Let’s take a look at each of these benefits in detail.

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A new smile in as little as 3 days

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One of the top concerns about getting dental implants is treatment and recovery time — but that’s not something you need to worry about with All on 4. In most cases, your initial temporary tooth bridge can be fitted to your dental implants in just 2 to 3 days after your on-4 dental implant surgery. This means you can go from broken down or no teeth to a full set of teeth (i.e. a fixed arch of up to 12 teeth) in just a few days!

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Natural looking

Your All-on-4 tooth bridge is carefully crafted to look and feel just like natural teeth. At Green Door Dental, all of our All on 4 tooth bridges are custom-made, right here in Australia. We take the time to design a tooth bridge that will perfectly suit your facial features and structure for the most natural-looking results.

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Restores function

With All on 4 dental implants, your oral function is fully restored. This means you can eat and talk with ease again. The implants act like strong tooth roots that secure the tooth bridge to your jawbone, allowing you to bite and chew just as you would with natural teeth. And unlike dentures or false teeth, All on 4 does not cover the roof of your mouth. This means your ability to pronounce certain words and sounds (like ‘s’ or ‘th’) shouldn’t be affected.

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Long-lasting

With the right care and maintenance, your titanium dental implants should last for several decades. And if you opt for a tooth bridge made from highly durable material like Zirconia, this will also add to the longevity of your All on 4 smile.

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Secure

Say goodbye to uncomfortable, loose dentures and awkward false teeth slip-ups! With All on 4, the tooth bridge is securely fixed to the dental implants and can only be removed by your dentist. 

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High success rate

Created by Nobel Biocare, the All on 4 treatment concept is clinically proven with 95-97% success rate. When carried out by an experienced All on 4 dentist, this treatment is highly effective and rarely sees any complications. Genuine All on 4 dental implants are also made from titanium, which is not only extremely durable but biocompatible. This helps to support osseointegration (i.e. the fusing of the dental implant with the jaw bone)

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Rarely requires bone grafting

The All on 4 procedure uses a special angled implant placement technique that utilises more bone density to support the tooth bridge. This helps to overcome any bone deficiencies and should allow a tooth bridge of up to 12 teeth to be fitted without the need to bone graft — even if a patient has jaw bone loss. And no bone grafting means less pain and a shorter treatment time.

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Easy to clean

You might think a complex procedure like All-on-4 would require a complex care and maintenance routine — but it’s the exact opposite! Cleaning your All on 4 teeth is really no different to cleaning your natural teeth. All you need to do is keep up a good oral hygiene routine of twice daily brushing and flossing and six-monthly dental check-ups for professional cleaning and maintenance.

All on 4 cons: what are the disadvantages of All-on-4 dental implants?

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All-on-4 dental implants may have many benefits but let’s be honest: no dental procedure is completely free from drawbacks. It’s all about weighing up the pros against the cons and working out what’s best for you.

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You might want to consider these few disadvantages of All on 4 dental implants:

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Cons of All-on-4 implants

- Higher cost than alternatives

- Requires surgery

- Healing period of up to 6 months

- Small risk of implant failure

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Higher cost than alternative teeth replacement solutions

The main barrier stopping people from locking in a new smile with All-on-4 is cost. There’s no denying that All on 4 dental implants are a lot more expensive than traditional dentures. But consider this: dentures need to be replaced (and paid for) every 5 to 7 years — sometimes even more frequently if they are broken, damaged or lost. And while the initial outlay for dentures is less costly, over a lifetime, those replacement costs will add up. All on 4, on the other hand, has a much longer lifespan and should last decades

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with the right care. Although the initial cost of All on 4 is higher, it’s a long-term investment in a much more durable and high-quality solution. Plus, if you have treatment at our Gregory Hills or Moss Vale clinics, you can lock out any financial worries with our All-on-4 payment plans.

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Requires surgery

All on 4 dental implants are placed via a surgical procedure and some tooth loss patients simply decide against this treatment because they want to avoid or are unable to have surgery. We get it — getting any kind of surgery can feel daunting. But at Green Door Dental, we will ensure your comfort every step of the way. And thanks to twilight sedation, you can drift off into a relaxed, sleep-like state during the implant surgery so you’ll barely feel or remember a thing!

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Healing period of up to 6 months

Although your All on 4 tooth bridge can be fitted a few days after surgery, your gums and jawbone still require around 6 months to heal completely. During the healing period, your dental implants will fuse to your jawbone in a process called osseointegration. But this doesn’t mean you’ll be out of action for 6 months — you can eat, talk and go about your daily activities as normal during this time. Typically, you’ll only experience mild discomfort, swelling and bruising for the first few days after surgery.

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Small risk of implant failure

As with all medical procedures, there is a very small chance that All-on-4 problems and complications can arise. One of these complications is implant failure — that is, where the dental implant fails to fuse with the jaw bone. But rest assured this is very rare and occurs in less than 5% of cases. In these cases, most All on 4 candidates can have a new implant placed again successfully.

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 Is All on 4 worth it?

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At the end of the day, only you can weigh up the All on 4 pros and cons and decide whether it’s right for you. But you don’t have to make such a life-changing decision alone! It always helps to talk to an All on 4 expert (that’s us!) who can walk you through the procedure and all your options. Feel free to contact us with any initial questions you might have about All-on-4 or jump online and book your implant consultation in just a few clicks.

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