All-on-4: The Permanent Alternative to Traditional Dental Bridges

Your oral surgeon in Stillwater or other Central Oklahoma locales may someday recommend that you need your teeth replaced, due to damage or decay. Alternatively, you may approach an oral surgeon to ask for dentures or a dental bridge, because you’re unhappy with pre-existing gaps in your teeth. There are a number of ways to bridge the gaps in your teeth, but the All-on-4™ solution could be the quickest—and the most permanent.

Traditional Dental Bridges

Dental bridges are a common way to fill the gaps in a smile. Artificial teeth are crafted and fitted into the mouth using one of a variety of traditional methods. Traditional dental bridge types include:

• Fixed bridges, attached via crowns onto the caps of existing teeth
• Maryland bridges, which use wings to attach artificial teeth to the back of the adjacent teeth
• Cantilever bridges, not as common as they are only affixed to a single remaining tooth
• Dental implants, which are surgically inserted root-like structures, each supporting an individual artificial tooth

The first three methods all cause wear and tear on existing teeth and may need to be replaced after some time. The final method, dental implants, is more permanent but costly and time-consuming when numerous teeth are involved.

All-On-4™ Dental Treatment Process

All-On-4™ expands on the dental implant process but only ever uses four implants. These implants support any number of artificial teeth, allowing oral surgeons to fully restore the original look of your teeth—or improve upon it, for example, if you previously had unwanted gaps or worn teeth that you were unhappy with.

This process uses the thickest and strongest part of the jaw bone, to make it a safer and more permanent method of replacing your natural teeth.

Your Smile Restored — Faster

One of the most appealing benefits of the All-On-4 treatment is that it’s much faster than waiting for traditional bridges. Most bridges have to be crafted at a dental laboratory, but All-on-4™ implants can be produced right there in the dental office, thanks to the innovation of 3D printing. And, because the entire dental prosthetic uses only 4 implants, the fitting process is quick and simple.

If All-on-4™ sounds like the right option for you, or to refer a patient from another practice, speak to an experienced oral surgeon in Stillwater to find out more.