What is all-on-4 treatment?
Having missing teeth can also reduce self-confidence as it negatively affects the appearance of the teeth. Thanks to the all-on-4 implant technique, it is possible to make fixed prostheses without the need for advanced surgeries by using implants placed at a certain angle in patients with bone deficiency in the posterior regions. The all-on-4 technique is recommended for patients who have lost all their teeth, who need to have all their teeth removed and who do not have a jawbone in the posterior regions of the jaws. While 6 to 8 implants are used for the positions in upper jaw in traditional implant treatments, solely 4 implants are sufficient with the all-on-4 technique. The posterior region implants are placed vertically at a certain angle, so that patients with bone loss do not need bone grafting.
Quick Summary About the Procedure
- Length of Stay in Country
- Length of Stay in Hospital
- Operation Duration
- Anesthesia Type
- Recovery Time
- 1-2 Weeks
- No Need
- Up to 4 Hours
- Local Anesthesia
- 7 Days
Who is an ideal candidate for all-on-4 treatment?
All-on-4 dental implant treatment method is appropriate for;
- who have missing teeth,
- who have damaged teeth,
- who do not have any disease that would interfere with dental implant surgery,
- who do not have enough bone density,
- who is not suitable for bone grafting procedure.
Where is the best destination for all-on-4 treatment?
When it comes to dental health, you should choose the overall best option for your treatments. Even though the procedure more or less the same wherever you go in the world, some factors can affect the treatment costs. Because of the high costs and being out-of insurance, patients living in highly developed countries such as UK, US and Germany frequently prefer going abroad for dental treatments. Especially for all-on-4 dental implants based dental tourism is on rise and have numerous advantages. When it comes to dental implants pros and cons there are many details to be considered. Here are some of the advantages of going all-on-4 treatment abroad.
Affordable prices
It is known that expenses of dental treatments are changeable due to country. High standard of living costs causes more expensive fees for medical treatments. Especially all-on-4 costs are higher in these countries compared to other options such as Turkey, Costa Rica, Mexico and Hungary. Turkey is must-go places with its natural and historical beauties. Most of the patients choose to turn their medical process to a lifetime experience process. According to the latest statistics, all-on-4 implants’ cost can affect the patient’s choice, and they tend to travel abroad because of the same treatments procedures with lower costs and touristic destinations.
High quality dentists and clinics
Lower prices in developing countries can be engrossing about treatment quality, but it is totally depending on the exchange rate. In Turkey, you can get the best option from high-quality medical team and English speaker and proficient clinic team. Combining latest technology devices and well educated dentist will allow you to get medical treatment just as you wish.
What are the steps for all-on-4?
When you decide to start your all-on-4 implant procedure, there are 3 usual steps to follow.
1. First consultation and treatment plan
If you decide to start with you treatment abroad, you first need to contact with your dentist and show your CT scans and photos of the your jaw and implant area. Your dentist will ask you about your general health condition, medical history and your complaints. After all these evaluations, your dentist will inform you whether you are suitable for treatment or not. If you are a good candidate, you are ready to scheduled your dental plan. In all-on-4, measurements are taken from the patients before the treatment and temporary prostheses are prepared.
2. Anesthesia and extraction
Local anesthesia will be given to the numb area before implantation, your dentist will clean your mouth from any infected tissues, bacteria. Also depending on the patient, there can be teeth to be extracted, it can be done at the same session of the operation. After that, your dentist again cleans your whole mouth to discard any teeth removals.
3. All-on-4 implantation
At the determined implantation areas, two holes will be created in the front and other two holes will be created at the posterior of your jaw and implants will place at a certain angle between 30-45°, and holes will stitch with soluble threat. After a couple months when your gums have totally recovered, you will re-visit your dentist to have the crowns and abutments fitted.
What is bone grafting and do you need to get it?
When there is a tooth loss for any reason, the part of the jawbone that carries the root of the jawbone becomes weak over time because it is not used. Bone grafting method is applied to prevent this bone thinning, which often occurs at the decision stage of implant application and causes problems.
Which materials are used for all-on-4 treatment and how to choose the best option?
When it comes to choose the suitable material type you need to discuss and decide with your dentist. But it is a truth that choosing a worldwide known brand makes your aftercare process easier. With a quality customer service, you can have better and easier solutions.
There are two different material types used in the dental implant treatment including all-on-4 dental implants: titanium and zirconium. Titanium based implants are used since 50s and their characteristics are well known. Over years titanium implants showed their effectiveness with their low costs, being biocompatible and durability. Zirconium implants are newly developed compared to titanium implants. However, they have taken a place since 90s, they still need to show their pros more.
Besides the types, the quality of implants can affect your whole treatments process before and after. Thanks to patented and world-famous companies there are reliable and easy to use implants were invented. When it comes to considering about quality, option and aftercare services there are 3 companies lead the implant manufacturing: Straumann, Nobel Biocare and Astra.
- Straumann, is a world-famous Swiss implant brand and it has shown great validity with its SLActive surface implant applications and other related patents.
- Nobel Biocare, is a Swedish implant brand and is a leader at the market area globally. Nobel Biocare offers variety of implants but especially they have a successful history at all-on-4 treatment for patients with no teeth.
- Astra, is also a Swedish implant brand and preferred for implants to switch platform.
How much does all-on-4 treatment cost?
While deciding your dental plan, one of the first questions is how much all-on-4 dental implants price. The cost varies between the countries mainly due to living costs. Here below you can see a table for different destinations in euros.
| Country | Price (Euros) |
| UK | € 31.800 |
| Germany | € 20.000 |
| United States | € 22.800 |
| Turkey | € 10.000 |
| Hungary | € 12.500 |
| Thailand | € 14.500 |
As you can see from the destination table, it is not a surprise that highly-developed countries such as UK, US and Germany the treatment is highly-priced. All-on-four dental implants in Turkey offer you an equal treatment with affordable prices plus the countries amazing beauties and famous hospitality. The state-of-art technology, high rates of success, well-educated dental team and friendly environment will welcome you.
What to expect from the first medical consultation?
In the first consultation you have the opportunity to ask everything that in your mind about your dental plan. You and your dentist will have the questions one another. The dentist ask you about your medical history, daily habits like smoking and your expectations. Here we have some questions you might ask.
- Your dentists experience in the all-on-4 treatment specifically.
- What type of material will be used and which brand will be chosen.
- Do the dentist have all-on-four before and after photos of other patients.
- Are all on four dental implants removable or not?
What are the possible risks?
All-on-four dental treatment is very similar with usual dental implant procedure and it is one of the safest operations. Averagely, it has a success rate around %95. Yet there are small risk that we need to remind about such as:
- Infection at the implantation area,
- Pain and excessive bleeding,
- Implant failure,
- Nerve damage,
- Anesthesia related risks (very rare).
How should you prepare yourself for all-on-4 treatment?
All-on-four treatment process is totally the same with the dental implant treatment, you don’t need to have extra preparation step except the basics.
- Be sure that you have brush your teeth regularly and keep the germs at bay via rinsing your mouth with an antimicrobial mouthwash.
- If your dentist gives you any medical before the surgery try not to skip them.
- Reschedule your day and week after your surgery. The first three days you can back your daily life but it is better to stay home and rest.
- Plan your transportation after surgery to your hotel in case your specialists do not arrange for you.
- At least 2 weeks after surgery you need to stop smoking for a better healing process.
How long does the treatment take?
All-on-4 treatment procedure also called as “teeth-in-a-day” treatment; thus it can be done in 2.5 hours approximately. But this quick treatments’ length can differ from patient to patient due to some causes. Whether the teeth affixed or not, patients’ general health, duration of visit may affect the treatment length. For more detailed and certain information, you need to ask to your dentist at your consultation.
How long is the recovery time and are there any downtime?
All of our patients are one and only so their post-treatment process affect by some major factors and alter. Generally, 5-7 days are enough to healing totally, 2-3 days are enough to be able to back to work. Additionally, after all-on-4 treatment procedure, there is not a downtime usually. The implants are still new and fresh and being careful is a must. Even though, patients’ general health situation affects the recovering there are some basics to know about recovery time. The first and most important thing is to maintain oral hygiene to avoid any bacterial infections. Also, you should eat healthy and soft foods and not use straws while drinking beverages. Likewise, you should quit smoking or at least leave it for 2-3 weeks can be helpful. Finally, the last and the most important factor is regular check-ups, you need to contact with your dentist all the time.
What are the side effects of all-on-4 treatment?
All-on-4 treatment is basically a dental implant procedure, and it is one of safest surgeries. Since today success rate is around %95, but some temporary problems can occur as in dental implant treatments. These problems are naturally normal, but it is better to be aware and clean up. Here some of the problems are given as examples.
- Feeling uncomfortable aster implantation, this problem can easily fix by your dentist with a prescribed medication.
- Bleeding is mostly not a common side effect, but it can occur for a day up to 2 days. If bleeding lasts longer than 2 days do not hesitate to contact with your dentist.
- Swelling is a usual side effect around the gum line. Using ice pack can help your healing.
- Bruising is also a mostly seen side effect after implant treatments. But you should not worry about it, bruising will decrease day by day.
These side effects are popular and should not worry you. If any rare side effects such as infection, nerve damage, a bad smell that comes from the implant happen following your surgery you need to share the details with your dentist immediately.
What are the statistics in dental tourism?
Nowadays, dental tourism’s popularity is increasing. Statistics show that Turkey is on the top 10 destinations for medical tourism with more than a million patients in 2019. Turkey offers so much to patients for their treatment. Such as: well-educated and tourist-friendly dental team, clinics with international accreditation and state-of-art medical technology, ease of transportation from Europe and USA, really short time of waiting for the treatment. But the major factor is a competitive price. Turkey has equal treatment strategies with highly developed countries but with lower prices. This difference caused by living costs and exchange rate between the Turkish liras and euros/dollars. Turkey is also a very touristic destinations with its amazing seaside cities and natural beauties. Patients usually choose to merge their dental treatment with a relaxing vacation.
What are the alternative treatments?
- Traditional dental implants: All-on-4 treatment generally preferred by patients with several missed teeth or no teeth at all. In this case, a patient requires 10 dental implants to hold the new teeth with a traditional implant surgery. But with all-on-4 treatment the surgery can be completed with just 4 implants for each jaw. Decreasing the number of implants will allow you to reduce recovery time and other side effects. When you have your first consultation, your dentist will inform you in detail.
- All-on-6: All-on-4 and all-on-6 procedures are similar to each other and they have nearly the same results. The most visible and clear difference is the number of implants used. Some dentists think choosing all-on-6 treatment can much more support the new teeth and dental arch. Also, with providing a stronger base these treatments can be used for longer years. Increasing the number of the implants helps the strength and jawbone stability. However, some dentists think that using more implants is unnecessary and affect the healing duration.
FAQS
The all-on-4 implant technique is a procedure that allows the dental prosthesis to be fixed on the same day on four dental implants placed at certain angles in completely edentulous patients.
According to the right aftercare and daily habits, they can last 10-20 years or longer.
Al-on-4 dental implants tend to be comfortable and secure in your mouth. You feel like our own natural teeth with no sense of uncomfort. Generally, patients do not complaint about this treatment.
There is a wrong information that all-on-4 treatment is painful. Here is the right one: you might feel a slight pain after couple of days, but the discomfort is almost the same with other dental implants. Pain and discomfort can be easily treated with prescribed medications.
Dental protheses mimic the natural teeth and prevent the bone loss with the implant application, the jawbone can be protected, and its melting can be prevented.
Absolutely yes! All-on-4 implant treatment offers you permanent and natural-looking teeth. Other people will notice your implants only if you tell them.
After all-on-4, it is important to maintain a proper nutrition plan to speed the healing and prevent infections. You need to avoid from hard food and follow the more liquid diet. A more liquid diet can help to relax your jaw and longer your recovery time. Eggs, polenta, cheese, hummus, soft bread can be eaten easily in this time of period.
Typically with the all-on-4 dental implants 10-14 teeth can be supported by fixation by prothesis.
