All-On-Four Dental Implants

It's no secret that tooth loss is a widespread issue among adults, affecting more than 35 million people in the United States. While dentures can provide a quick fix, they often come with discomfort. At Samuel F. Jirik, DDS, we offer a more long-term, comfortable solution: all-on-four dental implants. These implants not only restore your smile but also provide lasting benefits, making them a valuable investment in your oral health

Located in Cabot, AR, our practice proudly offers dental solutions to patients in the Ward, Beebe, Jacksonville, Sherwood, Vilonia, and Little Rock areas. Contact us today for more information by calling (501) 430-4516 today!

Why All-On-Four Dental Implants?

A dental implant is a small, titanium, screw-shaped post inserted into the bone beneath the gum and meant to replace the root of a missing tooth. The problem with dental implants in the past is that they could only replace one tooth, leaving people missing multiple teeth with few solutions.

All-on-four dental implants are the pinnacle of advanced, modern implant technology. They can replace an entire row of teeth with just four endosseous dental implants. This treatment is ideal for people who need to have several of their teeth removed or people who are already missing teeth but have found dentures to be impractical and uncomfortable. One of the best parts of this procedure is that it can be performed in a single day: you can come in with missing teeth and leave our office with a brand-new, full, radiant smile.

What Are The Benefits Of All-On-Four Dental Implants?

smiles before and after all on four dental implants

All-on-four dental implants offer a number of unique benefits that many other procedures can't match. Because they only require four dental implants for each row of teeth, this procedure is minimally invasive and can be completed in a single day, so you can leave our office with the beautiful teeth you've always wanted.

But don't be fooled by the convenience of these implants — they aren't just a quick, temporary fix for missing teeth. Since all-on-four dental implants are made of titanium, they fuse with the jaw bone naturally over time in a process called osseointegration. This means they'll stay securely in your mouth for years after your treatment, offering significantly more stability than dentures. This makes eating, drinking, and speaking easier and more comfortable.

These implants also offer our clients several aesthetic and psychological benefits. Tooth loss can make your face look sunken; a new smile from all four dental implants adds volume to your cheeks and lips, making you look more youthful and lively. A beautiful smile can also increase an individual's self-confidence, making them better equipped to succeed personally and professionally.

Are you interested in learning more about All-On-4 dental implants in Cabot, AR? Contact Samuel F. Jirik, DDS, today to schedule your initial consultation appointment.

What Is The All-On-Four Procedure?

All-on-four with Dr. Jirik is an amazing use of dental technology. Plus, it may seem incredible, but the entire process can be done in just a single day. The first step, if necessary, is to remove any remaining damaged teeth. We'll also thoroughly clean out and remove any diseased gum tissue. From there, the actual placement of your implants takes just two and a half hours per arch.

We begin the process with a CT scan of your jawbone. This shows Dr. Jirik the overall condition of your jawbone and lets him plot the best locations for the eight implants. Next, a computer simulation of your mouth is created, and the implant locations are mapped out. We'll also take impressions to create your temporary false teeth.

For the actual placement, we can use IV anesthesia. We place the two back implants vertically at an angle, as well as the front implants. The implants get their name from the titanium "implant" that is screwed down into the jawbone. For the angled implants, Dr. Jirik will drill a tiny hole to start the implant. The vertical implants are usually placed in sockets formerly occupied by the natural tooth roots. After the implants are placed, a post, called an abutment, is attached to each implant. The final step is to attach a temporary set of teeth to the four posts, top and bottom. You're done for now. Since the implants are not fully integrated, you'll eat a fork diet for three months. A fork diet means if you can cut it with a fork, you can eat it. If you are a smoker, you will have to stop smoking for at least three months for the best result.

A period of 3-6 months, depending on how fast your jawbone grows, is then allowed for the implants to fully become accepted by the jawbone, which grows around them. Over that time, you check in with us periodically so Dr. Jirik can gauge your progress. When he feels the implants are fully integrated into the jaw, he replaces your temporary prostheses with your permanent teeth. Now, you're good to go.

With All-On-4 dental implants offered at our Cabot, AR office, you'll soon go back to eating what you want, and you'll feel confident sharing your new smile with the world.

How Long Does The All-On-Four Procedure Take?

The all-on-four implant procedure takes around 2.5 hours per arch, and you will have temporary functioning teeth the same day (they will be replaced with your permanent teeth when your implants have fully healed and solidified).

It will take months for your jawbone to grow around your new implants to make them a part of your jawbone, but you don't need to worry about that, and you don't need to do anything except eat a soft diet for the first 3 months. When Dr. Jirik is sure your jawbone has fully incorporated your new implants, you simply come in, and he takes off your temporary full-arch prostheses and replaces them with your custom-made permanent teeth.

Patient holding model of gum with both traditional and all on four implant showing differences between the two

All-On-Four vs. Traditional Implants

You don't need to assume these are bargain basement, temporary, or lesser-strength treatments. Yes, initially, the four implants placed on the top and bottom arches need to be treated with respect by eating a fork diet for the first three months. Considering the damage that your teeth had prior to this procedure, that won't be much of an imposition.

From there, your jawbone should be on the way toward fully making the eight implants a part of the bone. That makes them no different than single implants that are placed over the six-month process they require.

The eight implants will likely last the remainder of your life, supporting your full arches of artificial teeth. You'll be able to eat a full diet once again, and you'll have a beautiful smile that will give you new confidence when you're talking, eating, and smiling.

What To Expect During Recovery

There will be some recovery with these procedures, but it is not difficult. Take it easy for the first 72 hours after your surgery. Rest on the sofa, and don't do anything to raise your heart rate or blood pressure. You will have some swelling. You can mitigate this by using an ice pack on both sides of your face at 15-minute intervals for the first day or two. After the first 48 hours, you can use moist heat, such as a wet washcloth, to reduce swelling. Bruising may occur, but it isn't dramatic, and it should resolve in the first week.

Your diet is a more involved part of recovery, but it doesn't involve any pain. You simply need to eat foods that can be cut by a fork and are easy to chew and swallow. Hard chewing on your new implants needs to be avoided as much as possible. You'll need to follow this fork diet for approximately 3 months after your implants are initially placed. We'll provide you with a list of foods and how they need to be prepared.

As for exercise and physical activity, you'll need to avoid any strenuous exercise, particularly any heavy lifting, for the first week after surgery. You do not want to elevate blood pressure or heart rate for the first week. From there, you can gradually return to exercise and physical activity.

Is The All-On-Four Procedure Painful?

The procedure itself involves no pain. Anesthesia ensures you won’t feel a thing. You will be sedated with IV drugs which means you will rest comfortably but be able to respond to questions or commands.

Recovery is detailed above. You will have some swelling and some soreness where the implants were placed. However, the pain is not acute and can be handled with over-the-counter pain medication.

Will Results Look Natural?

You won't see the implants; they are screwed down into your jawbone. Only the post of each implant is visible above the gum line, but once your full arches of artificial teeth are attached, those posts cannot be seen. Your artificial teeth look completely natural. Considering how your teeth looked before, you'll be thrilled by how great your smile looks after your all-on-four procedure.

How To Care For All-On-Four Implants?

Remember, your full bridges of artificial teeth sit firmly atop your gums, snapped onto the posts of the eight implants. To keep things clean, this is a good hygiene regimen:

Use a Waterpik at least twice a day. This dislodges food under the artificial teeth.

Floss under the prosthesis at least once a day. Oral-B Super Floss works well. You can also use floss threaders.

Sonicare is an ultrasonic toothbrush that provides great results. TePe has various specialty toothbrushes and interdental brushes designed for implants. You can find them on Amazon.

Use a proxy or endtuff brush to clean the part of the prosthesis that transitions to the soft tissue. These brushes are about one-third the width of a traditional toothbrush. These make it easier to clean and massage the areas where the tissue contacts the prosthesis.

Rinse daily with PerioGuard or Peroxyl (Colgate) to remove smaller particles from under the prosthesis.

What Are The Risks With All-On-Four Dental Implants?

dentist and patient discussion about a dental implant procedure in a dental clinic office.

The main risk with all-on-four is that one or more of the implants don't fuse with the jawbone. This happens in about 5 percent of patients. Usually, this can be fixed by replacing the implant with a new one. These failures can often be due to the patient chewing foods that were too hard too soon or smoking. They can also fail due to poor oral hygiene.

There is a risk of infection, as with any surgery or dental procedure. We minimize the chances of developing any infection, but it is possible.

There is also the risk of a reaction to the anesthesia used during the procedure, but these are rare occurrences.

Is There Anything I Need To Do To Maintain My Dental Implants?

Dental implants don’t require any care whatsoever after your jawbone has grown around the implants and fully incorporated them into your jaw. After all, the implants are down in the bone under your gums, and they will stay there the rest of your life as long as you don’t develop full-blown gum disease.

When we first place your implants. However, you'll need to be careful of your eating choices for 3 months. This isn't care or maintenance; it's a necessity to let your implants integrate into the bone without placing too much force on them. We'll give you instructions, but it's basically a fork diet, meaning if you can cut the food with a fork, you can eat it.

Is Bone Grafting Necessary For All-on-Four Dental Implants?

A great advantage of the all-on-four process is that Dr. Jirik usually does not need to do any bone grafting. This is even the case when the patient has some bone loss that could otherwise preclude him or her from being able to have a traditional single implant placed in the site without bone grafting.

Why doesn't all-on-four need bone grafting in most cases? The back implants are placed at 30- to 45-degree angles from the biting plane. The advantage of this angled implant placement is that it usually precludes the need for bone grafting. Even if the patient has lost some bone mass due to his or her missing teeth, these angled implants can usually still be placed. The front two implants are placed vertically.

What Would All-on-Four Dental Implants Do for Me?

Upper and Lower All on 4

It’s hard to quantify the change in a person’s life when they’ve gone from having few or no teeth to a full mouth of fully functioning teeth. Your confidence will soar. Your diet will improve. You’ll smile again!

These are the benefits associated with all-on-four dental implants:

  • Acquire a complete set of fully functioning teeth in a short amount of time — The all-on-four implant procedure takes around 2.5 hours per arch, and you will have temporary functioning teeth the same day (they will be replaced with your permanent teeth when your implants have fully healed and solidified).

  • Dramatically improve your appearance — Your new teeth will function, feel, and look just like natural teeth. Your smile will be back.

  • Eat a full assortment of foods without worrying — Because your new teeth are fully anchored into your jawbone, you can now return to a normal diet.

  • Don’t be afraid to bite — Chew and bite with confidence. Your anchored new teeth will give you a bite force with 70 percent more power than dentures.

  • Enjoy a full set of teeth for the duration — Your four or eight implants are permanent, and your new teeth can last the rest of your life.

  • Implants without the need for bone grafts — If you've lost jawbone mass, you won't need to suffer through the bone grafting required for traditional implants.

  • Put an end to further bone loss — Your implants will now transfer your bite force energy down into your jawbone. This energy triggers the jawbone to continually create new bone cells, the key to healthy bone mass.

Why Don’t All Dentists Offer All-on-Four?

Performing all-on-four implant procedures requires extensive training and experience with the placement of implants. Dr. Jirik has been successfully placing dental implants since 1989, back when most people had never heard of a dental implant.

All-on-four needs precise planning for the placement of the four implants on each arch. This is another area where other dentists cannot offer this procedure, as they don't have the i-Cat in-office dental CT scanner that Dr. Jirik has in our Cabot office.

How Many Teeth Can Be Replaced with Dental Implants?

Any number of teeth can be replaced with dental implants. A person could replace every single tooth with an individual dental implant placed into the jawbone in the location of the original tooth. However, this is financially unrealistic for most patients.

That's why all-on-four is so great for patients who have lost all or most of their teeth. Dr. Jirik can place four implants on the top arch and four implants on the bottom arch, and that's all the anchoring necessary to attach the full-arch prostheses.

These procedures are meant for patients who have lost all their teeth. Or, if they have any remaining teeth, they are damaged to the degree they need extraction. The full arches of artificial teeth are on top and bottom, and then they are replaced.

Schedule Your All-On-Four Consultation In Cabot!

All-On-Four appointment with Dr. Samuel F. Jirik

Dial (501) 430-4516 today or fill out the form on our survey page for your All-On-Four appointment with Dr. Samuel F. Jirik! Dr. Jirik can explain the procedure and help you determine whether you are a candidate for treatment. Our practice serves Cabot, Little Rock, and the surrounding areas of Arkansas, and we look forward to working with you!

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