One of the defining advantages of newer dental implant surgical procedures, such as the All on Four, is that they are typically able to avoid the need for bone grafting beforehand. Why is this considered to be such an important leap in the field of teeth replacement? In this article, Manhattan dental implant specialists will be explaining the answer to this question!

Traditional Dental Implant Procedures: Challenges

Prior to the innovation of today’s advanced dental implant techniques, the procedures required to give patients who have lost most or all of their original adult teeth typically costs tens of thousands of dollars, were more invasive and painful and it could take as many as 18 months before a patient would enjoy the benefits of new teeth. One of the steps on one’s journey to oral rehabilitation was bone grafting surgery.

Patients who have been living without teeth for many years typically present with jaw bone loss, caused by atrophy of the bone tissue from not being stimulated via pressure by the roots during chewing. Most dental practitioners once thought 6, 8, or even 10 dental implants were needed to support a full set of teeth, and because there’s typically inadequate bone volume to place so many implants, these patients would often be told they first require augmentation (building up) of the jaw bone. This would be done through a bone grafting procedure. What’s the problem with this?

Bone grafting is an extremely invasive procedure that many times requires bone tissue to be harvested from another site in a patients’ body and inserted under the gum or oral tissues. Owing to the nature of the surgery, it’s extremely painful for a patient to undergo, and incurs a lengthy recovery period of several months before the jaw bone is healthy enough to accept implants. Bone grafting is also expensive and is essentially an additional expense that patients need to cover.

The Benefits of Today’s Dental Implant Protocols

In the early 1990’s an advanced surgical protocol for the treatment of edentulous patients and patients with a failing dentition was developed by European implantologist, Dr. Paulo Malo. The hallmark of the sophisticated All on Four procedure was that it almost always bypasses the need for bone grafting prior to teeth replacement. This not only spares patients thousands of dollars on unnecessary surgery, but also all the associated pain, swelling and the many months that would otherwise be spent in recovery and healing.

Because the All on Four is able to avoid the need for bone grafting in almost all cases, patients can typically get a brand new set of fixed (non-removable), immediately functional and natural looking teeth in as little as a single day, with a single surgery. What previously took between 12 and 18 months can now be completed in a few hours. What once required multiple surgeries can now be achieved in a single procedure. The innovation of All on Four implants is therefore, not surprisingly, considered by many as a breakthrough’ in the fields of fixed oral rehabilitation and dental implantology.

A Final Note from Manhattan Dental Implant Specialists

Considering the expense and time required by bone grafting surgery and the physical toll it takes on patients, avoiding the need for this procedure has taken the field of teeth replacement leaps ahead of its predecessors. So, if you have lost all of your original adult teeth or are on the verge of doing so, contact an NYC dental implant specialist to find out how you can get a new smile in just one day!