All-on-4® is an innovative method of restorative dentistry offering patients the opportunity to receive an entirely new set of permanent teeth. Our dental implants look and feel just like natural teeth, can be done in a day and without bone grafting.
All-on-4 Explained®
The All-on-4® treatment is a restorative dental implant solution that offers a permanent, fixed alternative to dentures. All-on-4® involves the replacement of all teeth on only four dental implants to support the new, natural-looking teeth. Our innovative techniques and the use of superior materials help to overcome bone deficiencies and reduce the need for invasive and time-consuming bone grafts.
Compared to older treatment methods, All-on-4® not only reduces the number of implants required but increases the success rate and provides for simpler maintenance and easier cleaning.
Dental implants – small titanium fixtures inserted directly into the upper or lower jawbone – have long been the bedrock of any restorative dental procedure. They are used to support a single tooth or ‘bridge’ of teeth. This same principle works when we are required to replace a full set of teeth (a full-arch rehabilitation), but there is no need to place an implant under every single tooth. With the All-on-4® treatment, only two implants at the front and two at the back are required to secure and support the entire ‘bridge’ of prosthetic teeth.
Implants can be inserted at an angle which allows us to avoid sections of the jawbone with poor bone quality. As a result, there is no need for bone grafting and the entire healing process is expedited. You can have your new teeth fitted within 24 hours of the surgery. The All-on-4® treatment’s minimalist approach means fewer implants and more flexibility to design the best-tailored solution for you.
All-on-4® Zygoma and what it means for you
Once teeth are removed most people will experience a wasting of the bone (bone atrophy) around the extraction site that can also be made worse over time and by the wearing of dentures.
Many patients that have experienced bone atrophy due to tooth loss or gum disease may find that they are unsuitable candidates for conventional dental implant treatments due to unsuitable or reduced bone volume.
Zygomatic Implants (Zygoma) make it possible for you to receive implants even in the most diminished jawbone. Zygoma are longer than the standard dental implant and through a procedure performed by a qualified specialist, allow us to anchor into the underside of the cheekbones through the patient’s sinuses allowing us to avoid the areas of diminished or unsuitable bone. Avoids bone grafting!
As with the All-on-4® standard technique, new teeth (Malo bridge) can be connected to them within 24 hours of surgery.
- No bone grafting required
- Faster healing than with bone grafting
Zygomas are performed by our associate team of qualified and highly experienced Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
The Patient Journey Step-by-step
Step 1
Initial Consultation
Meet with one of our highly skilled and experienced surgeons to discuss your specific requirements.
Step 2
Diagnosis
Assessment of oral imaging and diagnosis of your personal situation and assessment of your suitability for All-on-4®.
Surgery is completed and implants are inserted. All this takes place on the same day.
Once your new teeth are fitted and you’re now ready to start living life as you’d always wanted too.
The Malo Protocol and what it means for you
The Malo Protocol is a staged All-on-4® treatment concept as pioneered by Dr Paulo Malo. Next Smile™ adheres to this protocol because it provides predictable outcomes for our patients and results with a clinically proven 98% success rate*, a fact proven by over 25 years of clinical data.
Stage one of the process sees you receive a ‘provisional bridge’ (your first teeth) that is left in place for three to six months. This allows you to live a normal life – with only a varied soft diet while your mouth heals ready for the second stage of the protocol.
Once ‘osseointegration’ has taken place – that is, your natural bone has fused to the titanium implants placed during surgery, and any functional adjustments made – you are ready for your ‘final bridge’ (your permanent teeth), created during the healing period, to be fitted.
The protocol aligns the All-on-4® treatment with the highest quality component technology from Nobel Biocare designed by Dr Paulo Malo for use with All-on-4® and is implemented by fully trained professionals with many years of experience. All Next Smile™ dentists have been trained in the Malo Protocol by Dr Malo himself and as such, we are one of very few providers of All-on-4® that can honestly claim to be ‘Malo Trained’.
We understand that this may all sound extremely technical to you but rest assured, when you come to Next Smile™, you will receive the highest levels of care, experience and technology supported by a proven protocol that we believe is one of the best you can find, delivered by one of the most professional and highly qualified clinical support teams available.
* Malo P, de Araújo Nobre M, Lopes A, Moss SM, Molina GJ. A longitudinal study of the survival of All-on-4® implants in the mandible with up to 10 years of follow-up. J Am Dent Assoc 2011;142:310-204
Better Patient Outcomes
The benefits are undeniable: With All-on-4® you can enjoy better outcomes in terms of functionality, look and feel than you would with older, more invasive methods. It doesn’t require bone grafting and needs only four implants in the upper and four implants in the lower jaw for a full restorative dental solution. When you compare All-on-4® to other treatment forms that require bone grafting, it costs less, requires fewer appointments, and has a higher success rate*.
You’ll receive your implants on the day of surgery and a fixed provisional bridge within 24 hours of surgery. Your replacement teeth will not only look great, you’ll be able to live life as you did before, and free from embarrassment of missing teeth and loose denture moments. Finally, All-on-4® allows for the treatment of complex cases that were previously too difficult, if not impossible to address.
The number one question we get about All-on-4® dental implants is: Will they be noticeable? No, not even you will be able to tell when you smile. Your dentist can match the colour and shape of your implants to your original natural teeth or enhance the colour and shape to your desire, giving you the smile, you have always wanted. With thousands of Australians already had the Malo All-On-4® treatment, chances are, someone you know has them – even if you’ve never noticed.
The All-on-4® Evolution
Dental implants are without question the best solution for tooth loss. However, in some instances, a reduction in bone mass may require a costly and time-consuming bone transplant or grafting procedure first. In many of these cases, patients were formerly excluded from having the treatment they both needed and desired due to the high cost and lengthy healing time; often the fixed teeth could not be placed for 6-12 months post implant surgery.
To take down the barriers that kept patients from receiving the smiles they deserved, our mentor Dr Paulo Malo developed the All-on-4® treatment concept. The key to All-on-4® is the precise placement of only four implants in the upper or lower jawbone, positioned to avoid areas of low bone density. The implants placed in the back of the jaw are angulated/tilted avoiding thin or poor bone.
All-on-4® is an innovative solution that shortens and simplifies the process of complete full arch-rehabilitation. It has a higher success rate and omits the need for expensive and time-consuming bone transplants. As a dental restorative surgery accessible for more people, including those that were previously unsuited for traditional implant treatments, All-on-4® allows patients to live their lives normally, chewing, biting and smiling without being self-conscious.
