FULL MOUTH REHABILITATIONS WTIH IMPLANTS: ALL-ON-FOUR / ALL-ON-SIX

In which cases is a FULL REHABILITATION WITH IMPLANTS indicated?

• Cases where the patient has lost teeth in a whole arch (upper or lower jaw).
• Cases where all the teeth have been lost in the mouth (upper and lower).
• Cases in which the remaining teeth are not conservable and due to the poor condition in which they are in, and their poor prognosis, they must be extracted.

To rehabilitate an entire arch (upper or lower) with implants, it is NOT necessary to place as many implants, as teeth which need replacing. Usually placing either 4 and 6 implants per arch is enough. This is what is known as the All-on-Four and All-on-Six technique respectively.

Regardless of the number of implants to be placed to restore an entire arch, it is also important to distinguish between 2 types of prostheses:

1. FIXED Complete Restorations over Implants: The teeth that are placed on the implants are fixed and therefore are not removeable. It is the closest thing to natural teeth.
2. REMOVABLE Complete Restorations over Implants: The teeth are dentures which are retained on abutments which are attached to the implants. This way, when the prosthesis is placed, it does not move and it behaves like a fixed prosthesis, even though the patient can remove it at any time, since it is removable.

Below we will describe the 2 techniques with can be applied for Complete Rehabilitations with Dental Implants:

“ALL-ON-FOUR” technique:

It is a type of rehabilitation of an entire arch (upper maxila or lower jaw) supported by only 4 implants. It is a cheaper alternative, due to the small number of implants needed to support the entire arch.

To put a simile to facilitate the understanding of this technique: it would be like “a table supported by 4 legs”. It is the minimum that “the table” should have in order to stay upright.

Due to this, it is a very interesting alternative for many patients, but it is not always the ideal alternative for ALL cases.

There are times when, due to the patient’s available bone and other factors, it may be necessary to place more than 4 implants. These type of cases in which more implants are needed, usually can be solved with 6 implants, which is known as the All-on-Six technique.

“ALL-ON-SIX” technique:

This technique restores an entire arch on 6 implants. In this case, the type of prosthesis is usually, in most cases, a fixed, non-removable prosthesis, which is like natural dentition.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I NEED AN ALL-ON-FOUR OR ALL-ON-SIX TECHNIQUE?

There are 3 steps:

The first thing is to know is the patient’s medical situation: illnesses, medication and allergies.

Once the Medical History is detailed, the specialist in Implantology and Implant Prosthesis, Dr. Rico, will perform an oral examination to know the specific details of the mouth (the bite, the aesthetics, the dimension of the lower third of the face, and a series of tests to find out what the patient really needs in each specific case). This assessment by our specialist and the Medical History, has no cost for the patient.

Finally, it will be necessary to do a 3D Dental CT Scan. This is a digital 3D radiograph with minimal radiation (which we do at our Dental Clinic), which allows us to see the available bone in 3 dimensions and therefore allows us to assess the quantity and quality of bone that the patient has to place the implants. With this tool we can also decide the ideal size, type and position of the future implants.

With all this, the patient is explained all the available alternatives to rehabilitate their mouth: 

• If you can have a fixed and / or removable prosthesis.
• If it can be done with the All-on-Four technique or with the All-on-Six technique.
• All the specific details of the case that we have evaluated are explained, so that the patient understands the why of everything we propose.
• A quote of each alternative will be provided, so that the patient can study it and decide, without any type of compromise.

If you are interested in placing implants, do not hesitate to contact us, we can help you and we will provide you with all the information you need. If you want more information about implants in our Clinic, on these links you can get to know us better.

– Dental Implants at A2 Dental

– Implant cases in our patients 

– Dr. Rico, our implantologist