Dentistry over the years has greatly improved. More people are choosing implant prosthesis over dentures because dental implants are so natural-looking and feeling, you may forget you ever lost a tooth. Implants can last a lifetime if placed under proper conditions and well maintained by patients. In the long term, implants are esthetic, functional and comfortable.
Dental implants are intimately connected with the gum tissues and underlying bone in the mouth and does not effect the health of any neighboring teeth. Where removable partial dentures can move around in the mouth and reduce the ablity to eat certain foods. The gums and bone can reduce around a fixed bridge or removable partial denture, leaving a visible defect. An article in the Journal of Oral Impantology reports on an alternative treatment to dentures. It is called “All-on Four” therapy, which uses four implants to support a fixed prosthesis, and the patient’s new teeth can be put in place the day of surgery. The All-on-Four treatment maximizes the use of available bone and allows immediate functionality. Four implants are placed two near the front and two near the back. These support a fixed, full-arch prothesis that is put in place the same day as the surgery. The success of this therapy is judged not only by its comfort and usability for the patient, but also by its longevity. All-in-Four treatment was evaluated for a 29 month period using the NobelActive implant from Sweden’s Nobel Biocare and had reported high survival rates between 92 percent to 100 percent.
“In the study, 165 patients, with a mean age of 59 years old, received 708 implants. No significant difference was found between the survival rates of implants in the maxilla and mandible jaws. Overall, the survival rate was 99.6 percent, with only three implants failing”.
