All-on-4 Dental Implants

All-on-4 dental implants replace a complete arch of teeth using four titanium implants and one fixed bridge, rather than an implant for every missing tooth.

Placement is what distinguishes the technique from conventional implant work. Two implants sit upright at the front of the jaw where bone is naturally densest, while the rear two are tilted at angles of up to 45 degrees so they engage bone that a vertical implant would miss. A bridge carrying ten to fourteen teeth is then secured onto those four anchors.

The bridge is fixed rather than removable, so you clean around it instead of taking it out at night. It doesn't rest on the gum or rely on suction, which is the practical difference patients notice most against a denture, and the prosthetic teeth themselves are made to the same standards as the dental crowns we fit onto single implants.

Some jaws need six implants rather than four to carry an arch safely. We assess which is appropriate at the planning stage rather than committing to a number before we have seen your bone.

Treatment begins with a planning appointment rather than surgery. We take a CT scan to map the bone you have, assess gum health, and plan implant positions and angles against that scan before anything is placed.

Surgery itself is usually a single appointment, in which any remaining teeth in the arch are removed, and the four implants are placed at their planned positions and angles. A temporary fixed bridge goes on the same day, where your bone offers enough initial stability to carry it, and that condition is not something any clinic can honestly promise in advance of surgery.

Healing then runs over three to four months while the implants integrate with the bone. You wear the temporary bridge throughout, so you're not without teeth at any stage.

Your permanent bridge is fitted once integration is confirmed, made to the shade and shape agreed at planning. Patients keeping natural teeth in the opposing arch sometimes choose teeth whitening beforehand so the final shade is matched to teeth at their brightest rather than their current colour.

Reviews continue after the bridge is fitted, because implants need monitoring and professional cleaning in the same way natural teeth do. Those appointments are how problems get caught while they're still small enough to fix cheaply.

The cost of All-on-4 dental implants depends on considerably more than the four implants themselves, which is why any figure quoted before an assessment is close to meaningless.

The variables that move it most:

• One arch or both – Treating upper and lower is effectively two procedures.
• Four implants or six – Bone volume and bite forces decide this, not preference.
• The material of the final bridge – Options differ in strength, translucency and cost.
• Extractions and any grafting still required – All-on-4 avoids grafting in most cases, but not all.
• Sedation – if you would prefer it for the surgical appointment.

Your in-clinic implant consultation with Dr Kaushal is free, with a £50 refundable deposit to confirm the booking. You leave with a written treatment plan setting out exactly what your case needs and what it costs, rather than a range. Finance is available through Chrysalis Finance, and our fees page offers all the information you need.