By Dr. Azim Malik Specialist Periodontist and Implant Surgeon

WHAT ARE FULL ARCH IMPLANTS?

Full arch implants are for those patients who have not got any teeth – or have teeth with an extremely hopeless prognosis… and they need to be taken out.

So the patient wants a fixed solution.

‘All on 4’ or ‘All on 6’?

Full arch usually includes anywhere between four to six implants in the jaws – and then you allow it to heal.

And then, after that, you put a prosthesis on top.

To make the prosthesis a little bit aesthetic, you compromise on how effortlessly you can clean under it.

And that's where gum disease can start to develop because patients can't clean around it.

Dangers of implants

For that reason, patients can start developing the gum disease they had under natural teeth – but this time around implants.

Natural teeth are smooth, they're biological, they can move, they do all sorts.

But implants are threaded and it's difficult to clean the thread.

Every implant is different.

So every implant has different susceptibility to gum disease and that's where problems arise.

But implants are a great solution for patients who don't have teeth and if they look after their implant it can really change their lives.

Patients have to accept there are many risks that come with implants.

But natural teeth come with risks as well.

ARE FULL ARCH IMPLANTS RIGHT FOR ME?

With the techniques we have nowadays, we are able to provide implants for almost anyone.

It's just that things become a little bit more challenging for patients who have less bone.

Remember, you lose teeth because you've lost bone… and now to place an implant you need bone.

Ultimately, in many cases, the patient has to grow bone.

And that makes things more complicated.

But we have a solution for most problems.