When you suffer from major tooth loss, then you may need to seek dentures. While removable dentures are effective, they need replacement every few years and they could slip occasionally. But we can help with a fixed alternative to removable dentures. In today’s blog, your Brooklyn, NY, periodontist and dental implant expert talks about All-On-Four!
The Causes of Major Tooth Loss
First, let’s talk about tooth loss. Why do we lose our natural teeth? For some, this could be due to a sudden accident or injury. For others, missing teeth could be linked to issues like a severe cavity or an untreated dental infection. You may suffer the loss of natural teeth to periodontal disease. In fact, the advanced stage of the disease, known as periodontitis, is the number one cause of adult tooth loss! As part of your treatment, we will assess the cause of your missing teeth, as we may need to provide periodontic care to manage disease and protect your new teeth as well.
The Weakening of the Jaw
What does tooth loss do to your jaw? The body will notice the missing root and in response, will suspend the flow of calcium and phosphorus to the jaw around the lost roots. Deprived of these essential nutrients, your jawbone will weaken and erode, so the risk of further tooth loss increases. Over time, as you lose more teeth, this could lead to a prematurely aged appearance. Along with these complications, you could have issues with your meal options and even clear speech, and could be more likely to develop TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). Even if you have lost several or all of your natural teeth, we can help with dental implants. These not only fill the gaps in your smile, but help keep your jawbone and facial structure intact!
Dental Implant Placement
How do we place dental implants? Our team will first carefully examine your jaw using digital x-rays, so we can ensure there is enough stable structure to support the dental implants we will surgically insert in your jaw. If not, we can use procedures like a sinus lift or jawbone grafting to strengthen the area and ensure your smile can support these new roots. We then use digital technology to guide these posts into place. We may need to extract the last few teeth to pave the way for a full set of new teeth, and anesthesia and sedation can ensure the process is comfortable for our patients. For a complete smile, we may need to place only four dental implants per arch!
All-On-Four
With All-On-Four, we will insert just four small dental implant posts per arch, choosing the best angle, position, and depth to insert them to ensure they can support new teeth and stimulate jawbone growth to keep your smile and facial structure intact in the months and years to come. Once these are in place, in the same visit we will connect a full set of new and custom teeth to them. These will be made from ceramic and shaded for a lifelike appearance, and they will also be able to handle daily bite forces and pressures to keep your smile healthy and intact for years to come.
With All-On-Four, in one visit you will obtain a full smile again. With support from dental implants, this means you don’t have to remove your dentures to soak and clean them, and they will never slip when you eat or drink. You care for them as you would natural teeth and they have the potential to last for decades to come, possibly a lifetime. Essentially, you gain a new smile that looks and functions like a natural one, on only one visit.
If you have any questions about how we secure a full smile with our dental implants, or if you have missing teeth you want to see addressed, then please reach out to our team today to get started. From your initial visit, we will work with you to help address tooth loss and maintain a full smile. You deserve good oral health and a complete smile, and we want to help make it a reality in 2026 and beyond!
Brooklyn Periodontics Offers A Complete Smile Again
We want to help you smile with confidence by addressing your advanced tooth loss. You deserve good oral health, improved bite function, and a smile that makes you feel confident and ready to show it off to the whole world, so talk to our team. For more details on addressing major tooth loss, then please call Brooklyn Periodontics & Implantology in Brooklyn, NY at (718) 444-3800 today.
