Confidently smile, bite and chew with All-on-4 dental implants

Yorkshire Dental Suite requires all patients to have an oral health check prior to the procedure. This allows our team to ensure that you are eligible for dental implants and highlight any issues that will need to be fixed prior to the procedure, such as gum disease. 

As long as your mouth is in a healthy condition, and you have good bone density, you will most likely be eligible for this treatment. There is no age limit either - however, the longer you postpone the procedure, the higher the chance of bone loss. Please note that you may not be suitable if you:

• Have more saveable teeth than damaged or missing teeth
• Are unable to get finance due to credit issues
• Are under the age of 21 (exceptions can be made in special circumstances)
• Take recreational drugs
• Are currently undergoing radiotherapy

The following medical conditions can also impact eligibility:

• Diabetes
• Autoimmune disorders
• Certain heart conditions
• Bone disorders

Step 1: Free E-consultation

Once you submit your enquiry, a member of our E-consultation team will call you to discuss your treatment options, quickly check your eligibility, give you an idea of any issues and provide a cost estimate. Take the opportunity to ask any questions you have until you feel confident enough to book in for an in-person consultation with a dentist.

Step 2: Dental Consult

Visiting Yorkshire Dental Suite Leeds, you will be met by your dentist and invited into one of our state-of-the-art treatment rooms. In most cases you will have a full oral examination, X-rays, a CT scan and photographs. This costs just £95. You will then receive a treatment plan outlining your procedure with any associated costs. If you need finance, an associate can shop the market to find a finance agreement that suits you.

Step 3: Remedial Work

If issues have been found that would prevent your treatment from being a success, you will be offered remedial work to fix these issues. Remedial works typically cover one or more of the following:

• Gum disease (periodontitis) or gingivitis: Requires a hygienist appointment and potentially antibiotics
• Bone loss: Requires a bone graft or sinus lift. Can be side-stepped using zygomatic or pterygoid implants
• Teeth whitening for your natural teeth if you’re only having a top or bottom set of implants

Step 4: Treatment Day

1. On the day of your treatment, you will be greeted by your dentist and directed into your treatment room.
2. Your dentist will explain the procedure and outline the schedule for the day. Take the opportunity to ask any questions before your treatment starts.
3. You will be shown a chart and be guided through your choices when picking a shade for your new teeth.
4. You will be offered sedation to make the procedure pain free. Discuss your options with the dentist to ensure you are comfortable.
5. Your dentist will remove any remaining teeth.
6. Four incisions will be made into your gum to expose the bone underneath.
7. Your dentist will create pilot holes, allowing the implant posts to be secured.
8. A minimum of four posts will be attached to your jawbone.
9. Abutments are attached to your implants.
10. Your gums are sewn back up.
11. A temporary bridge of teeth is attached to your implants and screwed into place. This is worn while you recover, allowing your jawbone to knit to your implants and giving time for your gums to heal.

Step 5: Final Fitting

After 3 - 4 months, your final monolithic zirconia bridges will be ready. You will be invited to the clinic to have your temporary bridge removed, and your permanent bridge replaced.

Caring For Temporary Bridges

Temporary bridges are made from acrylic and are not as durable as zirconia. These are worn for 3-4 months after your procedure, allowing your gums to heal and giving your jawbone time to knit to your implants. While wearing your temporary bridge you should:

• Choose soft foods for the first two weeks
• Avoid hard, crunchy and sticky foods
• Brush using a soft toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste, paying particular attention to where your bridge meets your gums
• Floss or use an interdental brush to clean between your teeth
• Rinse with a good-quality mouthwash
• Do not bite your pen, pen lids or other objects
• Stop smoking. This can cause gum disease and discolour your bridge

Caring For Monolithic Zirconia Bridges

While your monolithic zirconia bridges are 10x stronger than natural teeth, this does not mean that they are indestructible. You should care for them as if they are natural teeth. To help you care for your new All-on-4 dental implants please follow this guidance:

• Avoid biting into hard objects
• To keep your teeth white, avoid tomato or soy-based sauces e.g. curry, bolognaise, chow mein, red wine and other foods that could stain your teeth
• If you do eat staining foods or drinks, swill your mouth with water throughout your meal
• Brush using a soft toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste, paying particular attention to where your bridge meets your gums
• Floss or use an interdental brush to clean between your teeth
• Rinse with a good-quality mouthwash
• Stop smoking. This can cause gum disease and discolour your bridge

Single jaw All-on-4 dental implants cost from £15,995. This covers:

• Sedation
• Tooth extraction
• Oral surgery
• Minimum of 4 titanium implants (maximum of 8 at no extra cost)
• Zygomatic and pterygoid implants for patients with bone loss
• Titanium abutments
• Temporary bridge
• Wax prototype
• Ultra-aesthetic monolithic zirconia bridge containing up to 14 teeth

Full mouth All-on-4 dental implants cost from £29,995. This covers:

• Sedation
• Tooth extraction
• Oral surgery
• 4 titanium implants on each jaw
• Zygomatic and pterygoid implants for patients with bone loss
• Titanium abutments
• Temporary bridges
• Wax prototypes
• Ultra-aesthetic monolithic zirconia bridge containing up to 14 teeth on each jaw

Consultation Fees

Please note that before your treatment can begin there is a £95 consultation fee covering X-rays, CT scans, photographs, treatment plan and a full oral examination at Yorkshire Dental Suite Leeds. If you do not choose to continue past this point there are no additional charges.

Help With Travel

If you are attending our Leeds clinic and travelling more than 60 miles for your treatment, ask about help with travel costs and a free overnight stay at the 5-star Dakota hotel in the city centre.

With sedation, getting All-on-4 dental implants is a pain-free procedure. Whether you are a veteran of cosmetic dentistry or a first time patient battling with a dental phobia, the kind and courteous staff at Yorkshire Dental Suite will listen to your concerns and prescribe the right mix of sedation for you.

Types of Pain Management

There are three basic types of sedation used in dental procedures. Your dentist can use a combination to help you stay calm, pain free and unaware of the procedure if required. For example, combining oral sedation and IV.

• Gas (Nitrous Oxide): Keeps you relaxed. Ideal for minor procedures.
• Oral: A pill that makes you drowsy. Ideal for moderate procedures.
• IV: An injection. Ideal for complex procedures where your awareness can be controlled to minimise discomfort.

Recovery Pain

While the main All-on-4 procedure uses sedation to achieve a pain-free experience, this cannot be continued when you return home.

Over the next few weeks you will experience sore gums as they heal around your implants and abutments. To treat this, use your standard over-the-counter pain medication. You may experience some bleeding. This is natural and to be expected. If bleeding continues for several days, please contact your dentist.

Many people complain that pain is highest on the 2nd-3rd day after your implant treatment. This is due to a natural process where your blood clots, increasing your blood pressure. Again, take over-the-counter pain medication to treat this pain. Do not be afraid to contact your dentist for assistance.

If you smoke and are considering dental implants, then now is a good time to quit. Smoking is a major cause of gum disease, which can make you susceptible to complications even after your surgery. It causes bone loss, making you look artificially older than you are, and slows down your recovery. If you continue to smoke after your implant surgery, bone loss around implants can cause them to fail. As a result, many implant specialists will not provide this treatment to smokers.

Yorkshire Dental Suite will in some cases provide implants to smokers. Contact us for details.

When preparing for All-on-4 dental implants you should have already had a consultation and oral health check. This helps to identify any underlying issues that would otherwise prevent your implant surgery from being successful. Any gum disease, plaque and, if required, bone graft treatments should be finalised.

It is important that you do not drink alcohol and have ideally stopped smoking before you start your teeth implant treatment. You should be well hydrated. This prevents further bone loss and promotes improved healing and fewer complications.

Yorkshire Dental Suite has a wide range of All-on-4 dental implant finance options for you to consider. We can access almost the entire market, allowing us to tailor a package to your individual circumstances. Contact us today to discuss how you can spread the cost with dental implant finance.

All-on-4 dental implants differ from a single tooth implant in a small but significant way. When replacing a full mouth of teeth it is not necessary to replace each tooth individually. With All-on-4, a bridge containing up to 14 teeth can be supported by just 4 dental implants instead of 14 individual implants topped with porcelain crowns. This reduces the amount of surgery required, minimises risk and speeds up both surgery and recovery time.

The success rate of All-on-4 dental implants is 94% after the first 5 years according to a study by the Journal of American Dental Association, with 99% of bridges lasting at least 10 years (estimated lifespan of implants is 20 years).

To get the cheapest All-on-4 dental implants you must consider the lifetime cost of both the treatment and aftercare.

The basic ways to keep treatment costs down are to have healthy gums and jawbones. However, needing dental implants typically means having these issues.

In the UK, the initial treatment can be 10x the cost compared to an overseas clinic. When viewed over a longer period of time, this increase can become effectively zero.

Why UK dentists are more expensive

UK dentists have to adhere to government standards and are held to account by multiple governing agencies. This means your treatment is conducted to the highest standards, using the latest methods and equipment with all work insured.

Why overseas treatments are risky

Overseas providers are not held to the same standards. A documentary created by the BBC titled  “Turkey Teeth: Bargain Smiles or Big Mistake?” found that 40% of the overseas dentists recommended unnecessary treatments or mis-sold one treatment as another. We have found that cheap All-on-4 dental implant treatments overseas also have the following issues:

• Offers full treatments over a week or fortnight: Your gums take up to 4 months to heal, meaning treatments carried out in a few weeks often fail after a few years and require additional time and expense to rectify
• Use low grade titanium implants: Grade 1 and 2 titanium implants corrode, causing implants to fail after a few years and subsequent expenses to rectify.
• UK dentists will not provide aftercare: If you have issues with your implants and want help from a UK dentist then most dentists will not help you. This is because to do so would mean taking on the liability of the original overseas dentist. This means if you have problems you will incur additional time and expense

Generally All-on-4 dental implants are not available on the NHS unless you have had an accident that has damaged your teeth or a condition that prevents you from wearing dentures.

Implants provided by the NHS are designed to be functional, and are not created for their aesthetic appeal. For example, when replacing individual teeth, a dull metallic tooth will be used instead of a natural-looking porcelain crown. Arches can be made from acrylic not zirconia, meaning you will not have the freedom to eat what you like and will have to restrict your diet to soft foods only.

Gum disease before getting All-on-4 dental implants

Any gum disease will need to be treated before you can have dental implants. Your dentist will identify your issues and suggest treatment options, typically from a dental hygienist, who will remove plaque, bacteria and treat below the gumline.

Gum disease after getting All-on-4 dental implants

If you have dental implants and gum disease then you will need to visit your dentist to get a hygienist appointment. After this you should improve your oral hygiene routine, stop smoking and make sure to brush and floss your implants more effectively. Discuss this during your hygienist appointment.

We could say that the downside of having All-on-4 dental implants is having to fend off the compliments you will get when people notice your perfect new straight teeth. There are some issues you should be aware of:

• High cost: All-on-4 implants are one of the most expensive dental treatments. However, the benefits are worth the high price tag
• Non-reversible: Once you have implants, you cannot get your natural teeth back
• Recovery time: It can take up to 4 months for your gums to stop being sore and fully heal
• Maintenance: To prevent gum disease and other issues you will need to stop smoking and thoroughly brush your teeth twice a day
• Cannot be whitened: Unlike natural teeth, dental implants cannot be whitened using over-the-counter teeth whitening treatments. Contact your hygienist if your teeth have started to become dull
• Fragility: Like natural teeth, implants are not indestructible. You will need to avoid hard foods
• Failure: Dental implants can fail, becoming loose

Speak to your dentist if any of these issues are a concern.