TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHAT IS THE TRUE COST OF DAMAGED OR MISSING TEETH?
Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, is an infection of the gums and tissues around the teeth that can lead to tooth loss if left untreated and is caused by the buildup of plaque and bacteria in the mouth. Losing your teeth can have a dramatic impact on your oral health, how you look and your self-confidence. Even a single missing tooth can be very noticeable when you open your mouth to speak, eat or smile. Over time, the gap itself can alter your jaw and face structure, further changing how you look and impacting your self-esteem.
With missing or damaged teeth, the type of teeth replacement can make all the difference to how you look and feel afterwards. While removable dentures solve the problem to some extent, they can still be uncomfortable and don’t provide the same biting force as natural teeth. The result is that while you might look more like the old you, you still won’t be able to eat and talk like you used to.
UNDERSTANDING ALL ON 4
If you are missing all of your teeth, all-on-4 is highly recommended. But what exactly do you need to know before getting full-mouth teeth replacements? Understanding all-on-4 starts with understanding how it works and its benefits.
All on 4 is essentially a full-arch implant restoration system that replaces teeth. The procedure uses four titanium metal dental implants, two in the front section of the jaw bone and two posteriorly tilted for increased support at the back. Once these implants are surgically placed into the jawbone, a bridge is attached, allowing you to leave the clinic with a fully functional set of permanent replacement teeth. The treatment promises patients an immediate improvement in oral aesthetics and function.
Kiss Goodbye to Poorly Fitted Dentures
At our clinic in Sutherland Shire, we often see patients with dentures who are looking for a more permanent tooth replacement solution. They want an affordable solution that fixes their problem so they can eat comfortably without worrying their dentures will slip out of place. Compared to dentures, the All on 4 technique is ideal for patients who do not want to compromise their lifestyle due to missing teeth.
All on 4 is highly recommended because it provides full mouth restoration within 24-48 hours. Unlike other tooth replacement options, such as traditional implants, which take months and multiple visits to complete, All on 4 minimises wait times and is an effective alternative for people with weaker or thinner jawbones.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ALL ON 4 AND TRADITIONAL IMPLANTS
New Smile Within 24 Hours
Though both options are suitable for restoring teeth, there are notable differences between All on 4 and traditional dental implants. Unlike traditional implants, which require multiple appointments over several months for the placement and healing time, All on 4 can take only one day to place. Once the surgical insertion sites have healed, acrylic or titanium fixed bridges are secured onto the implants, providing long-term benefits such as greater oral functionality and improved speech and smile appearance.
Fewer Implants
The All On 4 treatment is designed for those who need extensive tooth replacement. One significant difference is the number of implants required in All on 4. Whereas standard-implant procedures need anywhere from eight to twelve screws per arch (one screw per tooth), All on 4 uses just four implants in total: two upright screws at the front and two tilted screws at the back of each arch to distribute greater bite forces more evenly along the jawline.
Reduced Surgery and Recovery Time
This approach offers reduced surgery and recovery time compared to other dental restoration systems and ensures a more stable tooth replacement option using fewer implants. Critics argue that All on 4’s limited use of screws compromises its durability since the tilted screws access only a restricted amount of bone at the back of your jaw. However, most clinicians who offer this technique utilise cone beam CT scans to ensure optimal angulation for long-term success.
WHY CHOOSE ALL ON 4?
One of the main advantages of All on 4 is that it replaces all teeth with just four dental implants, two in the front and two tilted at the back. This means that people with weak or thin jawbones who previously weren’t eligible for traditional implants can now benefit from this procedure.
REDUCED RECOVERY TIMES
Getting All on 4 doesn’t require invasive bone grafting procedures, significantly reducing recovery time. Patients can enjoy quicker results and faster healing times, which allows them to return to their normal activities within a day or two. The permanence of the implant also eliminates issues associated with removing or adjusting dentures.MORE CONVENIENT
Research also shows that patients prefer All on 4 over traditional methods due to their convenience and effectiveness. A study published in The International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants found that patients fitted with All-on-4 experienced improved neuromuscular control compared to those fitted with traditional dentures.MORE DURABLE
All-on-4 are more functionally durable than traditional dental implants and easier to maintain than removable dentures. With proper care, they can last a lifetime without additional treatments. However, it is important to regularly visit your dentist and practice good oral hygiene habits to help ensure the success of your dental implant for as long as possible.
MORE FLEXIBILITY
Patients often want to know the difference between All-on-4 and dentures. Many believe traditional dentures offer greater flexibility since they can be easily removed and cleaned. Yet, there’s a downside—dentures often slip out of place, which can cause embarrassment and discomfort for wearers. With fewer supporting implants, All-on-4 has more flexibility to design and fit teeth that look and feel natural.
WHO IS SUITABLE FOR ALL ON 4
All on 4 is often suitable for more complex cases and is a possible treatment option for anyone with damaged or missing teeth. Whether you’ve lost teeth due to injury, gum disease, or multiple missing teeth, All on 4 might be able to help. However, as with all treatments, your suitability can only be confirmed following a comprehensive examination. To determine whether you are a suitable candidate for All on 4, your dentist will review your medical history, take x-rays of your jaw and remaining teeth and consider any lifestyle choices that might impact treatment success.
In the meantime, we have created a suitability quiz to determine whether you are a candidate for dental implant surgery. Take the quiz, and we’ll send your results immediately.
CHOOSING AN ALL ON 4 DENTIST IN SYDNEY
When choosing an all-on-4 dentist, you want to ensure you get the best results for your investment. Many dentists offer implant treatments, making choosing between them incredibly difficult. However, it’s vital to understand what you’re being offered and not to make a choice based on cost alone. To ensure you get the best quality treatment, service, and results, it would help to understand what makes a dentist an All-on-4 implant expert. The following three factors need to be taken into consideration.
DENTIST TRAINING
While it’s relatively easy for dentists to take short courses to qualify them to place All on 4, that doesn’t automatically mean they are vastly trained. When searching for a dentist, it’s crucial to identify a clinician who has invested in their education in implantology, has taken comprehensive postgraduate courses, and has focused their career on implant dentistry. This ensures your dentist will have the clinical, theoretical, and practical education required to provide the best possible treatment. This includes treatment planning, which is essential as it reduces the risk of complications and ensures the best possible outcome for the treatment.
EXPERIENCE OF THE DENTIST
If the All on 4 treatment was just another dental service amongst many, there is no way to know how much experience a dentist has. However, All on 4 is an advanced procedure that not all dentists can offer. You need to find out whether your dentist regularly performs this type of surgery, has a broad range of clinical experience, and has become accustomed to many cases. When you find a dentist experienced in performing dental implants, you can be confident that, regardless of the complexity of your case, you’re in safe hands.
QUALITY OF MATERIALS
It’s not just the dentist who can affect the outcome of your treatment; the materials used are equally important. You should ask any potential dentist about the quality of the implants and where they’re manufactured. They should comply with Australian safety regulations and be made from high-quality materials. By verifying the standard of the materials at the beginning, you might avoid complications caused by low-cost and inferior materials.WHICH MATERIALS ARE BEST FOR ALL ON 4 TEETH?
COMPARING ACRYLIC VS. PORCELAIN VS. ZIRCONIA
Acrylic
Acrylic-based prostheses may provide satisfactory performance for some patients, especially those looking for a low-cost solution, as they cost less than porcelain. However, acrylic-based prostheses have additional issues like vulnerability to staining, crack formation and degradation over time.Porcelain
Porcelain prostheses are considered stronger and more durable than acrylic-based prostheses. They feature high resistance to stains, which is great if you like coffee or red wine, as they’ll resist discolouration even after long-term usage.Ceramic Zirconium
Ceramic zirconium prostheses offer exceptional durability and strength. They are at least three times stronger than porcelain. In contrast to porcelain, zirconia can also withstand wear and tear without chipping. Not only is zirconium made from a material that is both strong and durable, but it also looks and feels natural and has a much higher success rate than traditional implants. Furthermore, zirconia has outstanding biocompatibility. The high biocompatibility of zirconia does not cause allergic reactions in patients who are allergic to the alloys in porcelain restorations.All on 4 is a fantastic solution that benefits many patients regardless of age, gender or budget. Although working with an experienced implant dentist is essential, you can be assured that your smile’s transformation will be effective and natural-looking. Remember also that the decision comes down to personal factors such as budget, medical history and allergy risk.
It’s worth noting that selecting the best implant material for you isn’t always based solely on your preferences. Your dentist should consider factors like underlying medical conditions, risk of allergies, functionality, implant longevity, and wear characteristics when recommending which implant material would be the most suitable. Ultimately, whether you choose acrylic, porcelain, or zirconia depends entirely on what best suits your clinical requirements and aligns well with your lifestyle needs.
ALL ON 4 AT SENSATIONAL SMILES DENTAL
A LEADING CLINIC IN ALL-ON-4 DENTISTRY
Our Ethos
At Sensational Smiles Dental, we strive to offer something different from other dental practices. We are dedicated to providing every patient with a unique and unparalleled experience that places wellbeing and satisfaction at the centre of everything. We elevate the patient’s experience to a new level of luxury and comfort while ensuring the patient’s journey is as seamless as possible.
Our Modern Practice
We believe that a purpose-built dental practice makes all the difference when it comes to delivering modern and innovative dental procedures. We’ve worked hard to blend state-of-the-art technology with comfortable and calm surroundings. The aim is to ensure that you receive an exceptional experience in the most welcoming of environments. From the soft lighting, muted colours, and aromatherapy in our reception areas to the state-of-the-art technology in our treatment rooms, your comfort is our top priority.
OUR INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY
The latest technology comes as standard at Sensational Smiles Dental and is fundamental to enhancing the patient’s experience. We use technology to ensure we offer a pleasant and comfortable environment and to make all our treatments as fast, comfortable and effective as possible. Some of the key innovations we use include:Digital X-rays
Our digital x-ray technology provides the most precise diagnosis, is safer than traditional CT scanners and allows for a more comfortable patient experience.3D Smile Design
With our smile design technology, we are able to create 3D mock-ups of a patient’s future smile and our patients are fully involved in the smile design process.Lab Facilities
Our in-house dental lab allows us to be in complete control of patient care, offering bespoke cosmetic and restorative solutions, all handcrafted with the latest technology under the watchful eye of our experienced team.In-House Imaging
Our digital platform allows us to instantly show patients their diagnosis or proposed treatment, share information with our team of clinicians and ensure a faster and more efficient level of communication.Intraoral Cameras
These tiny pen-like cameras show a detailed picture of a patient’s mouth, enabling us to discover problems early on and deliver treatment that is less invasive and more cost-effective.Same-Day Crowns
With our CEREC machine, we’re able to create dental crowns in-house; instead of traditional impressions, temporary restorations and a lengthy wait, our patients can have permanent crowns fitted conveniently in a single visit.Advanced Sterilisation
The use of pressurised steam in an autoclave enables us to remove all types of microbes and their spores, keeping our instruments sparkling clean and our patients safe.All this technology comes together to allow us to provide meticulous attention to detail and control quality at every step of the way. Our patients are in our care throughout their treatment and the technology we invest in helps us to put their comfort as a top priority. Even our dental chairs are equipped with ergonomic features to ensure sitting back for treatment is as relaxing as possible.
Our Smile Coordinator
To ensure the success of every All on 4 procedure, we have a dedicated Smile coordinator. Clare manages the entire process from the very first contact all the way through to the completion of the treatment. Clare has worked in the dental industry for over 20 years and is as warm and friendly as she is knowledgeable. She thrives on ensuring patients are happy and is always the first port of call for our All on 4 patients
Meet Dr Michael Shehata
Our Expert in All-On-4 Dentistry
Dr Shehata understands only too well what it’s like to dislike visiting the dentist. A traumatic childhood experience has stayed with him to this day. However, despite his fear, he did a dental degree at Griffith University in Queensland and soon learnt the difference that dentists can make. Upon graduating and ranking 2nd in his cohort, he was made a member of the Golden Key Club for Academic Excellence and then moved to Sydney to work as an associate dentist for many of the leading dentists in Australia.
Excellence in Implant Dentistry
Dr Shehata has dedicated not only his career but his personal time to his craft. He spent the first seven years of his career doing extensive courses and investing further in his education. After exhausting the courses in Australia, he looked overseas for implantology training and did everything he could to train with the best and hone his skills. He has completed the Brener Implant Institute Masters Implant Program, achieved a Masters in Oral Surgery and attended Dr Paulo Malo’s, the creator of the All on 4 technique, clinical residency in Portugal.
Outstanding Patient Experience
When the opportunity presented itself for Dr Shehata to run his own purpose-built practice, he was determined to create somewhere comfortable that would cater to anxious people. Whether they hated the taste of mint, the sound of drills or the smell of a dental practice, he put measures in place to help. Aromatherapy, wireless headphones, soundproofing, needleless services, therapeutic anaesthetic and more are at the very essence of Sensational Smiles Dental.
Leader, Mentor, and Educator in Implant Dentistry
Dr Shehata loves implantology, carrying out the procedures and seeing the difference it makes to his patient’s lives and their ability to smile. He places implants every day, thousands each year and has seen every complication out there. He has learnt from best practice dentistry, evidence-based work, learning and listening to the industry gurus who he knows by name and continues to search for new solutions to his patient’s problems. What’s more, he’s heavily involved in mentoring and teaching programs for dental students across Australia. Education and patience have been at the core of his career from the start and form the very essence of Sensational Smiles Dental.
Before & After images
FINANCING OPTIONS & THE COST OF ALL ON 4
If you have been looking into All on 4 implant dentistry and at the dental clinics that can undertake the process, you should be aware of the variation in cost. All on 4 can set you back anywhere from $22,000 to $40,000 per arch, contingent upon the type of treatment. Making a considerable financial commitment towards the procedure isn’t what most people have planned for. Indeed, All-on-4 may be included in your health insurance package. However, coverage heavily hinges on the type of policy you have and the insurance provider. For a guide to getting health insurance coverage for dental implants, click here.
Ultimately, with so many dental practitioners appearing to have the credentials to provide the All-on-4 treatment, it can get confusing. The following three variables can affect both the cost of your All-on-4 procedure as well as the overall result:
The level of education of the dentist: Reduces the risks and provides a superior outcome.
The right materials: Use only the best quality materials to maximise the durability of your implants.
The experience of the dentist: an implant dentist who has a broad range of use-case experiences, is more likely to provide you with the best treatment.
When evaluating the cost of All on 4, while you don’t want to pay more than you should, a highly skilled and experienced dentist must carry out your treatment using only the highest-quality materials. After all, the right investment in an implant dentist will help avoid costly or painful complications later down the track.
INTEREST-FREE PAYMENT PLANS
We understand that the All on 4 treatment does come with a significant cost, which is why we do everything we can to help our patients to afford the investment in their smiles. We offer several interestfree payment plans so that you’re able to have the All on 4 procedure straight away and then break the cost into manageable payments.ACCESSING SUPERANNUATION TO PAY FOR ALL ON 4
We can help you use your superannuation against the cost of your treatment and collaborate with Supercare to make the application process as simple as possible.THE ALL ON 4 PROCESS AT SENSATIONAL SMILES DENTAL
The procedure is performed in three stages – planning, surgery, and restoration.
Stage 1 – The Planning; Dr Shehata will take impressions of your teeth and jaw to create a 3D model of your mouth. This model will be used to plan the placement of the implants.
Stage 2 – The surgery; four dental implants will be placed into your jawbone. Two implants are inserted in the front of your jaw, while the other two are tilted at the back of your jawbone. This procedure usually requires only local anesthesia or conscious sedation, making it virtually painless. Unlike traditional implants that require lengthy preparation and additional surgery for bone grafting, All on 4 treatment allows for immediate loading onto the implants.
Stage 3 – Post surgery; a provisional set of teeth is placed over the implants before they fully integrate with the surrounding bone tissue. The provisional teeth function like normal teeth but should be treated with care while the integration takes place. Once the integration has taken place, which could take around six months, permanent replacement teeth that look and feel like natural teeth will replace the provisional teeth.
BOOK YOUR FREE IMPLANT CONSULTATION AT SENSATIONAL SMILES DENTAL
Schedule Your Complimentary 30-minute all-on-4 Implant Consultation at our clinic in Kirrawee, Sutherland Shire. Our dentist will examine your teeth, gums, jawbone, and smile. You will discuss your personal needs and treatment options and gain a clearer understanding of your next steps.
To schedule your complimentary consultation, pick up the phone and call us at